In addition to numerous international days, days that we frequently analyse in this blog, the UN also has periods that go beyond just 24 hours to highlight a specific situation or draw attention to a particular problem.
Apart from the aforementioned international days or weeks, there are also International Years. And even specific decades which, like the aforementioned days, mark particular events or issues that promote or raise awareness of the organisation’s objectives.
These celebrations were proposed by one or more of the current 193 member states of the UN and were subsequently established by a resolution of the General Assembly, one of the main bodies of the United Nations.
International Years of the United Nations
Since 1958, when the UN declared – in resolution A/RES/1285 (XIII) – 1959 as the World Year of Refugees, dozens of issues have been designated as international years.
Let us look at some of the most relevant ones, many of which also coincide with themes that have a specific international day to increase visibility:
- 1961, International Year of Health and Medical Research. An issue that, decades later, is still very relevant today, as demonstrated by the case of Eric Tello, a teenager who is one of four people in Spain to suffer from an ultra-rare disease called progressive bone heteroplasia.
- 1967, International Year of Tourism. Just over a decade later, in 1980, International Tourism Day was established.
- 1968, International Year of Human Rights. In this case, the proclamation of the year came two decades after Human Rights Day was made official.
- 1970, International Year of Education, whose specific day would take several decades to arrive. Specifically, the first Education Day was celebrated in 2019.
- 1975, International Women’s Year, the same time that 8 March was declared International Women’s Day, although the origin of the day in this case dates back to the beginning of the 20th century.
- 1981, International Year of Disabled Persons. A little more than a decade later, in 1992 to be exact, 3 December was designated as International Day of Disabled Persons.
- 1985, Year of the United Nations. A celebration that came exactly four decades after the designation of 24 October as United Nations Day, commemorating the day on which this supranational body was founded.
- 1992, International Space Year, celebrated after the end of the Cold War, in the context of which the major milestones of the space race took place.
- 1999, International Year of Older Persons. In this case, the corresponding older people’s day dates back to 1990 and is celebrated on 1 October.
- 2001, International Year of Volunteers, celebrated a decade and a half after the first International Volunteer Day, in 1986.
International Year of Quantum Science and Technology: 2025
This 2025 is not exclusively the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology.
It also shares the limelight with the International Year of Peace and Trust, the International Year of Glacier Conservation and the International Year of Cooperatives.
But to return to the subject at hand, quantum science and technology, the United Nations proclaimed – in resolution A/RES/78/287 of 7 June 2024 – the year 2025 as the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology.
Reasons for this designation
The above-mentioned resolution sets out the various reasons for this designation.
Among other issues, it highlights that increasing global ‘cooperation, awareness and education on quantum science and technology could help address the challenges of achieving sustainable development and the SDGs and improve the quality of life’ in countries in different parts of the world.
It also highlights the relevance of both technology and quantum science for economic progress and potential spin-off applications that ‘could meet basic needs such as food, health care (…) clean water and energy and support climate action’.
The resolution also echoes that 2025 coincides with the centenary ‘of the development of the quantum mechanical methods that have given the discipline a prominent place’ in technology and science.
For these and other reasons, the UN recommends that this year ‘be marked by activities at all levels aimed at raising public awareness of the importance of quantum science and applications’, as well as enhancing scientific cooperation or ensuring the application of quantum science and technology for sustainable development.
