UN Day of Vesak 2019 Celebration to start on May 12

According to the organisers, more than 1,600 international delegates of over 110 countries and territories have arrived to attend the event, including Government and State leaders, the UN Deputy Secretary-General, representatives of ministries, agencies and localities, and monks, nuns and Buddhist followers.

Themed “Buddhist approach to global leadership and shared responsibilities for sustainable cities,” the Vesak 2019 celebration will take place from May 12-14.

It will comprise of five workshops which will bring up issues like responsible leadership for sustainable peace, Buddhist approaches to family issues, healthcare, education, morality, responsible consumption and the Fourth Industrial Revolution and Buddhism.

Nearly 400 speeches in English by foreign scholars and 110 others in Vietnamese will be presented at forums in the framework of the Festival. Indian Vice President Venkaiah Naidu, who is also Chairman of the Rajya Sabha - the upper house of the Parliament of India, will be the main speaker of the celebration.

Along with workshops and forums, the festival will feature Buddhist rituals, a floral lantern release, and an exhibition, among others.

A social network for Buddhists at http://butta.vn and a postage stamp to celebrate the UN Day of Vesak 2019 were launched on May 11.

It will be the third time the UN’s commemoration of Vesak is held in Vietnam. Previously, it took place in Hanoi in 2008 and the northern province of Ninh Binh in 2014

"Vesak", the Day of the Full Moon in the month of May, is the year’s most sacred day to the millions of Buddhists around the world. It was on the Day of Vesak two and a half millennia ago that the Buddha was born. It was also on the Day of Vesak that the Buddha attained enlightenment, and it was on the Day of Vesak that the Buddha passed away.

The UN General Assembly internationally recognised the Day of Vesak in 1999 to acknowledge the contributions Buddhism, one of the oldest religions in the world, has made to humanity.

The UN Day of Vesak was first held in 2001.