June 11 is International Game Day and Jacques-Yves Cousteau Day. Also on this day, in different centuries, humanity embarked on new sea expeditions, concluded peace agreements, created cities, inventions, legislative acts and made political decisions that remained in history.
International Game Day
This is one of the new official international days, introduced by the resolution of the UN General Assembly in 2023. It draws attention to the importance of play for the development of children, adolescents and even adults in various spheres of life. This day has a special meaning in a global context, because the problem of access to play affects both countries affected by war and poverty, as well as developed countries, where children are often deprived of the opportunity to play due to excessive academic load or digital addiction.
The UN emphasizes that play is a fundamental right of every child, enshrined in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. Free play creates prerequisites for mental, emotional, cognitive, and physical development, helps to form social skills, self-regulation, creativity, and independent decision-making. It is through play that children learn to negotiate, cooperate, fantasize, plan, overcome failures, and also form skills that later determine their success in adult life.
However, today millions of children around the world are deprived of the basic conditions for play. These are children in conflict zones, refugees, children from poor families, as well as those who face excessive scrutiny from educational systems where play is seen as a waste of time. In many schools, breaks are reduced, free time is reduced, and the number of tests and extra classes is increasing. Children live in a constant state of stress, which leads to anxiety, stress, adjustment problems and even mental health disorders.
At the same time, experts emphasize another trend — the growing role of games in adult education. Modern educational models, business trainings, crisis simulations, gamification of work processes are increasingly using game principles to develop creativity, flexibility of thinking, teamwork, and the ability to act in non-standard situations.
Recognition of the role of play at the international level is intended not only to call for the creation of safe play spaces for children, but also to change the attitude to play as an important element of education, culture, and social development. UN organizations call on governments, schools, local communities, and parents to ensure that children have the opportunity to play – freely, spontaneously, without fear or pressure.
Interesting facts
The choice of the date of June 11 is explained by the desire not to tie the day to any political or religious holidays.
The initiators of this day were international organizations, including UNICEF, Save the Children, LEGO Foundation.
According to the UN, more than 160 million children in the world do not have conditions for safe play.
The game has been recognized as part of the child’s right since 1989 — according to the Convention on the Rights of the Child (Article 31).
Today, gamification is actively used not only in education, but also in military training, crisis management, training of pilots and doctors.
Jacques-Yves Cousteau Day
This day is celebrated every year on June 11, the birthday of an outstanding French explorer who devoted his entire life to the study of the oceans. Cousteau’s name has become a symbol of deep-sea expeditions, groundbreaking discoveries and the struggle to preserve the underwater world. His contributions span not only science, but popularization of oceanography to millions of people around the world.
Jacques-Yves Cousteau was born on June 11, 1910, in Saint-André de Cubzac, France. During the Second World War, he was engaged in underwater research for the French Navy. Since childhood, he was attracted to water, and later it turned into a lifelong business. His vessel Calypso was converted from an old minesweeper of the British Navy.
He became one of the pioneers in the creation of equipment for underwater research. It was Cousteau, together with Emile Gagnan, who in 1943 invented the scuba diving device, an autonomous underwater device that allowed a person to stay underwater for a long time. This invention opened a new era in the study of the deep sea, making underwater research accessible to scientists, the military and sportsmen.
However, Cousteau left his mark not only as an engineer or researcher. He managed to open the ocean to the general public. His documentaries, starting with The World of Silence, which won an Oscar and the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival in 1956, were a real breakthrough in the popularization of science. Thanks to Cousteau’s movies and books, millions of people for the first time saw the underwater world as researchers see it. In general, the researcher filmed more than 120 documentaries about the underwater world, which were broadcast in dozens of countries.
The ecological component occupied a special place in Cousteau’s activities. Already in the middle of the 20th century, he was one of the first to openly talk about ocean pollution, the danger to marine fauna, the consequences of industrial fishing and global environmental risks. He created the Cousteau Society Foundation, which is dedicated to the protection of marine ecosystems, conducts educational work and still supports expedition programs.
His activities spanned decades — from the 1940s to the late 1990s. Even in his old age, Cousteau continued his research, filming, education and diplomatic work, trying to influence the governments of various countries to protect the world’s oceans.
The Cousteau Society, founded by him in 1973, is still working to protect the oceans.
Jacques-Yves Cousteau died on June 25, 1997 at the age of 87. His red cap has become one of the most recognizable visual symbols of the ocean explorer in cultural memory.
