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25 January: what is celebrated today
25 January arrives with a range of different voices: diplomacy and international cooperation, culinary traditions, public health, and shared spirituality. It is a day that reminds us of the breadth of the world and the variety of its gestures: from a steaming cup that crossed continents to the halls where the global future is negotiated. It is also a day to talk about prevention, mutual care, and the search for unity in fragmented times.
International Day of Women in Multilateralism
UNESCO established this date in 2022 to recognise the —historical and contemporary— role of women in spaces where decisions affecting the whole planet are made. Multilateralism, that complex web of agreements, dialogues and commitments between countries, needs diverse voices to face challenges that no State can solve alone: the climate crisis, armed conflicts, inequality or global risks.
Women still represent a minority in peace missions, diplomatic negotiations and international bodies. However, their participation has been decisive since the very origins of the UN: Eleanor Roosevelt and other delegates set the course of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
This day asserts not only women’s presence, but female leadership in global diplomacy. A leadership that brings different perspectives, promotes equality and strengthens the idea that cooperation is not weakness, but the only sensible way forward.
Irish Coffee Day
This celebration has an almost novelistic origin. On a cold day at Shannon Airport, a group of exhausted travellers were offered an unexpected mixture: hot coffee, sugar, Irish whiskey and a layer of cream floating on the surface. The drink made such an impression that one of the passengers, journalist Stanton Delaplane, took the recipe to San Francisco, where it became popular at Buena Vista Café in the 1950s.
Since then, Irish coffee has become a symbol of hospitality and comfort. A simple ritual to take the edge off the cold: a sip combining energy, sweetness and a hint of alcoholic warmth.
Celebrating this day means pausing for a moment, letting steam rise from the cup and remembering that some of the pleasures accompanying our lives were born almost by chance.
European Week for the Prevention of Cervical Cancer
Throughout the third week of January, Europe turns its attention to a reality that requires information, prevention and access to healthcare. Cervical cancer is, to a large extent, preventable thanks to HPV vaccination and regular gynaecological check-ups. However, thousands of women continue to receive late diagnoses.
The campaigns, talks and information materials rolled out these days seek not only to warn of risks, but also to break down silence and taboos. Speaking about reproductive health is speaking about rights, education and equity.
This week invites us to remember that prevention is a form of collective care, and that accessible information can save lives.
Week of Prayer for Christian Unity
From 18 to 25 January, churches and Christian communities around the world share a gesture of spiritual seeking. The Week of Prayer for Unity is an invitation to reflection, dialogue and reconciliation in times of visible tensions.
Each year it proposes meditations and biblical quotations revolving around justice, mercy and hope. From local parishes to great basilicas, the celebrations recall that faith too is a bridge, a meeting point that transcends doctrinal differences.
In a world marked by divisions, this week offers a symbolic space of calm: a reminder that unity, although difficult, is a necessary aspiration.