Men's World Day
Encyclopedia
Men's World Day was observed in Austria in the first week of November annually in the years 2000–2004. It was conceived by author George Kindel and inaugurated in November 2000. A central motivation for Kindel was his understanding that "the testosterone influenced brain of men" is the main reason for men's violent nature, and why he also believed that women would never be capable of violence and brutality. Due to the male propensity for violence Kindel proposed that Men's World Day not be conceived as a day to celebrate men but rather a day of introspection
and self-criticism
. He also wanted to show that there are some males who have had a positive, nonviolent influence on our world and to award them as role models.
Mikhail Gorbachev
offered to act as co-founder and president of the event after an invitation by Kindel who had described it to him as a 'men's health' initiative. Men's World Day consisted primarily of a world awards event to recognise and honour men who exemplify the best attributes of mankind. Men recognized and awarded at this event include Michael Douglas
, Morgan Freeman
, Plácido Domingo
, Christopher Reeve
, the Bee Gees
, Yusuf Islam aka Cat Stevens
, Sir Paul McCartney
, Sir Richard Branson
, Steven Spielberg
, Luciano Pavarotti
, Christian Barnard and Ted Turner
.
Men's World Day has been promoted as a world event but has not been officially celebrated by any other countries except Austria, and Germany in 2003 It was recognized by the United Nations
in Vienna and by the Gorbachev Foundation
who jointly organized the annual event for four years before it was terminated and replaced with a new gender neutral celebration.
Due to the perceived inequity
of having a day devoted to honouring males alone, the 'Men's World Day' event was terminated and replaced with a new gender neutral event named 'The World Awards' which now permanently includes the honouring and awarding of women. The World Award
s continues to be held in Austria and consists of two awards events; the primary event is now the Women's World Award
s, which honours women exclusively and has become the world's most important honors for women, annually reaching more than 500 million people around the globe via television, print media, radio and the Internet. The 2009 Women's World Awards television special was broadcast in 51 countries of the world, more than 400 journalists, photographers and 31 TV teams from around the globe. The second event is the Save The World Awards which recognizes and awards equal numbers of women and men who have contributed to a sustainable, green and livable future for our planet and its people. Women who have received awards at the Women's World Awards include Monica Bellucci
for acting, Anastacia
for singing, Bar Refaeli
for style, Angela Missoni for fashion, Kelly Clarkson
for entertainment, Esther Mujawayo-Keiner for social activities, Elle Macpherson
for her modelling career, and Oprah Winfrey
. The World Awards emphasises that the 20th Century was marked by many outstanding women who also strived for equality
, freedom and who all stood for peace and tolerance
as well as civil rights
. Due to their contributions the general situation for women and society at large has continually improved. Yet, there is still a long way to go because discrimination
and violence
, say organizers, regrettably remain part of the day-to-day reality of women – at the workplace, in every day life, and that many are still considered "second class citizens" with no rights at all, a reality that provides the backdrop for the need to highlight women's achievements.
Introspection
Introspection is the self-observation and reporting of conscious inner thoughts, desires and sensations. It is a conscious and purposive process relying on thinking, reasoning, and examining one's own thoughts, feelings, and, in more spiritual cases, one's soul...
and self-criticism
Self-criticism
Self-criticism refers to the pointing out of things critical/important to one's own beliefs, thoughts, actions, behaviour or results; it can form part of private, personal reflection or a group discussion.-Philosophy:...
. He also wanted to show that there are some males who have had a positive, nonviolent influence on our world and to award them as role models.
Mikhail Gorbachev
Mikhail Gorbachev
Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev is a former Soviet statesman, having served as General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1985 until 1991, and as the last head of state of the USSR, having served from 1988 until its dissolution in 1991...
offered to act as co-founder and president of the event after an invitation by Kindel who had described it to him as a 'men's health' initiative. Men's World Day consisted primarily of a world awards event to recognise and honour men who exemplify the best attributes of mankind. Men recognized and awarded at this event include Michael Douglas
Michael Douglas
Michael Kirk Douglas is an American actor and producer, primarily in movies and television. He has won three Golden Globes and two Academy Awards; first as producer of 1975's Best Picture, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, and as Best Actor in 1987 for his role in Wall Street. Douglas received the...
, Morgan Freeman
Morgan Freeman
Morgan Freeman is an American actor, film director, aviator and narrator. He is noted for his reserved demeanor and authoritative speaking voice. Freeman has received Academy Award nominations for his performances in Street Smart, Driving Miss Daisy, The Shawshank Redemption and Invictus and won...
, Plácido Domingo
Plácido Domingo
Plácido Domingo KBE , born José Plácido Domingo Embil, is a Spanish tenor and conductor known for his versatile and strong voice, possessing a ringing and dramatic tone throughout its range...
, Christopher Reeve
Christopher Reeve
Christopher D'Olier Reeve was an American actor, film director, producer, screenwriter, author and activist...
, the Bee Gees
Bee Gees
The Bee Gees are a musical group that originally comprised three brothers: Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb. The trio was successful for most of their 40-plus years of recording music, but they had two distinct periods of exceptional success: as a pop act in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and as a...
, Yusuf Islam aka Cat Stevens
Cat Stevens
Yusuf Islam , commonly known by his former stage name Cat Stevens, is an English singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, educator, philanthropist, and prominent convert to Islam....
, Sir Paul McCartney
Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...
, Sir Richard Branson
Richard Branson
Sir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson is an English business magnate, best known for his Virgin Group of more than 400 companies....