Historical events on this day
1125 year Crusader forces defeated the Seljuks at the Battle of Azaz.
in 1453 the Byzantine Empire ceased to exist.
in 1474 The Pope approved the so-called “Perpetual Peace” between the Habsburg Empire and Switzerland.
in 1496 Christopher Columbus completed his second voyage to America.
in 1509 English monarch Henry VIII married Catherine of Aragon. Later, their divorce without the consent of the Vatican became one of the prerequisites of the English Reformation.
in 1580 Spanish colonizers founded the city of Buenos Aires.
in 1742 in Breslau (now Wrocław) an agreement was concluded, according to which the Habsburgs recognized Silesia as a possession of Prussia.
in 1742 American Benjamin Franklin invented the kitchen stove, and this day is considered the day of the kitchen stove.
in 1770 James Cook discovered the Great Barrier Reef off the coast of Australia.
in 1776 The United States Continental Congress created a committee to prepare the text of the Declaration of Independence.
in 1829 Russian troops under the command of Dybych defeated the Ottoman forces in the Battle of Kulevche on the territory of Bulgaria.
in 1858 St. Isaac’s Cathedral, designed by Auguste Montferrand, was consecrated in St. Petersburg.
in 1872 The First All-Russian Polytechnic Exhibition dedicated to the 200th anniversary of the birth of Peter I opened in Moscow.
in 1888 a monument to Bohdan Khmelnytskyi was solemnly opened on Sofia Square in Kyiv. Its creation was initiated by the historian Mykola Kostomarov back in the 1840s.
in 1889 in the USA, John Perdue and James Sadgwar patented a folding chair.
in 1895 the first automobile races on the route Paris — Rouen took place. The winner Emile Levasso developed an average speed of 24 km/h.
in 1901 the Cook Islands were officially included in New Zealand.
in 1913 The All-Russian Agricultural Exhibition opened in Kyiv.
in 1915 British troops captured the territory of German Cameroon, and Serbian troops captured the city of Tirana, then the capital of the Principality of Albania.
in 1918 the Kazakh movement “Alash” declared invalid the decrees of the Soviet authorities on the territory of Kazakhstan.
in 1921 in the Ukrainian SSR announced the beginning of a state campaign to combat child homelessness.
in 1926 the British government officially protested over the USSR’s financial support for the British strikes.
in 1930 Americans William Beebe and Otis Burton plunged their bathysphere to a depth of 400 meters. Two years later, they managed to reach a depth of 900 meters.
in 1940 Australia, New Zealand and the Union of South Africa declared war on Italy.
in 1942 The Soviet Union and the United States signed an agreement on the principles of wartime cooperation and postwar mutual assistance to preserve peace.
in 1951 Portugal has officially declared Mozambique its overseas province.
in 1955 In France, during the 24 Hours of Le Mans, a tragedy occurred in which 84 people died and another 120 were injured.
in 1965 the Ukrainian SSR government approved the decision to establish the Donetsk State University. In the same year, Queen Elizabeth II presented the members of the band “Beatles” with orders of the British Empire.
in 1973 Libyan authorities announced the nationalization of the assets of American oil companies.
in 1975 the first oil was produced in the North Sea.
in 1982 Steven Spielberg’s fantastic film “Alien” was released in the USA.
in 1990 The Verkhovna Rada of the Ukrainian SSR passed a decision on the transition of Ukraine to Eastern European time — thanks to this, Ukrainian time no longer coincides with Moscow time.
in 1992 in Russia, a mass privatization program was approved, which launched the circulation of privatization checks – so-called vouchers.
in 1993 Steven Spielberg’s blockbuster “Jurassic Park” was released worldwide.
The Return of Robinson Crusoe
On June 11, 1687, according to the story of Daniel Defoe, 55-year-old Robinson Crusoe returned to England. In 1659, after a terrible storm, the only one of the ship’s crew managed to escape and ended up on a deserted island, where he had to live for more than 28 years.
In Lisbon, he learns that he has become rich: his Brazilian plantation was managed by a government official, and now Robinson is being returned all the income for all these years. Robinson takes up two nephews, and later marries at the age of 61. Three children are born to him – two sons and a daughter.
The novel is based on the real story of the Scotsman Alexander Selkirk, the ship’s boatswain, who in 1704, at his own request, was landed on a deserted island, where he spent a little less time – only 4 years and 4 months.
Daniel Defoe wrote not one novel about the adventures of Robinson, but as many as three. In the last book, the already aged main character finds himself even in Siberia. Unfortunately, other books were never translated into Ukrainian or Russian. At least I am not aware of such translations.
Some interesting facts about Defoe:
– The novel about Robinson Crusoe was first published when the author was almost 60 years old.
– At the end of his life, Defoe was completely bankrupt. In order to save his property from creditors, he transferred everything to his eldest son, who left his father to die in poverty.
– The landlady of the apartment where the writer died sold all his belongings to pay for the funeral.
– The author of the first translation of the novel about Robinson into Russian was Leo Tolstoy.
– Jean-Jacques Rousseau considered “Robinson Crusoe” to be the only book on which young people should be educated.
