Earth Hour 2012

Earth Hour is a world-wide initiative to raise awareness about the environment and climate change by switching off lights for an hour in the evening. This year, Earth Hour is on Saturday, March 31 and starts at 20:30 (8:30pm) local time.

Even astronauts on the Space Station will be doing their part, watching to see if there is any  noticeable change in the amount of light from earth visible from space. Astronaut André Kuipers will be taking photos and videos from space.

Earth Hour first started in 2007 as single-city initiative in Sydney, Australia,  and has now grown into a global movement to save energy and help the environment. Earth Hour 2011 was the world’s largest event so far with people, businesses and governments in 135 countries joining in, and organisers hope that up to 1.8 billion people will take part this year.

Orchid Show

Rare and exotic orchids from around the world on display at the Royal Horticultural Society Orchid Show, Horticultural Halls, Victoria, London.

International Women's Day

International Women's Day 2012 is celebrated with events around the world to mark the economic, political and social achievements of women.

Organisations, governments, charities and women's groups choose different themes each year that reflect global and local gender issues.

"Connecting Girls, Inspiring Futures" is the 2012 theme of the internationalwomensday.com website.

The United Nations declares 2012 theme is “Empower Rural Women – End Hunger and Poverty”.

The European Parliament's 2012 theme is "Equal pay for work of equal value".


internationalwomensday.com