April 16th is World Child Slavery Day, World Entrepreneurship Day, World Voice Day and World Leisure Day. The events of this day in history remind us how closely intertwined war and science, statehood and culture, tragedies and breakthroughs are.
World Day Against Child Slavery
It is a day of remembrance, resistance and solidarity with the millions of children who have become victims of modern forms of exploitation. On April 16, 1995, 12-year-old Iqbal Masih, a child fighter who escaped slavery in a carpet factory and became a symbol of resistance to child exploitation, was killed in Pakistan. After escaping, Iqbal talked about his own experience, spoke at schools, at international conferences, and publicly blamed the system, which relied on child slave labor. His death came as a shock to the world public. Since then, April 16 has been considered the Day Against Child Slavery, an unofficial but deeply symbolic day of dignity.
Despite technological progress, slavery has not disappeared in the 21st century. It just changed shape. The International Labor Organization (ILO) estimates that more than 160 million children worldwide (one in ten children) are forced to work, often in conditions that threaten their health, education and lives. The worst forms of slavery include: forced labor in factories, mines, and agriculture; sexual exploitation, including child prostitution and pornography; the use of children in conflicts as soldiers, spies or “human shields”; compulsion to beg; trade in organs; forced marriages. Most of the victims are children from countries where there is poverty, corruption, armed conflicts or where institutions do not have the resources to protect children’s rights.
Terrible facts
1 out of 4 victims of human trafficking is a child.
More than 20,000 children die at work every year.
70% of child workers are employed in dangerous conditions.
Child labor has been found in more than 130 countries.
In West Africa, thousands of children work on cocoa plantations in subhuman conditions. It is from this raw material that chocolate is made, which is sold all over the world.
In 2023, dozens of textile factories were exposed in Bangladesh, where children as young as 7 worked – sometimes for 12 hours a day, for a pittance.
In the conflicts in the Congo, Syria and Myanmar, children are not just involved in hostilities – they are recruited as carriers, scouts, even suicide bombers.
Nepal’s child slavery program has saved more than 13,000 children in the last 5 years alone, but millions remain invisible.
Before his death, Iqbal Masih dreamed of becoming a lawyer and fighting for the freedom of other children. Dozens of schools and human rights initiatives are named after him today.
World Entrepreneurship Day
It’s an informal but increasingly important international celebration designed to honor entrepreneurs in all corners of the world, from small business owners to innovators who are changing the global economy. This day became a platform for discussing the role of entrepreneurship in society, the development of the creative economy, the fight against poverty and building a more inclusive world.
The idea of World Entrepreneurship Day is not only to celebrate successful entrepreneurs. At the center is the promotion of the culture of entrepreneurship as a responsible, ethical and socially useful activity. It is about those who create jobs, generate new ideas, and look for permanent solutions to local and global problems. Entrepreneurship Day calls for action — launching startups, supporting small businesses, joint search for innovative solutions. It is also an opportunity to rethink the very approach to business: not as a means of quick enrichment, but as an instrument of influence on the surrounding world, a platform for cooperation, community development and restoration of trust in society.
In many countries of the world, it is small businesses that have become drivers of regional recovery after the crisis, drivers of inclusion for vulnerable groups, and a source of innovations in medicine, education, and agriculture. Entrepreneurship is increasingly seen not only as a profession or a business model, but as a mentality.
Interesting facts
According to GEM (Global Entrepreneurship Monitor), more than 300 million people start new businesses every year.
There are more than 400 million small and medium-sized enterprises in the world, which is 90% of all companies on the planet.
The highest level of entrepreneurial activity among young people is observed in Africa: in countries such as Nigeria and Kenya, more than 50% of young people have or plan to start their own business.
In the Scandinavian countries, entrepreneurship is actively developing as a social enterprise — aimed at solving the problems of the environment, integration, and care for the elderly.
The largest number of female entrepreneurs is in Latin America. In Chile and Colombia, almost every second new business is founded by a woman.
Over the past 5 years, the number of startups related to ethical innovation — green materials, transparent supply chains, mental health support — has grown significantly.
In the US, more than 60% of millionaires are self-made, not inherited.
The youngest entrepreneur registered in the world is a 6-year-old girl from India who patented her own series of ecological toys.
World Voice Day
This voice day was started in Brazil in 1999 on the initiative of otolaryngologists and specialists in vocal medicine. Later, Europe, the USA, and Asia joined the initiative. Today, this day is celebrated in more than 100 countries of the world, holding open consultations, vocal technique master classes, charity concerts, and social media campaigns. This initiative is designed to draw attention to the importance of preserving and caring for the human vocal apparatus. This is the day when vocal specialists, speech therapists, otolaryngologists, actors, teachers, announcers and everyone for whom the voice is a working tool, remind: the voice is not just a means of communication, it is a mirror of health, emotional state and even social activity.
Each person’s voice is unique, like a fingerprint. It changes during life, reflects emotions, fatigue, stress, illnesses. Often, it is changes in the voice that are the first symptoms of serious diseases: inflammation of the larynx, nodules on the ligaments, diseases of the thyroid gland, tumors. For many professions, the voice is the main tool. Teachers, lecturers, TV and radio presenters, singers, theater actors subject their vocal cords to serious stress every day.
