Sparks Light Up August for Youth, Humanitarians & More

Sparks light up August for youth, immunizations, humanitarians and back to school initiatives. The dog days of summer send in the clowns for International Clown Week and celebrate young people and their contributions to the world on International Youth Day. Here’s what you need to know for August.

NATIONAL IMMUNIZATION MONTH – Every August, the National Public Health Information Coalition sponsors National Immunization Awareness Month (NIAM) to celebrate the benefits of vaccines and to highlight the importance of routine vaccinations for people of all ages. The designated month provides a reminder to all to make sure vaccinations are up to date. Vaccine boosters to the continuing re-emergence of covid-19 and its variants is now a must to the immunization list. Immunizations are not just for kids. It is important that babies and young children, pre-teens/teens, pregnant women and adults ensure they are protected from serious diseases throughout their lives.

INTERNATIONAL CLOWN WEEK – The first week of August each year celebrates clowns and their contributions to making us laugh and smile, even in the darkest of times. The week was created in 1971 to give recognition to those funny clowns that make us laugh and smile. There are well over 20,000 clowns around the world that share one common goal — to make us happy. In a pre-pandemic year, August 1st through August 8th an array of clowns could be seen roaming around.

INTERNATIONAL YOUTH DAY  – August 12th is deemed International Youth Day. We celebrate young people’s contributions to conflict prevention and transformation as well as inclusion, social justice, and sustainable peace each year. The theme is “Green Skills for Youth: Towards a Sustainable World.” The objective is to amplify the message that action is needed across all generations to achieve the SDGs and leave no one behind. The 2023 International Youth Day will also raise awareness that young people need to be well-equipped with green skills to navigate this changing environment, notably the global climate crisis.

A successful transition towards a greener world will depend on the development of green skills in the population. Green skills are “knowledge, abilities, values and attitudes needed to live in, develop and support a sustainable and resource-efficient society”. These include technical skills that enable the effective use of green technologies and processes and more. While green skills are relevant for people of all ages, they have heightened importance for younger people, who can contribute to the green transition for a longer period of time.

WORLD HUMANITARIAN DAY (WHD) –  is held every year on August 19th to pay tribute to aid workers who risk their lives in humanitarian service, and to rally support for people affected by crises around the world. Humanitarian workers who deliver necessary aid, and medical workers who treat the wounded and sick are oftentimes directly targeted, treated as threats, and prevented from bringing relief and care to those in desperate need. The global community will raise their voices on August 19^th to advocate for those most vulnerable in war zones, and demand that world leaders do everything in their power to protect civilians in conflict.

BACK TO SCHOOL MONTH – August triggers sparks for the home stretch for summer with thoughts of readying for the start of the school year. Regardless of whether the return to school is online-only or in-classroom, retail promotions kick into full gear for shoppers seeking school supplies and clothing.

We will be participating in August initiatives and celebratory weeks LIVE again as we continue to learn how to live with global health crises, new vaccines and boosters, optional mask wearing, COVID-19 resurgence and threats of new variants. This month’s campaigns and their messages are extremely important. Hope is on the horizon. There is a great deal of offerings in August guaranteed to keep you Socially Sparked®! — #sociallysparked Tweet us @sosparkednews & @asparks01