«Culture» translated from Sanskrit literally means « veneration of light», expressing the desire for knowledge of beauty, ideals and self-improvement. It is necessary to study culture, remember it and protect it constantly. After all, it is the consumer attitude towards nature, the destruction of historical monuments, the crisis of spirituality in society, the pursuit of material values – that are all the first signs of lack of culture. And conscience, compassion, pride... – these feelings are inherent only in humans, and they can only be educated and developed with the help of true culture.
Therefore, in order to once again emphasize the importance of all spheres of activity of the cultural world, a special holiday – International Day of Culture was established, which is celebrated in many countries around the world annually on April 15. It was established in honor of the adoption on April 15, 1935 of the international treaty «On the Protection of Artistic and Scientific Institutions and Historical Monuments», which became known in international legal practice as the Roerich Pact.
The initiative to celebrate the date of signing the Pact as International Culture Day was taken in 1998 by the International League for the Defense of Culture, established two years earlier by the International Center of the Roerichs. This is a public organization whose activities are aimed at protecting and enhancing the achievements of culture, art, science, and religion. Later, proposals were also made to establish this holiday, and it was even celebrated in a number of countries. In 2008, on the initiative of public organizations in Russia, Italy, Spain, Argentina, Mexico, Cuba, Latvia, and Lithuania, the International Movement was created to establish April 15 as World Culture Day under the Banner of Peace. Today this holiday is celebrated in different countries of the world.
Although Culture Day was established not very long ago, it has a centuries-old history. The idea of creating an organized protection of cultural property belongs to the outstanding artist and figure of Russian and world culture Nikolai Roerich, who considered culture the main driving force towards improving human society and saw in it the basis for the unity of people of different nationalities and religions.
At the beginning of the 20th century, during the period of wars and redistribution of territories, when studying ancient monuments, he understood how important it was to preserve them, and in 1914 he turned to the Russian government and the governments of other warring countries with a proposal to ensure the safety of cultural property by concluding an appropriate international agreement. However, this appeal remained unanswered then. In 1929, Roerich prepared and published a draft treaty for the protection of cultural property, accompanied by an appeal to the governments and peoples of all countries. The draft treaty received worldwide fame and wide response among the world community. Romain Rolland, Bernard Shaw, Albert Einstein, H.G. Wells, Maurice Maeterlinck, Thomas Mann, Rabindranath Tagore came out in support of Nicholas Roerich's idea. Committees in support of the Pact have been formed in many countries. The draft Pact was approved by the Committee on Museums of the League of Nations, as well as the Pan American Union.
By the way, the idea of holding World Culture Day also belongs to Nicholas Roerich – back in 1931 in the Belgian city of Bruges at a conference dedicated to promoting an international treaty for the protection of cultural property, he proposed this and outlined the main task of Day – as a broad call for beauty and knowledge, reminding humanity of true values. In subsequent years, the artist called on the world community to take concrete action in the name of preserving Culture. He consolidated the progressive public, became the ideologist and creator of the document for the protection of world cultural heritage, which was conceived as an international legal act of a universal nature.
As a result, on April 15, 1935, at the White House in Washington, the heads of 21 states signed the first international treaty in the history of the Earth «On the protection of institutions serving the purposes of culture, science and art, as well as historical monuments», named after its creator «Rerich Pact».
The Covenant contains general provisions of principle on the protection of cultural property and the respect that should be accorded to it. The provision on the protection of objects in the Covenant is unconditional and is not weakened by reservations about military necessity, which reduce the effectiveness of the protection of cultural property in armed conflicts. The universality of the Covenant lies in the fact that it contains general, fundamental provisions for the protection of cultural property, and also in the fact that it could be put into effect through the conclusion of both global and regional treaties.
As part of the Pact, Roerich also proposed a distinctive sign that was supposed to mark protected cultural objects, – «Banner of Peace», a kind of Banner of Culture, – white cloth, which depicts three touching amaranth circles – past, present and future achievements of humanity, surrounded by the ring of Eternity. This sign is international in nature and is found in works of art from different countries and peoples of the world from ancient times to the present. According to Roerich's plan, the Banner of Peace should flutter over cultural objects as a guardian of the true spiritual values of humanity.
The Covenant played an important role in the further formation of international legal norms and public activities in the field of protection of cultural heritage. This treaty was used as the basis for many documents of modern international cooperation in the field of cultural heritage protection. Including in a number of UNESCO acts.
Today, when the world community is experiencing new global economic and environmental crises, natural disasters and military conflicts, concern for Culture is especially relevant. Only its rise and preservation can unite people, regardless of their nationality, age, gender, social and financial situation, stop military conflicts and make politics and economics moral. Only the adoption of Culture by states as a national idea is the key to Peace on Earth.
On the International Day of Culture itself, various festive events are held in many countries. Thus, in Russian cities, ceremonial concerts, exhibitions of national cultures, conferences and lectures on various cultural topics, musical and poetic evenings, dance and theatrical performances and much more are organized. Also on this day, the Banner of Peace is raised and all cultural workers are congratulated on their professional holiday.
By the way, the Banner of Peace can currently be seen everywhere – in the UN buildings in New York and Vienna, in the State Duma of Russia, in cultural institutions of different countries, on the highest peaks of the world and even at the North and South Poles. It was also lifted into space, marking the beginning of the implementation of the International Public Scientific and Educational Space Project «Banner of Peace», in which Russian and foreign cosmonauts took part.
• Infographics – poster «April 15 — International Culture Day»