As the pandemic continues to restrict our plans, global days and celebrations offer positive, near future events to focus on. Below are the key global days this July, accompanied by selected educational resources. Click the title of each day for detailed explanations and further resources.

4th July – International Day of Cooperatives 
This year’s theme is ‘cooperatives for climate action’.

• Explore climate protection projects run by cooperatives around the world using this interactive map.
• Read these 12 examples of how cooperatives in different sectors, across the globe, can support SDG12 by boosting sustainable consumption and production.

5th July – Asalha Puja / Dharma Day
A Buddhist celebration where people show gratitude to Buddha and other enlightened teachers for sharing their understanding.

• Explore this illustrated overview of Buddhism and quiz from BBC Bitesize (for KS2).
• Watch this video on life as a Buddhist by BBC Bitesize (for year 10 and 11).

11th July – World population Day

• Use the ‘worldmapper’ website to illustrate global population differences to students in a clear, visual way. This tool shows a range of maps where countries sizes reflect specific population details, including coronavirus cases among other things.
• Explore the impacts of the rapidly increasing human population, combined with growing rates of consumption, on health, well-being, and the environment with these 3 lesson plans from the British Council in partnership with The Royal Society (for KS2 and 3).

18th July – Nelson Mandela Day
With the current wave of global anti-racism protests highlighting the vital need for solidarity and action to end poverty and injustice, this day is a particularly important event.

• Teach your class about the past racial discrimination through learning about Nelson Mandela, using these resources from BBC Bitesize (for KS1) or this short video and fact sheet from BBC Teach (for KS3).
• Explore the life of Nelson Mandela and the difference between fact, fiction, and opinion through these Oxfam resources linking to English, Literacy and Global Citizenship (for year 2-6).

30th July – World Day Against Trafficking in Persons 

• Learn about slavery, past and present, through these 7 excellent lesson plans on ‘Ending Slavery: An unfinished business’ from the Citizenship Foundation.
• Encourage empathy through these stories from children who have been victim to trafficking, provided by the UN.

Also on the 30th July – International Friendship Day 
This day aims to bridge the gaps between factors such as race, language and culture.

• Reflect on the importance of friendship during lockdown and explore these friendship day activities from twinkl.