International Day against Violence and Bullying at School, including Cyberbullying
Declared by UNESCO Member States
Declared by UNESCO Member States
This observance follows a reusable calendar rule rather than one fixed Gregorian date. The actual date can move from year to year. Rule: First Thursday of November Public-holiday or government status is never inferred from the observance name alone.
Overview
The International Day against Violence and Bullying at School, including Cyberbullying, is observed on the first Thursday of November. UNESCO Member States established the annual day in 2019.
The day focuses on preventing violence, bullying and cyberbullying that interfere with learners’ rights, safety, health, well-being and access to education.
Why it matters
School violence can involve physical, verbal, psychological and online harm. An observance should therefore emphasize prevention, safe reporting systems, supportive school climates and the participation of learners, educators and families rather than placing responsibility only on individual children.
Cyberbullying connects school safety with digital citizenship and online conduct. Educational activities should avoid exposing individual students’ experiences without consent or turning serious incidents into public spectacle.
History
UNESCO’s 40th General Conference examined document 40 C/78 and adopted 40 C/Resolution 19 on 25 November 2019, proclaiming the first Thursday of November as the annual International Day.
The first-ever celebration took place on 5 November 2020. UNESCO used the inaugural edition to mobilize governments, experts and education communities around preventing school violence and bullying, including cyberbullying.
The institutional identifiers are kept distinct: 40 C/78 is the document considered by the Conference, while 40 C/Resolution 19 is the adopted act.
How the observance developed
This timeline is assembled only from verified provenance fields. Missing stages are omitted rather than inferred.
UNESCO General Conference
UNESCO General Conference 40 C/Resolution 19
First documented observance
UNESCO explicitly describes 5 November 2020 as the first-ever celebration.
UNESCO
UNESCO maintains the observance platform and mobilizes education stakeholders around the annual day.
What the evidence establishes
Verified institutional roles and milestones are shown first. Fields that the reviewed sources do not establish remain fail-closed and are available below without competing with the confirmed record.
4 fields not established in reviewed sources
Ways to observe
Review a school or youth organization’s reporting and safeguarding pathways so learners know where and how to seek help.
Run a digital-citizenship activity that distinguishes disagreement, harmful behavior, repeated bullying and cyberbullying without asking participants to disclose personal incidents publicly.
Invite students to help design respectful classroom or online-community norms and identify practical bystander actions.
Use age-appropriate UNESCO or education-authority resources when discussing prevention, response and referral.
Useful facts
The observance falls on the first Thursday of November.
UNESCO’s General Conference established the day in 2019 through 40 C/Resolution 19.
The formal record says the Conference examined document 40 C/78 before adopting the resolution.
The first-ever celebration was held on 5 November 2020.
The day explicitly includes cyberbullying as well as other forms of violence and bullying at school.
Topic and context
What this page does not assume
- Keep the source-defined country, community, organizer or institutional scope; do not silently broaden it.
- Do not treat the title alone as proof of government recognition or public-holiday status.
- Do not add a creator, founding story or origin claim unless the supporting evidence establishes it.
Evidence & sources
Repeated links from the authority record, institutional provenance and editorial guide research are consolidated here. Badges show how each source is used; a contextual source is never treated as proof of establishment on its own.
UNESCO General Conference — Records of the 40th session, 40 C/Resolution 19 / document 40 C/78 (opens in a new tab)
UNESCO — first-ever celebration, 5 November 2020 (opens in a new tab)
UNESCO — International Day against Violence and Bullying at School (opens in a new tab)
Dedicated Authoritative Page
Understand it, compare it, then explore further
Start with the most common factual questions, then use reviewed distinctions and related authority records to understand where this observance fits.
Frequently asked questions
When is International Day against Violence and Bullying at School, including Cyberbullying?
First Thursday of November The stored recurrence guidance is: First Thursday of November.
Does International Day against Violence and Bullying at School, including Cyberbullying fall on the same date every year?
It follows a recurring calendar rule, so the Gregorian date can change from year to year.
Is International Day against Violence and Bullying at School, including Cyberbullying an official public holiday?
The authority record verifies it within this scope: UNESCO international day. That recognition does not by itself make it a statutory public holiday; the site only makes public-holiday claims when the supporting authority record explicitly does so.
Who established or recognizes International Day against Violence and Bullying at School, including Cyberbullying?
The reviewed provenance layer identifies UNESCO General Conference as the proclaiming or establishing body. Current facilitation or coordination is recorded as UNESCO.
Is International Day against Violence and Bullying at School, including Cyberbullying international or country-specific?
The record has international or global institutional scope: UNESCO international day. That does not mean every country treats the date as a public holiday or observes it in the same way.
How is this page verified?
The factual layer is source-backed and keeps its date rule, scope, provenance and editorial guardrails attached to the authority record. This record was checked on 2026-09-05.
When was the school violence and bullying day established?
UNESCO’s General Conference adopted 40 C/Resolution 19 on 25 November 2019.
When was it first observed?
UNESCO identifies 5 November 2020 as the first-ever celebration.
Is 40 C/78 the establishing resolution?
No. 40 C/78 is the document examined by the General Conference; the adopted act is 40 C/Resolution 19.
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