Wednesday, May 21, 2008

United Nations Day of Vesak


The United Nations started to observed the Day of Vesak at UN Headquarters and other UN offices since 2000. The resolution on international recognition of the Day of Vesak was adopted by the UN General Assembly at its 79th plenary meeting on 15 December 1999.

In 2004, Thailand was appointed to coordinate with other Buddhist countries to celebrate the Day of Vesak both at the United Nations in New York and its regional office. Since then an International Buddhist Conference on the United Nations Day of Vesak (UNDV) has been held every year in Bangkok, Thailand.

The most recent UNDV conference was held from 13-17 May 2008 at the National Convention Center, Hanoi, Vietnam. About 4,000 participants including 700 foreign participants from 74 countries attended this year's conference with the theme "Buddhist Contribution to Building a Just, Democratic and Civilized Society".