Speakers Corner Trust

Calendar of Annual Events

If you are a Speakers’ Corner Committee looking for a topic for a debate or an organisation to take the lead in it - or if you are a local group looking for a platform, the following calendar of events could be an invaluable aid. In it, you will find a detailed schedule of literally hundreds of ‘days’ or ‘weeks’ or longer periods, many of them recurring annually, designated to mark a wide range of issues and campaigns which could provide an ideal and often newsworthy basis for a debate. SCT is grateful to Julia Hagan of Nottingham City Council’s Community & Culture Department who prepared the calendar.

Month	Event	Description	Date(s)
January	World Braille Day	Opportunity for blindness organisations to promote Braille literacy, showcase their work and raise public awareness of blindness issues.	4^th January (every year)
	World Religion Day	To foster the establishment of interfaith understanding and harmony by emphasising the common denominators underlying all religions.	3^rd Sunday in January
	Food Allergy and Intolerance Week	To raise awareness about the many people who suffer from food intolerances to ingredients such as wheat, dairy, eggs and gluten.	21^st - 25^th January 08
	Cancertalk Week	Focus on emotional and practical issues of the impact experienced by people living with cancer.	21^st - 25^th January 08
	Be Loud (Loud Tie Campaign)	A major awareness and fundraising campaign for the national bowel cancer charity, Beating Bowel Cancer	w/c 26^th January 2009
	Holocaust Memorial Day		27^th January (every year)
	National Storytelling Week		31^st January - 7^th February 2009
February	UNICEF Day for Change		6^th February (every year)
	WOW (World Orphan Week)	Chance to make a difference to orphaned children around the world by raising money and awareness for SOS children.	9^th - 15^th February 2009
	National Marriage Week	Celebrated in churches and communities across the country.	7^th - 15^th February 2009
	International Childhood Cancer Day	Aim is to help children with cancer get the best possible treatment and care, no matter where they live in the world, by raising both awareness and money	15^th February 2008
	International Mother Language Day	To promote linguistic and cultural diversity and multilingualism.	21^st February 2008
	Student Volunteering Week	Raising profile of student volunteering	25^th February - 2^nd March 2008
	Fair Trade Fortnight	Opportunity to think about where food comes from and how we can help people in poorer countries.	25^th February - 9^th March 2008
	Eating Disorders Awareness Week	To raise awareness of issues around the problems encountered by people who are affected by an eating disorder.	22^nd - 28^th February 2008
	24 Hour Tea or Coffee Break	Held during Fair Trade Fortnight and aims to highlight plight of poor farmers throughout the world.	29^th February 2008
March	The Great Daffodil Appeal	Marie Curie Cancer Care’s annual flagship campaign	15^th February - 31^st March (every year)
	Veggie Month	Celebration of vegetarianism and campaigning in inform schools, retailers, restaurants, community groups and others about the benefits of a veggie diet.
	World Book Day		5^th March 2009
	International Women’s Day	Provides opportunity to focus upon and remember the struggle of women throughout the world.	8^th March (every year)
	Commonwealth Day	Annual event during which all 54 members of the commonwealth celebrate their links with each other.	Second Monday in March
	National Ideas Week	Focus on creativity and innovation in the workplace.	9^th - 15^th March 2008
	No Smoking Day		Second Wednesday in March
	Red Nose Day		13^th March 2009
	World Storytelling Day	Global celebration of the art of oral storytelling.	20^th March (every year)
	World Poetry Day	To promote reading, writing, publishing and teaching of poetry throughout the world.	21^st March (every year)
	World Day for Water	Raise public awareness, focus attention on the vital need to protect and conserve water resources and supplies of drinking water.	22^nd March (every year)
	World Theatre Day		27^th March (every year)
April	National Pet Month	Supported by Iams but run by charitable trust and brings together animal welfare charities and professional bodies with common goal of improving welfare of pets.
	International Children’s Book Day	Hans Christian Andersen’s birthday is celebrated to inspire a love of reading and to call attention to children’s books.	2^nd April (every year)
	World Health Day	Thousands of events across the world to mark the importance of health for productive and happy lives.	7^th April (every year)
	International Noise Awareness Day	To inform the public of the necessity of creating a quiet home, school and recreational environment.	16^th April 2008
	Welly Week	Organised by HDRA to raise funds to help educate and inspire people about organic gardening, farming and food for a sustainable future.	19^th - 26^th April 2008
	Global Campaign for Education Action Week		21^st - 27^th April 2008
	International Turn-off TV Week	Campaign to get us off the sofa	21^st - 27^th April 2008
	Earth Day	Part 2 - Global event	22^nd April (every year)
	World Malaria Day		25^th April (every year)
	RSPCA Week	Major fundraising and profile raising opportunity.	27^th April - 3^rd May 2009
	International Dance Day	To increase the awareness of the importance of dance among the general public, as well as to persuade governments across the world to provide a proper place for dance in all systems of education.	29^th April (every year)
	International Make-a-Wish-Day		29^th April 2008
May	National Museums and Galleries Month
	Local and Community History Month	To increase awareness of local history, promote history in general.
