Introduction
In December 2021, the United Nations General Assembly 76th Session declared that International Moon Day was to be observed annually every 20 July. Proposed by the Moon Village Association (MVA) as an annual educational, cultural and scientific event, International Moon Day (IMD) is designed to raise awareness among the public and generate support for sustainable lunar exploration and utilization. To achieve this, the IMD Group encourages and promotes events around the globe during the week surrounding 20 July. These include community panel discussions, lectures, webinars, concerts, exhibitions and screenings of educational videos.
International Moon Day was first celebrated in 2022. More than forty global events from 23 different countries, and one main event were successfully observed with a theme of Lunar Coordination, Exploration and Sustainability. To find out more about last year’s events, see the information kit provided below.
Now, we are again inviting government, industry, academia, and NGOs from around the world to organize new events and continue to raise awareness among the public and generate support for sustainable lunar exploration and utilization.
The theme of IMD 2023 is “Beginning the New Lunar Journey for Humanity”. This Theme has been chosen to highlight the steady increase of lunar missions and their relevance for humanity.
We call upon the international community of Governments, Space Agencies, Industry, Academia and NGO’s and the public to participate in this important celebration. This is an opportunity to form a growing community of stakeholders cooperating towards making a permanent return to the Moon peaceful, sustainable and impactful for improving life on Earth.
The IMD will consist of a series of global events situated around the world. These events, which you are invited to help organize, give participants the opportunity to create their own unique experiences for their local community or for their organizations. The proposed events will have to follow some guidelines for implementation, as indicated below, in order to be selected and included on the IMD website.
The presence of the events on the IMD website will offer global visibility to the organizer and the possibility of future cooperation with similar organizations. This is an immense opportunity for recognition, and to place your activity or organization into the lunar spotlight worldwide as MVA is the only global organization of its kind. MVA will present the report of all IMD 2023 activities to the United Nations Committee for the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (UN-COPUOS) in 2024.
Information Kit
The information kit, as well as the IMD and MVA webpages, hosts general information about the International Moon Day and also specific information related to last year’s events and material for organizing an IMD Global Event. This can be used to propose events for the IMD.
Organiser’s Kit
Upon selection, an organizer’s kit will be provided to all organizers. It will include MVA and IMD logos, posters and flyers to print, an IMD promo video, certificates to give to participants/competition winners and video recordings of greetings from the IMD Chair & MVA President. The IMD Group can also provide assistance in organizing virtual events and promoting the events on social media.
Guidelines
We envision a series of events around the world which will raise awareness on the progress, pitfalls, challenges and opportunities of lunar exploration. These events can either be scientific (i.e., robotics competitions, simulations, exhibitions, incubation hubs or scientific symposia) educational (i.e., research competitions, educational videos, paper presentations, info-sessions or expert interviews) or cultural (i.e., anthropological showcases, songs and cultural expression, media briefings or art, fashion and food exhibitions). Global events can be catalysts for sustainable local growth.
The guidelines for organizing IMD global events are the following:
- Avoid political implications
- Aligned with the 2023 theme
- Be as inclusive as possible to all participants
- Engage local stakeholders to the greatest extent feasible and practicable. Be mindful of all traditions and use polite and respectful language
- Raise awareness on lunar exploration
- Involve local sponsors, if financial means are needed to organize the event
- Organizing multi country events is encouraged and will receive special visibility on the IMD website
- The events should be organized during the week of 17-23 July 2023
Last and certainly not least, in the age of social media, we understand the connecting power of engaging with peers across the internet, and look forward to using it as a means of uniting even the most remote of participants across the globe. As we begin to work our way towards the official celebration on 20 July, feel free to use the hashtag #internationalmoonday and #IMD2023 in all your social media posts concerning the event so we can share your progress.
We sincerely look forward to celebrating this date with you, and we are keen to receive your feedback and registrations.
The deadline to submit your event proposal is 20 March 2023.
Selected proposals will be notified by 29 March 2023.
For any questions, please contact Glafki Antoniou (glafki.antoniou@moonvillageassociation.org)