, Steven Spielberg
Steven Spielberg
Steven Allan Spielberg KBE is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, video game designer, and studio entrepreneur. In a career of more than four decades, Spielberg's films have covered many themes and genres. Spielberg's early science-fiction and adventure films were seen as an...
, Luciano Pavarotti
Luciano Pavarotti
right|thumb|Luciano Pavarotti performing at the opening of the Constantine Palace in [[Strelna]], 31 May 2003. The concert was part of the celebrations for the 300th anniversary of [[St...
, Christian Barnard and Ted Turner
Ted Turner
Robert Edward "Ted" Turner III is an American media mogul and philanthropist. As a businessman, he is known as founder of the cable news network CNN, the first dedicated 24-hour cable news channel. In addition, he founded WTBS, which pioneered the superstation concept in cable television...
.
Men's World Day has been promoted as a world event but has not been officially celebrated by any other countries except Austria, and Germany in 2003 It was recognized by the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
in Vienna and by the Gorbachev Foundation
Gorbachev Foundation
The Gorbachev Foundation is a non-profit organization headquartered in San Francisco, California, founded by the former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev in December 1991 and began its work since January 1992. The foundation is active in researching the Perestroika era, current issues of Russian...
who jointly organized the annual event for four years before it was terminated and replaced with a new gender neutral celebration.
Due to the perceived inequity
Gender equality
Gender equality is the goal of the equality of the genders, stemming from a belief in the injustice of myriad forms of gender inequality.- Concept :...
of having a day devoted to honouring males alone, the 'Men's World Day' event was terminated and replaced with a new gender neutral event named 'The World Awards' which now permanently includes the honouring and awarding of women. The World Award
World Award
The World Awards were founded by writer Georg Kindel; Mikhail Gorbachev is their president. An international jury selects extraordinary individuals for their achievements in a variety of areas such as acting, arts, business, media, health and others....
s continues to be held in Austria and consists of two awards events; the primary event is now the Women's World Award
Women's World Award
Winners of the Women's World Award, sponsored by the World Awards organization headed by former USSR President Mikhail Gorbachev, intended for women who have influenced the world by their work in areas such as society or politics. The award has been given since 2004. No monetary prize is attached;...
s, which honours women exclusively and has become the world's most important honors for women, annually reaching more than 500 million people around the globe via television, print media, radio and the Internet. The 2009 Women's World Awards television special was broadcast in 51 countries of the world, more than 400 journalists, photographers and 31 TV teams from around the globe. The second event is the Save The World Awards which recognizes and awards equal numbers of women and men who have contributed to a sustainable, green and livable future for our planet and its people. Women who have received awards at the Women's World Awards include Monica Bellucci
Monica Bellucci
Monica Anna Maria Bellucci is an Italian actress and fashion model.-Early life:Bellucci was born in Città di Castello, Umbria, Italy as the only child of Luigi Bellucci, who was born in the British protectorate of Zanzibar, East Pakistan...
for acting, Anastacia
Anastacia
Anastacia is an American singer-songwriter. Anastacia has been highly successful in Europe, Asia, South Africa and South America, but has had only minor success in her native United States...
for singing, Bar Refaeli
Bar Refaeli
Bar Refaeli is an Israeli model and occasional actress, most known for her modeling work and for her relationship with American actor Leonardo DiCaprio. She was the cover model of the 2009 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue.-Early life:...
for style, Angela Missoni for fashion, Kelly Clarkson
Kelly Clarkson
Kelly Brianne Clarkson is an American pop rock singer-songwriter and actress. Clarkson came into prominence after becoming the winner of the inaugural season of the television series American Idol in 2002 and would later become the runner-up in the television special World Idol in 2003.In 2003,...
for entertainment, Esther Mujawayo-Keiner for social activities, Elle Macpherson
Elle Macpherson
Elle Macpherson is an Australian model, actress, and businesswoman nicknamed "The Body". She is perhaps best known for her record five cover appearances for the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue beginning in the 1980s...
for her modelling career, and Oprah Winfrey
Oprah Winfrey
Oprah Winfrey is an American media proprietor, talk show host, actress, producer and philanthropist. Winfrey is best known for her self-titled, multi-award-winning talk show, which has become the highest-rated program of its kind in history and was nationally syndicated from 1986 to 2011...
. The World Awards emphasises that the 20th Century was marked by many outstanding women who also strived for equality
Equality
Equality may refer to:Social concepts* Egalitarianism, the belief that all/some people ought to be treated equally* Equality before the law* Equal opportunity* Equality of outcome or equality of condition* Gender equality* Racial equality...
, freedom and who all stood for peace and tolerance
Toleration
Toleration is "the practice of deliberately allowing or permitting a thing of which one disapproves. One can meaningfully speak of tolerating, ie of allowing or permitting, only if one is in a position to disallow”. It has also been defined as "to bear or endure" or "to nourish, sustain or preserve"...
as well as civil rights
Civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from unwarranted infringement by governments and private organizations, and ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the state without discrimination or repression.Civil rights include...
. Due to their contributions the general situation for women and society at large has continually improved. Yet, there is still a long way to go because discrimination
Discrimination
Discrimination is the prejudicial treatment of an individual based on their membership in a certain group or category. It involves the actual behaviors towards groups such as excluding or restricting members of one group from opportunities that are available to another group. The term began to be...
and violence
Violence
Violence is the use of physical force to apply a state to others contrary to their wishes. violence, while often a stand-alone issue, is often the culmination of other kinds of conflict, e.g...
, say organizers, regrettably remain part of the day-to-day reality of women – at the workplace, in every day life, and that many are still considered "second class citizens" with no rights at all, a reality that provides the backdrop for the need to highlight women's achievements.