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3 March: what is celebrated today
3 March brings together celebrations that, at first glance, may seem unrelated, but share a common thread: the idea of care. Caring for the planet and its creatures, caring for the senses that connect us to the world, caring for life from its very first breath, and protecting words as a space for freedom. It's a day to reflect on the invisible bonds that hold together who we are.
World Wildlife Day
Every 3 March, World Wildlife Day is celebrated, proclaimed by the United Nations in 2013. The date recalls the signing in 1973 of the CITES Convention, a key agreement regulating international trade in threatened species. It is not an ornamental anniversary: it is a direct call to recognise that biodiversity is not scenery, but the very basis of life on Earth.
Human pressure — deforestation, illegal wildlife trafficking, climate change — has led many scientists to speak of a sixth mass extinction. Faced with this situation, the day proposes more than alarm: it invites us to rethink the relationship between development, the economy and nature, and to understand that protecting wildlife also protects our own conditions of existence.
World Hearing Day
Since 2007, the World Health Organization has promoted World Hearing Day, dedicated to prevention, early detection and treatment of hearing problems. Hearing is not only a biological function: it is a way of being in the world, of communicating, of not becoming isolated.
Untreated hearing loss affects millions of people and has profound social, emotional and economic consequences. This day reminds us that many cases can be prevented through simple habits and access to reliable information, and that changing how we view hearing health is a necessary step towards breaking down deeply rooted stigmas.
World Birth Defects Day
World Birth Defects Day, also commemorated on 3 March, focuses on conditions that develop during pregnancy and affect life from its beginning. Promoted by international health bodies, the day gained momentum after the global alert caused by the Zika virus and its consequences for newborns.
Beyond the figures, the anniversary speaks of support, research and equitable access to healthcare. It also invites broader reflection: on how societies care for families, how information is shared and how a support network is built for those who live with these realities from birth.
International Writers’ Day
3 March is also International Writers’ Day, established in 1986 by PEN Club International. The date pays tribute to those who work with words as their raw material, whether in literature, journalism, translation or essays.
It is a celebration of writing as a cultural and, at the same time, political act. Defending writers means defending freedom of expression, diversity of voices and the right to tell stories even in contexts of censorship, exile or persecution. In times of constant noise, this day recalls the value of the word considered, written and shared.