Interesting facts
The uniqueness of the voice is so great that modern technologies can recognize a person by voice as accurately as by a fingerprint.
An adult’s vocal chords vibrate at an average rate of more than 100 times per second. In women, this frequency is usually higher, so the female voice is higher in tonality.
The longest officially recorded continuous vocal performance lasted more than 100 hours – it was performed by Indian singer Sabesh Murthy in 2012.
Studies have shown that a person can instinctively determine the emotional state of the interlocutor by intonation in just 200 milliseconds.
In Japanese culture, the voice is considered no less important feature of aesthetics than the face. That’s why popular voice actors (seiyu) are real stars there.
Famous opera singers have been training their voices all their lives, and even at the age of 70 they can perform complex arias if they maintain their technique and regimen.
There are rare pathologies in which a person can have two voices at the same time – due to the anatomical features of the vocal folds.
Some birds, for example, parrots, lyretail or African starling, are able to imitate the human voice, reproducing phrases, intonations, even laughter.
World Leisure Day
World Leisure Day was launched by the World Leisure Organization (WLO), an international non-governmental organization that promotes the concept of leisure as a basic value of society. The first official celebration of this day took place on April 16, 2021, under the slogan “Human development and quality of life through leisure.”
The organizers emphasize: in a world where the rhythm of life is increasingly accelerating, leisure is not a luxury, not an empty pastime, but a human right, a factor of mental health, a tool of social inclusion and cultural richness.
This day aims to emphasize the importance of rest, free time and recreational activity for the full life of every person. Today, the focus is not on work, but on recovery, creativity, communication, play, self-expression — everything that forms a healthy, balanced, human existence.
Interesting facts
According to the World Health Organization, regular physical activity, hobbies, artistic activities and simple quality recreation reduce the risk of depression, cardiovascular diseases and promote cognitive development. In modern cities, the creation of parks, cultural spaces, libraries, and safe playgrounds is an investment in social cohesion and equality.
Companies that implement a work-life balance policy report higher productivity, lower levels of emotional burnout, and greater employee satisfaction with life.
At the same time, in countries where there are no clear boundaries between work and private life, there are no weekends or a culture of “unhealthy diligence” (overwork), the lack of leisure time leads to an epidemic of anxiety, emotional burnout, and social alienation.
In medieval Europe, the right to rest had a religious basis — Sunday was considered a day of mandatory inactivity. Today, this is a secular norm of labor legislation.
In Japan, a separate program “ikegai” has been developed – the search for harmony between what you love, what you know how to do, what you can earn, and what brings social benefit. One of its key elements is leisure.
In Iceland, almost every municipality has free leisure centers with workshops, swimming pools, libraries – as a way to prevent social isolation.
In Finland, a state policy of supporting “cultural leisure” has been introduced – the state compensates the costs of tickets to the theater, museums, and concerts as part of the development of a healthy society.
In Ancient Greece, the word σκολη (skholē), which meant “rest, free time”, became the source of the modern word “school” – because it was during free time that it was considered possible to study philosophy.
Historical events on this day
1178 BC is. – it was on this day that a total solar eclipse occurred, which, according to astronomical calculations, coincided with the return of Odysseus to Ithaca after a twenty-year odyssey that began with the fall of Troy.
73 – the Roman army captured the last stronghold of the Jewish rebellion – the fortress of Masada. With this act, the long struggle of the Jews against Roman rule ended.
1346 – on the day that went down in history, Stefan Dušan solemnly announced the creation of the Serbian Empire, which for a while became one of the most influential forces in the region.
1574 – it was then that the first mention of the Ukrainian nativity scene appeared in the documents – we find an entry about it in the castle book of Zaslav.
1632 – the Kyiv-Mohyla Academy was opened on the banks of the Dnieper — an institution that for centuries became a center of education, theological thought and the European spirit in Ukraine.
1705 – Isaac Newton received a knighthood from the hands of the English Queen Anne – for the first time in the history of Britain, it was awarded for merits in science, and not on the battlefield.
1848 – Emperor Ferdinand I signed a patent that abolished the lordship in Galicia – this document initiated radical changes in the social structure of the empire.
1871 – the new constitution made Berlin the capital of the united German Empire, cementing its structure and political system for decades to come.
1912 – the Englishwoman Harriet Quimby made the first ever flight of women across the English Channel, opening the sky for millions of future female aviators.
1922 – in Rapallo, Germany and Soviet Russia agreed to restore diplomatic relations – a treaty that became a symbol of the geopolitical game between the defeated and the isolated.
1936 – the workers of Lviv took to the streets with political demands, protesting against the Polish authorities – this became one of the notable acts of labor resistance of that time.
1945 – The Red Army launched a decisive offensive on Berlin that ended with the collapse of Nazi Germany and the end of World War II in Europe.
1945 – in the Baltic Sea, a Soviet submarine torpedoed the German ship “Goya”, which was carrying thousands of refugees. About 7,000 people died — one of the greatest maritime tragedies in history.
