All - Leep Calendar

National Epilepsy Month in Canada is a national awareness campaign. It aims to encourage people to acknowledge and understand the disorder and support the fight against the misconceptions, discrimination, and isolation facing those with epilepsy. Approximately 300,000 Canadians have epilepsy, and one to two percent of the population has or will experience an epileptic seizure in their life. That is twice as many as people with cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, multiple sclerosis, and cystic fibrosis combined.

Africa

Mar

Epilepsy, Purple Day: March 26

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Purple Day is an international grassroots effort dedicated to increasing awareness about epilepsy. On this day, people in countries around the world are invited to wear purple and host events in support of epilepsy awareness.

Africa

Mar

English Tourism Week (UK): March 13-22

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English Tourism Week has two target markets, overseas visitors to the United Kingdom and domestic tourism within the country. Each year various locations and destinations are highlighted throughout the nation, and Brits are encouraged to share what they love about their country.

Africa

Mar

Endometriosis Awareness Month, Intl.: March

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Endometriosis can have a devastating effect on the quality of life due to its excruciating symptoms; it is the most significant cause of infertility in women and carries a substantial personal and societal cost. Endometriosis Awareness Month takes place across the US and Canada to raise awareness of a disease affecting an estimated 176 million women worldwide. Endometriosis is a painful, chronic disease that affects at least 6.3 million women and girls in the US, one million in Canada, and millions more worldwide. It occurs when tissue like that which lines the uterus (tissue called the endometrium) is found outside the uterus -- usually in the abdomen on the ovaries, fallopian tubes, and ligaments that support the uterus; the area between the vagina and rectum; the outer surface of the uterus; and the lining of the pelvic cavity. Other sites for these endometrial growths may include the bladder, bowel, vagina, cervix, vulva, and abdominal surgical scars. Less commonly, they are found in the lung, arms, thighs, and other locations. This misplaced tissue develops into growths or lesions, which respond to the menstrual cycle in the same way that the tissue of the uterine lining does: each month, the tissue builds up, breaks down, and sheds. Menstrual blood flows from the uterus and out of the body through the vagina, but the blood and tissue shed from endometrial growths have no way of leaving the body. This results in internal bleeding, breakdown of the blood and tissue from the lesions, and inflammation—and can cause pain, infertility, scar tissue formation, adhesions, and bowel problems.

Africa

Mar

Engineering Day for Sustainable Development: March 4

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World Engineering Day for Sustainable Development creates greater global awareness and understanding of the role of engineering in modern life is essential to mitigate the impact of climate change and advance sustainable development. Africa and the small island developing states (SIDS) are particularly essential to economic advancement and the implementation of new technologies for basic needs of food, health, housing, roads and transport, water, energy, and management of the planet’s resources. UNESCO’s programs in engineering sciences continue coordinating advocacy activities with its Member States to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Contributions include interdisciplinary, and human sciences focused on society and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Africa

