2009 Match Factory calendar
Lucy AitkenRead introduces key
Match Factory dates for 2009
At the beginning of 2008 we launched the Match Factory Social Action Calendar. The list of dates, which represent some of the world’s most pressing social justice issues, and the resources provided around each date, aim to inspire faith-based groups to action.
The calendar can fit into one of two images: on one end of the spectrum it might provide some content that we top-up our church/ personal/ youth group lives with. This image might resonate with those of you who want to engage with the issues but are perhaps just beginning on the journey. Hopefully the Match Factory can provide you with the perfect prayer for Human Rights Day or the perfect list of facts about World AIDS Day for the youth group newsletter.
At the other end of the spectrum the calendar of issues can provide the scaffold upon which we can hang our church/ youth group/ personal lives. In this case, you might have dived long ago in to the conversation around social justice and are wanting to theses issues to form the framework for a lot of what happens. You might find the Match Factory helpful in order to plan monthly debates, organise community rallies or coordinate film festivals.
I imagine some of you sit somewhere in the middle of these extremes but I hope that the Match Factory can make it easier for you, your church or your group to engage with social justice in 2009.
Earlier this year I articulated three reasons why I felt we should engage with some of these dates, they were:
- God cares about the issues. A quick scan of the list could trigger some well-known Bible verses - orphans, peace, hunger, freedom. They are subjects dealt with extensively throughout scripture, every time leaving us with the sense that God is deeply concerned with human suffering and relief.
- Awareness and engagement with significant global/domestic dates provides a grounding to our faith agenda. It is a shame that too often the concept of “set-apartness” manifests in a Church that is isolated and out-of-touch. The calendar dates could potentially tether our sometimes ethereal schedule to the realities of this tough world.
- The dates provide great “connection spaces” - a chance for everyone to celebrate, mourn, protest or party together. The issues offered for exploration in the calendar get people of all backgrounds, disciplines and persuasion ruminating, if not positively passionate. Why not harness this as an opportunity for all-out collaboration between organisations, individuals, community groups? Networks that spring from a one-off event, or issue, can last a lifetime.
Throughout the year these reasons have been reinforced in my mind. I have seen faith groups come together over International Children’s Day, organisations talking and devising around World Refugee Day and some beautiful random expressions of creativity come out of a response to International Woman’s Day.
So, when your crisp new 2009 diary arrives make sure you scribble in some of these dates and begin thinking about what capacity you can get involved. Scan the list of ideas provided and… get collaborating!
What’s theRubicon’s Match Factory all about?
History of the original Match Factory.
The 2008 Match Factory calendar.
The 2009 Match Factory calendar
January
20 | World Religion Day
27 | Holocaust Memorial Day
26 January - 2 February | Poverty and Homelessness Action Week (UK)
February
23 - 09 March | Fair Trade fortnight
March
1-30 | Veggie Month
8 | International Women’s Day
20 | Earth Day
21 | World Poetry Day
21 | International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
22 | World Water Day
April
2 | G20 Summit
4 | Refugee Rights Day (Canada)
7 | World Health Day
20-26 | Global Campaign for Education Week
20-26 | Turn off TV week
May
3 | World Press Freedom Day
10 | World Fair Trade Day
15 | International Day of Families
19-25 | National Vegetarian Week
21 | World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development
June
1 | International Children’s Day
4 | International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression
5 | World Environment Day
12 | World Day Against Child Labour
13-21 | National Bike Week
20 | World Refugee Day
26 | International Day in Support of Victims of Torture
July
7 | International Day of Co-operatives
8-10 | G8 Summit, Italy
11 | World Population Day
August
1-7 | World Breast Feeding Week
9 | International Day for the World’s Indigenous people
12 | International Youth Day
23 | International Day for the remembrance of the Slave trade and its abolition
September
12 | International Literacy Day
21 | International Day of Peace
22 | World Car Free Day
October
2 | International Day of Non Violence
5 | World Teachers’ Day
6 | World Habitat Day
8 | International Day for Disaster Reduction
9 | World Sight Day
16 | World Food Day
17 | International Day for the Eradication of Poverty
November
6 | International Day for Preventing the Exploitation of the Environment in War and Armed Conflict
19 | World Toilet Day
20 | Universal Children’s Day
22 | Buy Nothing Day
25 | International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women
December
1 | World AIDS Day
1- 6 | UN climate change conference, Copenhagen
2 | International Day for the Abolition of Slavery
5 | International Volunteer Day for Economic and Social Development
10 | Human Rights Day
18 | International Migrants Day
Writer: Lucy AitkenRead lives in London, England where she is studying and working on the activist team of a development agency. Lucy enjoys ranting and raving and marching about various global issues. Lucy monitors, expands and writes the regular Match Factory listing on theRubicon. Visit her blog which she updates periodically.
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Thanks for the 2009 Calendar. It helps for awareness, prayer and involvement.