World Wood Day

World Wood Day (WWD) is a cultural event celebrated every year on March 21 to highlight wood as an eco-friendly and renewable biomaterial. World Wood Day celebrations aim to raise awareness and understanding of the key role wood plays in a sustainable world through biodiversity and forest conservation. This unique celebration will remind people of the importance and true value of wood and its responsible use.

Background

Wood plays a crucial role in the development of human civilization and the natural environment. The idea of World Wood Day was first proposed and advocated in 2010 by International Wood Culture Society (IWCS) and operational partners. WWD is concurrently observed on the same day as the International Day of Forests, which was officially recognized by the United Nations General Assembly in 2013. 2013 WWD worked in concert with the International Day of Forests to bring the idea of applying a cultural approach to disseminate the concept 'wood is good' and incorporate it into people's lives.

Everyone is invited to share their passion for wood and to acquire a more practical and comprehensive knowledge of wood to better put the core concept of "Wood is Good" into practice.

Yearly operation

2013 World Wood Day

After years of preparation, World Wood Day commenced its inaugural celebration[1] on March 21, 2013 in Tanzania with a series of specially designed events with the theme "A Cultural Approach to Achieve Wood is Good". This operation led to the necessity of establishing the World Wood Day Foundation, which has since been established and is now in the process of applying for 501(c)(3) status.

World Wood Day Symposium
The two-day World Wood Day Symposium took place in Karimjee Hall in Dar es Salaam with the theme “Wood in Africa: Cultural Distribution, Historical Utilization and Future Sustainability.” The 2013 theme reflects the commitment to raise awareness on current issues and to enhance multidisciplinary discussions on the crucial role of wood in a sustainable world.
Woodcraft
Bringing on-the-spot woodcarving experiences to audiences is one of the aims of the Woodcraft event and reflects the Woodcraft event theme of “Wood: Art, Joy, and Culture.” Four activities were organized during the Woodcraft event – Local Woodcarving Competition, African Woodcarving Competition, International Woodcarving Demonstration and Woodturning Demonstration. Local regional woodcarving competitions were held in four different African countries prior to 2013 World Wood Day as preliminary competitions for the African Woodcarving Competition.
Youth and children events
Several fun activities were planned for the children and teenagers. Youth Wood Work Competition provided young apprentices an opportunity to sharpen their skills and prepare for the future. Activities for children were also organized on site. The 2013 World Wood Day drawing competition was open to local children to show their appreciation for wood with their imagination and talent. Playing with wooden toys and learning simple practical knowledge of wood were also set up for the children.
Tour
A tour exploring specific wood culture spots around Tanzania in accordance with the IWCS Tour Program was added to the agenda. Three different routes (North, West and South) were organized for local wood-related cultural features. More information and videos can be found on the IWCS Tour website.
Online program
Two online programs were designed for those unable to join the event in person to join in the celebration. Virtual tree planting was set up to attract attention to gain photo contributions in an effort to raise sponsorship for actual tree plantings for 2014. This is a long-term program and is expected to reach the prearranged target each year. The online eCards program enables anyone to send an e-card of wood-related photos.
Tree planting
A nominal tree planting was briefly taken place during the ceremony. On 22nd March, a proper tree planting event assembled participants from all over the world to plant 1000 saplings in Kisarawe District in the hope of contributing to the environment in a sustainable way.[2]
Celebrations in other countries
The Philippines and Thailand were invited to organize activities to celebrate the 2013 World Wood Day as part of the WWD operational network. In the Philippines, University of the Philippines Open University held WWD activities with the support of IWCS and the UPOU Foundation Inc.[3] Thai Timber Association worked in conjunction of King Mongkut's University of Technology North Bangkok (KMUNB), Bangpho community, Handicraft center and Chiengmai center to accomplish the WWD events in Thailand.[4][5][6]
Publicity report for 2013 WWD
With the purpose achieved, 2013 World Wood Day was a success accompanied by a great deal of recognized publicity that is emerged in various forms of media and languages. In Japan, a report is published in the Journal of Japanese Wood Industry,[7] and IUFRO where IWCS is affiliated to also makes an operational report available.[8][9] There are more news reports appeared in different organizations,[10][11][12][13][14][15] in various nations and different languages[16][17][18][19][20] and nonetheless, in passionate individuals’ blogs.[21][22][23][24]

2014 World Wood Day

The venue for 2014 World Wood Day will be in Fujian Province, China and preparations are under way. Expectant events include, but not limited to, symposium, exhibition, woodcraft competition and demonstration, woodturning demonstration, woodwork competition, drawing contest for children, tree planting, team creation for woodcraft, charity event, auction and concert.

The operation of World Wood Day will be broadened in 2014 so that the global celebration will not be limited to a single country with organized main activities but to extend and welcome all countries to celebrate this day in their own way. Tanzania, Italy, USA, Japan, Thailand, Ghana, Philippines and India will take part in the first attempt of global celebration of 2014 World Wood Day.

World Wood Day Foundation

2013 World Wood Day was mainly organized by IWCS in conjunction with other organizations and governmental bodies. After the first celebration of 2013 World Wood Day in Tanzania, a need for fund raising became imperative and therefore, the necessity of a managing body was given priority. The World Wood Day Foundation is a non-profit organization established in California in response to the result of 2013 World Wood Day to manage funds and grants to carry out the foundation’s missions. The foundation has obtained 501(c)(3) status.

World Wood Day Foundation missions:

  1. To raise public awareness of wood as an eco-friendly material and encourage academic research and responsible wood usage for a sustainable future
  2. To advocate and annually celebrate World Wood Day on March 21
  3. To manage funds and grants for World Wood Day and global research, education and promotion of wood culture.

Programs and activities are organized throughout the year in different regions that lead up to the annual celebration of World Wood Day on March 21, including international and regional symposiums, woodcraft activities, wood and forest culture tours, youth activities and charitable events, tree plantings, exhibitions and auctions, documentary videos, educational and promotional website, publications and online streaming videos.

See also

External links

References