	National Share-a-Story Month	The Federation of Children’s Book Groups celebrates the power of story.
	International Firefighters’ Day		4th May (every year)
	Deaf Awareness Week	Aims to improve understanding of different types of deafness and methods of communication.	5^th - 11^th May 2008
	Red Cross Week	Celebration of the organisations work and services to raise money and recruit.	6^th - 12^th May 2008
	World Red Cross Red Crescent Day	Anniversary of founder.	8^th May (every year)
	Europe Day	Anniversary of the day when the European Union was conceived.	9^th May 2008
	World Fair Trade Day		Second Saturday in May
	Christian Aid Week	Door to door fundraising drive.	11^th - 17^th May 2008
	Limerick Day	Celebrates the birth of writer Edward Lear who popularised limericks in 19^th Century.	12^th May (every year)
	Foster Care Fortnight	Annual recruitment campaign.	12^th - 25^th May 2008
	World No Tobacco Day	To draw global attention to tobacco epidemic and preventable deaths and disease.	31^st May (every year)
June	National Osteoporosis Month
	Everyman Male Cancer Awareness Month	Set up by The Institute of Cancer Research to raise awareness of and funds for prostate and testicular cancers.
	Volunteers’ Week	Events held nationally to recognise, reward and recruit volunteers.	1^st - 7^th June 2008
	Recycle Now Week		2^nd - 8^th June 2008
	International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression	Acknowledges pain suffered by children throughout the world and affirms a commitment to protect the rights of children.	4^th June (every year)
	Heart Week		4^th - 10^th June 2008
	World Environment Day	Used by the United Nations to stimulate awareness of environmental issues.	5^th June (every year)
	World Oceans Day	Celebration of the planet’s marine environment.	8^th June (every year)
	World Blood Donor Day	Commemorates the birth of Karl Lansteiner who discovered the ABO blood group system.	14^th June (every year)
	National Bike Week	A week of events to highlight real alternatives to the car.	14^th - 22^nd June 2008
	Refugee Week	Events to celebrate the contribution of refugees to the UK and encourages better understanding between communities.	16^th - 22^nd June 2008
	Child Safety Week		23^rd - 29^th June 2008
July	World Population Day	To raise awareness of global population issues.	11^th July (every year)
	National Parks’ Week		28^th July - 3^rd August 2008
August	National Road Victim Month
	Marine Week		2^nd - 17^th August 2008
	International Youth Day	To draw attention to youth issues worldwide.	12^th August (every year)
September	Bear Necessities Month	Organised by WSPA to raise funds and awareness for mistreated bears.
	National Organic Fortnight		6^th - 21^st September 2008
	International Literacy Day	Focuses attention on worldwide literacy needs.	8^th September (every year)
	Heritage Open Days	Celebrates England’s architecture and culture.	11^th - 14^th September 2008
	International Day of Peace	Calls for full day of peace and ceasefire throughout the world.	21^st September (every year)
	World Car Free Day		22^nd September 2008
	British Food Fortnight		20^th September - 5^th October 2008
	European Day of Languages	Celebrate language and cultural diversity.	26^th September (every year)
	World Heart Day	Run in over 90 countries.	28^th September 2008
October	Black History Month	Promote a greater understanding of UK’s diverse cultural heritage.
	Breast Cancer Awareness Month
	IFAW Animal Action Week	Largest animal-focused event in the world.	First week in October
	World Animal Day	Events organised to raise awareness of animal issues.	4^th October (every year)
	World Space Week	International celebration of science and technology.	4^th - 10^th October (every year)
	World Teachers Day		5^th October (every year)
	World Architecture Day	Set up by UN for the world to reflect on the state of human settlements and basic rights to adequate shelter.	First Monday in October
	World Habitat Day		First Monday in October
	National Children’s Book Week		First full week in October
	National Poetry Day		9^th October 2008
	World Hospice and Palliative Care Day		11^th October 2008
	World Arthritis Day		12^th October (every year)
	World Food Day	To commemorate the founding of the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the UN (FAO).	16^th October (every year)
	Trafalgar Day	Celebration of the victory of Nelson’s fleet at Battle of Trafalgar.	21^st October (every year)
	United Nations Day	Marking the anniversary of the founding of the UN.	24^th October (every year)
November	Vegan Month
	Shout About Climate Change	Friends of the Earth’s annual activity project for 11 - 13 year olds.	TBC
	Dyslexia Awareness Week		7^th - 13^th November 2008
	National Stress Awareness Day		5^th November 2008
	National Adoption Week		10^th - 16^th November 2008
	World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims		Third Sunday of November
	International Day of Tolerance		16^th November 2008
	World Philosophy Day	Promoting awareness and reconsideration of the important role that philosophy has played in public life and in our adapting to social changes.	Third Thursday in November
	Universal Children’s Day		20^th November 2008
	World Television Day		21^st November (every year)
	World Hello Day	Demonstrates the importance of personal communication to preserve peace.	21^st November (every year)
	International Day for the Elimination of Violence Towards Women		25^th November (every year)
December	World AIDS Day		1^st December (every year)
	International Day for the Abolition of Slavery		2^nd December (every year)
	International Day of Disabled Persons		3^rd December (every year)
	International Volunteer Day		5^th December (every year)
	Carers Right Day		5^th December 2008

Guidance

Calendar of Annual Events