In the International Nowruz Day ceremony, which was held at the UN on Tuesday, ambassadors from 12 countries commemorating Nowruz as well as United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, President of UN General Assembly Abdulla Shahid, and Head of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) Collen Vixen Kelapile participated in the Iranian initiative, which was held virtually due to coronavirus restrictions.
Prior to the virtual meeting, ambassadors of the 12 states came together and took pictures around a Haft Sin arranged by Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the United Nations Majid Takht Ravanchi.
International Nowruz Day was proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly, in its resolution A/RES/64/253 of 2010, at the initiative of several countries that share this holiday.
Under the agenda item of “culture of peace”, the member states of Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Albania, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Iran (Islamic Republic of), India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkey and Turkmenistan prepared and introduced a draft resolution (A/64/L.30) entitled “International Day of Nowruz” to the 64th session of the General Assembly of the United Nations for its consideration and adoption.
Inscribed in 2009 on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity as a cultural tradition observed by numerous peoples, Nowruz is an ancestral festivity marking the first day of spring and the renewal of nature.
It is worth mentioning that the inscription of Nowruz for the first time was proposed by Iran and supported by Azerbaijan Republic, Turkey, India, Pakistan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan.
Nowruz is celebrated as the beginning of the new year by more than 300 million people all around the world and has been celebrated for over 3,000 years in the Balkans, the Black Sea Basin, the Caucasus, Central Asia, the Middle East and other regions.