Mar

End Israeli Apartheid Weeks, Intl.: March

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Advocate to End Apartheid Created in 2004 as End Israeli Apartheid and Segregation Week, this awareness and advocacy campaign has become a worldwide phenomenon with events throughout the globe in most major cities. The event transitioned to Israeli Apartheid Week in 2017, with global events planned over two months. Each nation organizes according to its schedule. The goal is to end the practice of apartheid worldwide, with the state of Israel as its most notable and brutal practitioner. The ultimate goal of the event is to ensure people living within the State of Israel and its Occupied Territories, regardless of race, origin, or faith, have equal rights as human beings, opportunity, equal access to resources, and respect as agreed by representatives of the state of Israel in 1947 at the United Nations. The state agreed to these standards as a condition of its creation, though it has yet to fulfill them. It has also agreed to international law and treaties as a signatory, many of which it continues to violate. What is Apartheid? Apartheid uses politics, the military, and law to create a system where one group is preferred over another based on ethnicity, faith, politics, or some other arbitrary segregator. The preferred people are endowed with privilege, above-equal, and have preferential access to resources and services. They often have segregated housing, schools, roads, courts, and employment opportunities. Segregation is based solely upon the identifying segregator. Apartheid is enforced via the military, political office, industry, and a two-tiered legal system. In Israel, the government and military work together to normalize segregation. How Israel Practices Apartheid In Israel, the primary selector is faith, and the second is race, as experienced by the non-white Jewish communities within the state. Those identified as Jewish are preferred and live in a republic based upon democratic principles. Those identified as not Jewish (Christian, Muslim, Druze, Buddhist, etc.) live in a fascist state, with nominal or no rights depending upon where they live in the region (occupied or within the Green Line). Israel has over 70 laws guaranteeing this unequal treatment by faith, including the Nation-State Law of 2018. Though it claims democracy, Israel has no constitution. Jewish persons can argue their rights in civil courts. Non-Jewish persons are tried in military courts and can be held indefinitely without charges in indefinite detention, which is often renewed every six months. Israel's Jewish residents can only be held with charges and under the law. No Jewish person in Israel can be held without charges or indefinitely. Non-Jewish residents and those in lands controlled by the Israeli military can be arrested without charge and held indefinitely. This example is a textbook illustration of a two-tiered legal system, a key component of apartheid. Israel is a nuclear superpower with one of the ten most powerful militaries in the world. It uses this military power to enforce apartheid on those it occupies and disenfranchise those who are not Jewish. The people it oppresses have no army, navy, or air force. They can be attacked, and are attacked, with impunity by the military and by the settler movement, often killed or permanently maimed at any time. Rarely (less than 2% according to Israeli public records) are any members of the settler movement or military held accountable for murder, executions, maiming, kidnappings, torture, vandalism, and other crimes against non-Jewish persons. Israeli apartheid is more brutal than that experienced in South Africa. Using the military to bomb, raze homes, limit access to natural resources, conduct sieges, and blockades elevated Israeli apartheid to a new level far above apartheid-era South Africa. The construction of its wall, ten times the size of the Berlin Wall, Jewish-only roads, Jewish-only housing (enforced and protected by the military), hundreds of checkpoints, and the collective punishment of millions of people simply because they are not Jewish, further illustrates the aggressive nature of Israeli style apartheid. What you can do: There is so much you can do. Start by speaking to Palestinians. They're everywhere in the diaspora. Get to know the people in Jewish Voices for Peace, If Not Now, and other anti-apartheid Jewish groups. Then, question the narrative media feeds you. Get educated and extricate yourself from the echo chamber. Read publications including The Intercept, Mondoweiss, Ha'aretz, +972 Magazine, Palestine Monitor, The Electronic Intifada, and Foreign Policy Magazine. Watch independent news programs that don't go through Israeli censors, including Breaking Points, Judging Freedom, Democracy Now, and Al Jazeera. Follow excellent journalists and academics covering this, including Jonathan Cook, Jonathan M Katz, John Mearsheimer, and Caitlin Johnstone, to name a few. Then, take part in actions that focus on non-violence, like End Israeli Apartheid Week, which raises awareness and educates and advocates for the exposure of this practice. A nation-state cannot be democratic and practice apartheid, period. Like South Africa, Israel's apartheid policies will only end when the international community says 'enough!' Nobody is looking to erase the state of Israel, despite the propaganda. Like South Africa, Israel will continue to exist as a better version of itself, with apartheid finally relegated to the dustbin of history where it belongs. Check the Israeli Apartheid Week site for opportunities to help in your city and country or to register an event of your own.

Africa

Mar

Employee Spirit Month: March

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Once you got a great job and company, it used to be that you had a new home and loyalty. That changed in the 1980s when employees became disposable in an atmosphere of layoffs, mergers, and acquisitions. Laws were passed, and "at-will employment" allowed a company to let an employee go without reason. As middle management jobs began to disappear, changing companies was the only way to move up in a career. Company loyalty? No employee could afford this. However, managers and owners need to reduce churn for a company or department to run well. That means valuing employees, listening to them, helping them succeed, supporting them, and getting out of their way so they can do their jobs. Creating an environment that does this, that shows employees, from the janitor to the CEO, that they are valued, is what Employee Spirit Month is all about.

