Holidays on 24th October

International Day of Climate Action

This was first celebrated in 2009, organised by 350.org to influence the delegates going to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change meeting in December of that year. They organised walks, arches, rallies, teach-ins, bike rides and many other activities. They reported 5,200 synchronised demonstrations in 181 countries.

International Freshwater Dolphin Day

This day was declared at the “Workshop on Establishing Protected Area for Freshwater Cetaceans” in Indonesia in October 2009, and celebrated every year since. There are many activities organised in Asia for this day.

International Gibbon Day

This day was created in 2015 which was declared the Year of the Gibbon. A number of special events were held on this day in that year to educate the public about gibbons and their unique place among the primates, and has continued ever since.

Zambia Independence Day

This day marks its independence from the United Kingdom in 1964. The country wasn’t visited by European settlers until the end of the 19th century. It was merged into Northern Rhodesia, which was a British protectorate. In 1953, several countries under British control in the region were put into the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland. This creation was particularly resented in Northern Rhodesia leading to the rise of two nationalist parties. Following elections in 1962, the two parties joined forces to pass resolutions calling for Northern Rhodesia’s secession from the federation and demanding full internal self-government. The federation was dissolved on 31st December 1963, and in January 1964, Kaunda won the only election for Prime Minister of Northern Rhodesia. On this day in 1964, the British colony of Northern Rhodesia became the independent Republic of Zambia with Kaunda becoming the inaugural president until 1991.