Today is interesting in that the world observes three International Days at once!  Today is World Poetry Day, which is a UNESCO day; International Day of Nowruz; and World Down Syndrome Day.

Down Syndrome affects about 1 in every 800 babies born in the United States and is a condition that affects the way a child develops, both mentally and physically.  You can learn a lot more about Down Syndrome here: http://kidshealth.org/parent/medical/genetic/down_syndrome.html.  Please consider helping out with research to cure Down Syndrome.  https://www.dsrf.org/support_us/donations

The 2012 observance of the International Day of Commemoration in memory of the victims of the Holocaust will focus on the theme “Children and the Holocaust”. The United Nations will remember the one-and-a-half million Jewish children who perished in the Holocaust, together with the thousands of Roma and Sinti children, the disabled and others, who suffered and died at the hands of the Nazis and their collaborators. Some children managed to survive in hiding, others fled to safe havens before it was too late, while many others suffered medical experiments or were sent to the gas chambers immediately upon arriving at the death camps. Highlighting the impact of mass violence on children, this theme has important implications for the 21st century. (United Nations Official Site)

Visit “The Holocaust and the United Nations Outreach Programme” here: http://www.un.org/en/holocaustremembrance/2012/calendar2012.html.  While January 27, 2012 is “International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust”, there are events running starting today.