Africa

Mar

Employee Appreciation Day: March 6

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National Employee Appreciation Day honors and appreciates an organization's most important asset, its employees. Employers often use this day to show appreciation to their employees by sponsoring team events, hosting parties, or even organizing competitions for a better parking spot or more office space.

Africa

Mar

Eiffel Tower Day (FR)(1889): March 31

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Today is the anniversary of the opening of the Eiffel Tower on March 31, 1889, in Paris. The ceremony was presided over by tower architect Gustave Eiffel and attended by French Prime Minister Pierre Tirard, a handful of dignitaries, and 200 construction workers.

Africa

Mar

Emancipation Day (PR)(1873): March 22

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In 1873, Puerto Rico was still under the control of Spain. On March 22 of that year, the Spanish National Assembly officially abolished slavery, compensating slave owners for each slave and requiring the slaves to continue to work for another three years to ease the transition. Slavery formally ended on the island in 1876.

Africa

Mar

Eid al-Fitr (M): March 19/20

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Eid al-Fitr (the festival of breaking fast) is one of the most important holidays in Islam. This three-day event celebrates the end of the month of Ramadan. During Ramadan, Muslims fast from food, water, tobacco, sex, and other cultural activities from sunrise to sunset for 28 days. Observing the fast during Ramadan is one of the five pillars of Islam. Eid al Fitr marks the end of the fast and is a family celebration equivalent in festivities to Christmas in Christianity or Chinese New Year in China. Gifts are exchanged, and massive feasts are prepared that can last for up to three days. Fireworks grace the night sky. In the Islamic world, companies, schools, and governments close for up to a week. Governments and companies often grant bonuses of up to two months' pay to their Muslim employees. Vacations and family trips abroad are typical at this time.

Africa

Mar

Education and Sharing Day (1902): March 28

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National Education and Sharing Day began as a Presidential proclamation in 1978 to honor Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson. Schneerson tirelessly devoted his life to extending access to education to all people, regardless of gender or background. As the presidential proclamation says, “On this day, let us carry forward the Rabbi’s legacy by recognizing the limitless potential of each young person and empowering the next generation to lead our country, and our world, toward an ever brighter tomorrow.” This event falls on his birthday in the Hebrew calendar.

Africa

Mar

Editing, Proofreading Day, Ntl.: March 8

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Why do you only see mistakes AFTER they are published (or you hit send)? Tools like spell and grammar check help but often hinder as well. These tools generally don't catch differences like halo and hallow, emigrant or immigrant, and the terrible twos: two, to, and too. We're all horrible at proofreading our work. Our brains habitually place words that don't exist, and we repeatedly make the same mistakes. Enter the proofreader. A fresh set of eyes will help determine context, grammar, spelling, tone, and whether the document is appropriate for the given audience. Often a proofreader will catch the missing words, provide feedback that improves clarity and take a good piece of work and make it great. For all the proofreaders out there, whether professional or parents reading their child's essay, Happy Proofreaders Day.

Africa

Mar

Eat Something on a Stick Day: March 28

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How many foods can you name that come on a stick? Eat Something on Stick Day allows you to explore the options. Consider kebabs, skewers, popsicles, fudge bars, ice cream bars, fruit, or frozen food on a stick. Have fun and enjoy this day by trying something creative for your breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Chicken satay, anyone?

Africa

Mar

Easter Seals Month (CA): March

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Easter Seals Month in Canada seeks to enhance the quality of life, self-esteem, and self-determination of Canadians living with disabilities. This month is set aside each year for fundraising and drawing attention to the programs provided by Easter Seals that enable individuals to enjoy an active lifestyle, family and community support, and gain access to the tools and treatments necessary to make their lives better.

Africa