Global Family Day 2023 celebrates on January 1st

Why In News

Global Family Day is celebrated on January 1, each year. The day creates a sense of unity, community and brotherhood across nations and cultures through the idea of families.

Key Points

Global Family Day is celebrated on January 1, each year. The day creates a sense of unity, community and brotherhood across nations and cultures through the idea of families. This day is celebrated to discourage unwarranted negative attitudes towards other cultures, nations, which may breed hatred, encourage social aloofness and lead to violence. The day highlights the need for all nations to exist in harmony, regardless of cultural or religious differences. The day highlights the importance of family and urges the extension of the idea to a universal scale.

History

Global Family Day had its origins in two books. The first was a 1996 children’s book named ‘One Day in Peace, January 1, 2000,’ by American authors Steve Diamond and Robert Alan Silverstein. The story imagines an ideal scenario where the entire world decides to work together to create a peaceful and prosperous planet Earth.

The other book was American peace activist and author Linda Grover’s 1998 utopian novel ‘Tree Island: A Novel for the New Millennium.’ Grover, in particular, spent over a decade to establish January 1 as a global day of peace. She passed away on February 10, 2010.

January 1 was chosen by Linda Grover as it was the date mentioned in Diamond and Silverstein’s ‘One day in peace’ book, as the day on which the entire world joins hands together to co-exist in harmony.

It was 1999 when members of the United Nations were invited to organise a celebration of Global Family Day on January 1, as mentioned in the book ‘One Day in Peace.’ While the annual celebrations of Global Family Day did not begin on January 1, 2000, as mentioned in Silverstein’s novel, it began a year later and has continued ever since.

Global Family Day also coincides with the World Day of Peace. The latter was established in 1967 and is celebrated annually by the Catholic Church.

Croatia Adopts Euro and Entered Europe’s Borderless Zone

Why In News

Croatia has switched to the euro and entered Europe’s passport-free zone – two important milestones for the country after joining the European Union (EU) nearly a decade ago.

Key Points

Croatia has switched to the euro and entered Europe’s passport-free zone – two important milestones for the country after joining the European Union (EU) nearly a decade ago. At midnight, the Balkan nation bid farewell to its kuna currency and became the 20th member of the eurozone. It is now the 27th nation in the Schengen zone, the world’s largest passport-free travel area, which enables more than 400 million people to move freely around its members.

Croatia, a former Yugoslav republic of 3.9 million people that fought a war of independence in the 1990s, joined the EU in 2013.

Experts say the adoption of the euro will help shield Croatia’s economy at a time when inflation is soaring worldwide after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine sent food and fuel prices through the roof. But feelings among Croatians are mixed. While they welcome the end of border controls, some fear the euro switch will lead to an increase in the cost of living as businesses round up prices when they convert them.

Experts say the adoption of the euro will lower borrowing conditions amid economic hardship. Croatia’s inflation rate reached 13.5 percent in November compared with 10 percent in the eurozone.

Croatia’s entry into the Schengen borderless area is expected to provide a boost to the Adriatic nation’s key tourism industry, which accounts for 20 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP).

Schengen Area:

The Schengen Area is an area that comprises 27 European countries that have abolished all passports and border control at their respective mutual borders.

The name of this area comes from the 1985 Schengen Agreement that was signed in Schengen, Luxembourg.

This region serves as a single jurisdiction for international travel, with a unified visa policy.

Of the European Union’s 27-member states, 23 take part in the Schengen Area.

Eurozone:

The Eurozone officially called the euro area is a monetary union of 20 of the 27 European Union (EU) member states which have adopted the euro as their common currency and sole legal tender.

The monetary authority of the Eurozone is the Eurosystem.

It consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Croatia, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Spain.