SustainableOmanSustainableOmanWhat is Al-Monasabat Al-Alamiya?
International days, or Al-Monasabat Al Alamiya in Arabic, are occasions to educate the public on issues of concern, to mobilise personal will and resources to address global problems, and to celebrate and reinforce achievements of humanity.
The United Nations designated the first Monday of October of every year as World Habitat Day to reflect on the state of our towns and cities, and on the basic right of all to adequate shelter. The Day is also intended to remind the world that we all have the power and the responsibility to shape the future of our cities and towns.
Building on last year’s theme “Municipal Solid Waste Management” which focused mainly on managing garbage, the focus of this year’s World Habitat Day is promoting the contribution of innovative frontier technologies to sustainable waste management to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 11: inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable cities. Going beyond solid waste this includes all waste produced by human activity (solid, liquid, domestic, industrial and commercial), which continues to have a devastating impact on climate change, public health and the environment.
Technology has great potential to improve how people work and live, to significantly accelerate efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and address climate change. Frontier technologies, such as automation, robotics, electric vehicles, renewable energy technologies, biotechnologies, and artificial intelligence can transform the social, economic and environmental spheres. They can offer better, cheaper, faster, scalable and easy to use solutions for every-day problems, including waste management.
The task ahead is to harness frontier technologies to achieve sustainable waste management while mitigating their possible adverse economic, social and political consequences.
This year’s Global Observance of World Habitat Day will be held in Mexico City on Monday, 7 October. Celebrations will also be held across the world, including in the capital of Cameroon – Yaounde, Nakuru in Kenya, and Vancouver in Canada.
Why Do We Mark International Days?
SustainableOman, as a supporter of the SDGs and Oman Vision 2040, has embraced them as a powerful advocacy tool. Each international day offers many actors the opportunity to organise activities related to the theme of the day.
SustainableOman makes an international day, in addition to the Sultanate’s special days, a part of our awareness building campaign.