1947 – the American financier Bernard Baruch used the term “Cold War” for the first time, outlining the new reality of the world confrontation between the USA and the USSR.
1995 – the international telephone code +380 began to operate in Ukraine — a symbol of the new statehood and information autonomy from the Soviet past.
2000 – the citizens of Ukraine at the referendum supported the idea of reducing the number of people’s deputies, canceling their inviolability and giving the president the right to dissolve the parliament.
2003 – the Athens Treaty on the accession of ten new countries to the European Union was signed in the capital of Greece. This step became a historic expansion of the EU to the east.
Charlie Chaplin’s birthday
Charles Spencer Chaplin, one of the most famous artists of the 20th century, was born on April 16, 1889. For millions, he forever remained in the image of Charlie – a little vagabond with a cane, in a bowler hat, in oversized boots and baggy pants. His comic character, created in the era of silent cinema, combined vulnerability, dignity and deep humanity.
However, Chaplin was not only an actor and director. In the most difficult moments, he openly declared his civic position. In the fall of 1941, when Nazi troops were near Moscow, he gave a 40-minute speech in San Francisco. In July 1942, when German troops approached the Volga, Chaplin made a new address – this time to a crowd of 60,000 in New York’s Madison Square. Silence held the square: the speech was broadcast by telephone from Hollywood.
Chaplin left behind not only films, but also precise, painfully sincere sayings:
«I believe that the power of laughter and tears can be an antidote to hatred and fear.”
«Nothing is eternal in our sinful world, not even our troubles.”
«Life is a tragedy when you look at it up close, and a comedy when you look at it from afar.
«I was not an angel, but I always wanted to remain human.”
He was recognized as a legend during his lifetime: according to a survey by the American Institute of Public Opinion, the three most famous personalities of all time were named Jesus Christ, Charlie Chaplin and Napoleon Bonaparte. The actor ironically called himself “the eighth wonder of the world.”
On December 25, 1977, on Christmas Eve, Chaplin died in his sleep in the Swiss city of Vevey. However, the story had a dark continuation: in March 1978, his body was stolen from the grave by two unemployed immigrants – a Pole and a Bulgarian, who were trying to get a ransom. They were quickly detained, and the coffin with the actor’s body was buried again – this time under a thick layer of concrete. After his death, another movie giant, Bob Hope, said succinctly: “We are lucky to be his contemporaries.”
The Invisible Woman from London’s West End
On April 16, 1922, an unconscious man was brought to Charing Cross Hospital in London’s West End with a deep, bleeding neck wound. When he regained consciousness, he told the police that no one was around, no one attacked him. At first it seemed strange, but the officers decided that the man was probably in a state of shock and mistaken.
Everything changed when a witness came forward, who at that very moment was on the corner of Coventry Street – not far from the scene of the incident. And another two hours later, the second victim was brought to the same hospital – he suffered numerous stab wounds, and again there was no eyewitness to the attack. On the same day, another man was taken to the hospital, who became the third victim of the mysterious attacker. The strangest thing about this case was that a blow to the forearm from behind left a wound on the body, but the fabric of the jacket remained intact. The police established the only common detail: all the attacks happened at the corner from Coventry Street. This chain of strange and unmotivated attacks went down in history as the “invisible men from London’s West End” attacks. No suspect was ever found.
The murder of Oles Buzyna
On April 16, 2015, journalist, writer and TV presenter Oles Buzyna was killed in Kyiv. He was shot at the entrance of his own house on Degtyarivska Street. He was 45 years old at the time of the murder. His death became one of the most resonant political events of that period. Buzyna is often mentioned in the context of pro-Russian views, but at the same time, his deep erudition, active presence in the public space and ability to provoke discussions are recognized.
Oles Buzyna was named in honor of the Ukrainian Soviet writer Oles Gonchar — he repeatedly mentioned this in public speeches. He was born in Kyiv on July 13, 1969. Graduated from the Faculty of Philology of Taras Shevchenko Kyiv University. He worked as a journalist and editor, in particular in the Segodnya newspaper, and hosted the author’s programs on television. He was known for his critical statements against Ukrainian national movements and official policy after the Revolution of Dignity. Some of his books include Taras Shevchenko Ghoul (2000), The Secret History of Ukraine-Russia (2005), The Resurrection of Little Russia (2012), The Union of the Plow and the Trident. How Ukraine was invented” (2013), “Dokyivska Rus” (2014), caused a resonance and a polar reaction in society.
On June 18, 2015, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Security Service of Ukraine announced the arrest of two murder suspects, Andrii Medvedko and Denys Polishchuk. They did not admit their guilt. The lawsuit has been ongoing ever since, and as of April 2025, is still pending. The court did not issue a verdict, despite numerous meetings and changes in the composition of judges.
On February 2, 2016, the car of the lawyer in the Buzyna case, Andriy Fedur, who was defending two suspects, was blown up near the courthouse in Kyiv. Fedur accused the Ukrainian special services of undermining. The lawyers of the suspects claimed that the DNA examination in the case was falsified and that there was an alibi.
