World Kindness Day
Next: November 13, 2026
Do one small kind thing.
The story
Where it comes from
World Kindness Day was created by the World Kindness Movement, a coalition of kindness organisations that took shape at a conference in Tokyo on 20 September 1997, when Japan's Small Kindness Movement brought like-minded groups together for the first time. The day has been held on 13 November since 1998, the date the movement's first conference opened in Tokyo. Its purpose is plain: to look past borders, cultures and religions, and to celebrate the kindness that connects people everywhere.
How it's celebrated
Member organisations plan their own activities during World Kindness Week, the second week of November, and cities that qualify as 'World Kindness Cities' announce it on the day. For everyone else, the day asks for something small: a thank-you note, help for a neighbour, a kind word to a stranger. A card to someone who was kind to you this year fits it exactly.
Did you know
- Japan's Small Kindness Movement began on 13 June 1963, inspired by a University of Tokyo graduation speech in which its president, Seiji Kaya, urged students to practise small kindnesses.
- Singapore's kindness mascot, Singa the lion, first appeared in 1982 for the National Courtesy Campaign and joined the Singapore Kindness Movement in 2001.
- The movement's members include kindness groups in Malaysia, Thailand, India, South Korea and China, among more than 25 countries.
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- World Diabetes Day · November 14, 2026
- World Prematurity Day · November 15, 2026
- International Day of the Mediterranean Diet · November 16, 2026
- World Cervical Cancer Elimination Day · November 17, 2026
- International Day of Islamic Art · November 18, 2026