23 June: what is celebrated today

International Women in Engineering Day

This day puts the spotlight on a change that still needs to accelerate: women’s presence and leadership in engineering. The commemoration began in the United Kingdom in connection with the Women’s Engineering Society and, over time, gained international reach with UNESCO sponsorship. The underlying idea is simple and powerful: engineering is not only a profession, it is a way of building the world, and that world must be designed with diverse talent.

Celebrating it means recognising those who open doors in sectors where doors were closed to them for decades, and also looking ahead: girls and young women who today choose STEM careers need relatable role models, support networks and environments that do not penalise ambition. Every bridge, every algorithm, every energy or transport system that improves everyday life can bear the imprint of a woman engineer: what matters is that this imprint ceases to be the exception and becomes the norm.

International Widows’ Day

23 June is also an official UN date dedicated to making visible a reality that is often hidden by silence: in many contexts, widowhood can mean loss of rights, social exclusion, violence and impoverishment. The commemoration is not only about private grief, but about what happens when loss is compounded by discrimination: denial of inheritance, eviction, cultural stigma, absence of social protection and, in the most extreme cases, unpunished abuse.

Remembering this day is to insist on something fundamental: no woman should lose her dignity, safety or future because of the death of her partner. It is also a reminder that public policy matters: access to justice, pensions, property, education and employment can make the difference between exclusion and autonomy.

United Nations Public Service Day

The UN dedicates 23 June to recognising the value of public service: people and institutions that, often without recognition, sustain everyday life. Public administration is the invisible infrastructure of social life: from health and education to formalities, urban management, social protection and crisis response. When it works well, it is barely noticed; when it fails, everything suffers.

This date also points to a clear goal: modernising and strengthening institutions so that they are more effective, transparent and inclusive, aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals. Celebrating it does not mean idealising everything, but underlining that good public service can translate into real opportunities, guaranteed rights and social trust.

International Dravet Syndrome Day

23 June is also set aside to give visibility to Dravet Syndrome, a severe genetic epileptic encephalopathy that usually manifests in early childhood and requires specialised care. Awareness is essential: early diagnosis and appropriate support can change a family’s path, because behind the word “rare” are very concrete lives marked by seizures, uncertainty and constant care.

This day seeks more than medical information: it seeks social understanding. Talking about Dravet means talking about research, healthcare resources, school support, community networks and respite for carers. It is also a way of naming what many families experience in solitude, and of remembering that science advances faster when society chooses to look.

St John’s Eve

And lastly, 23 June arrives with a celebration that needs no explanation to be felt: St John’s Eve. It is the eve of the birth of Saint John the Baptist, but its popular pulse engages with ancient solstice rites and a symbolism that spans centuries: fire as a boundary, as cleansing, as a beginning. Bonfires, the beach, night bathing, written wishes, old objects left behind: the tradition changes from country to country, but the emotional message remains.

This night is often lived as a threshold: summer opens and people seek a gesture to inaugurate it. For some people it is pure celebration; for others, a small private ritual. In both cases, there is something shared: the feeling that, when looking at the flames, one also looks inward and decides what deserves to remain and what is best let go.