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30 January: what is celebrated today
30 January unfolds as a day of bright contrasts: education for peace mingles with the fight against invisible diseases, while the craft of the croissant and the precision of the electronics technician remind us that everyday life is also sustained by small gestures and essential trades. A day to think, give thanks and, why not, enjoy.
School Day of Non-Violence and Peace
Created in 1964 by the Mallorcan teacher Llorenç Vidal, this day invites schools to become spaces where dialogue and cooperation are the basis of coexistence. Inspired by the figure of Mahatma Gandhi, 30 January reminds pupils that peace is not an abstract theory but a practice that begins in the classroom: listening before reacting, resolving conflicts without violence, and creating environments where everyone feels safe. At a time when bullying and cyberbullying cut strongly through adolescence, this observance acts as an educational antidote to strengthen empathy and shared responsibility.
World Neglected Tropical Diseases Day (NTDs)
NTDs affect more than one billion people in rural, poor and isolated communities. 30 January — a date linked to the 2012 London Declaration — seeks to mobilise resources, political will and public visibility against diseases that, despite being preventable and treatable, continue to generate exclusion, disability and chronic poverty. From dengue to Chagas disease and schistosomiasis, the challenge is not only health-related: it is social. Hygiene education, access to drinking water, basic sanitation and vector control are the tools that can break a cycle perpetuated generation after generation.
International Croissant Day
Crisp, aromatic and universal, the croissant celebrates its small global tribute today. Although many consider it a French symbol, its origin goes back to seventeenth-century Vienna, when bakers devised this crescent-shaped pastry to commemorate the defeat of the Ottoman Empire. Its success lies in the delicate combination of butter, thin layers of dough and that unmistakable sound as it breaks between the fingers. This day invites us to enjoy it without hurry: with chocolate, with cheese, or simply on its own, reminding us that sometimes happiness fits into a piece of puff pastry.
International Electronic Technician Day
Celebrated since 1980 on the initiative of the Asociación de Técnicos Electrónicos de Córdoba (Colombia), this day recognises the professionals who make modern life possible. They are the people who repair, calibrate or maintain everything that works with circuits: from a microwave to high-precision medical equipment. Their often invisible work supports hospitals, shops, homes and offices. Today they are recognised as a twenty-first-century profession, essential in a world where technology advances faster than the capacity to understand it.