Mykola Gogol’s poem “Dead Souls” was published for the first time
On June 11, 1842, the immortal poem “Dead Souls” by Mykola Vasyliovych Gogol from Poltava was published for the first time. At first, the author conceived it as a novel, but later defined the genre of the work as a prose poem.
The work is based on real stories, and its heroes – Sobakevich, Plyushkin, Manilov – are still easily recognizable in everyday life. You don’t even have to try especially hard. And the famous phrase: “Rus, where are you going?” has not lost its relevance for almost two hundred years. It is believed that the idea of the plot of “Dead Souls” was suggested to Gogol by Alexander Pushkin. Probably, the idea arose from Pushkin’s letter to Pletnev, where he wrote about his quick wedding and the dowry formed after the pledge of 200 souls. Gogol wrote his work for almost 17 years.
At first, the publication of the book was blocked by censorship. But Emperor Nicholas I imposed a resolution: “Agreeable”, and in a few days Gogol received financial aid, and in a month the poem was allowed to be published. A work modeled after Dante’s “Divine Comedy” was conceived in three parts: Hell, Purgatory, Paradise. Through these stages, Gogol wanted to lead some of his characters through their earthly life.
No one has ever read the second volume of the famous Dead Souls. Gogol, having already completed it, unexpectedly burned all the manuscripts. Those who were lucky enough to hear the author’s readings of the second volume before its destruction recalled: “The first volume paled in comparison to the second: here humor was raised to the highest level of artistry and combined with pathos that took the breath away.” In the second part, the struggle for Chichikov’s soul took place between the forces of good and evil. In the third part, according to Gogol’s idea, the main character was supposed, after going through repentance, to devote himself to good deeds, but he never reached Paradise.
Awarding the musicians of “The Beatles” with orders of the British Empire
On June 11, 1965, Queen Elizabeth II signed a decree awarding the musicians of The Beatles with orders of the British Empire in recognition of their services to culture and their contribution to the export of national products. Pop musicians have never before received such a prestigious state award, which was established by King George V in 1917. The Queen said the country was proud of the band. And Paul McCartney then admitted: “Before the ceremony, we were very nervous. In order to calm down a little, they decided to smoke marijuana in the toilet of the palace…”.
John Lennon said: “When I got the envelope with the OHMS (Royal Service) insignia, I thought I was being drafted.” He later returned his award to protest the war in Nigeria and US support for Vietnam: “I acted hypocritically in accepting the order, but I’m glad I did because four years later I was able to use the award for a grand gesture.”
About measures to combat child homelessness
On June 11, 1921, the resolution of the government of the USSR “On measures to combat child homelessness” appeared. It is interesting that even in the conditions of the civil war, the document was formulated quite competently and not formally. The status of a homeless child was officially established: “a child who has not reached the age of 18 and is in conditions dangerous for his physical and social development.” Trotsky called such children “unsupervised”.
The status of “homeless” was also legally established:
a) leaving children by parents or persons replacing them, without any supervision and care;
b) cruel treatment of the persons specified in point “a”;
c) failure to provide them with the necessary minimum education and training;
d) decomposable influence of the home environment;
e) leading an improper lifestyle by minors themselves, including begging and vagrancy;
f) engaging in any form of trade.
This list remains relevant even for our time. At that time, the number of homeless and homeless children reached 950 thousand people, that is, almost one sixth of the total number of children. This problem was dealt with by a specially created body to combat homelessness — the Central Commission for Children’s Assistance under the Central Children’s Youth Center headed by G. AND. Petrovsky.
Financing was almost entirely carried out at the expense of the state budget. There were also voluntary donations. An interesting source of income during the NEP period was the sale of images by V. AND. Lenin – badges, portraits, busts, postcards, tokens, of which 20% of the cost was directed to the needs of children.
Work to eradicate this phenomenon was carried out by almost all state and public structures. It is interesting that at the beginning of the 1930s, the number of homeless people was over 400,000. And with the beginning of collectivization, their number increased to almost 20 thousand. Experts note that this was connected not only with forcible collectivization and the fight against the “Kurkuls”, but also with the famine of the 1930s, as well as the repressions of 1937. In 1938, the NKVD sent 15,347 children of repressed parents to orphanages.
It was at this time that the history of the creation of units for juvenile affairs began.
Introduction of a new order of time calculation
On June 11, 1990, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted a decision to introduce a new order of time calculation (since then, time in Ukraine has always differed from Moscow time by one hour). 85% of the country’s territory is located in the UTC+2 geographical time zone.
Part of Zakarpattia Oblast has entered the UTC+1 geographic time zone. Luhansk region, as well as parts of Donetsk and Kharkiv regions – to the UTC+3 time zone. However, for practical convenience, the entire territory of the country was administratively assigned to one time zone.
