December 2nd, 2025

World Futures Day is observed every year on December 2 to encourage people to think about the long-term future and about how the choices made today shape the world of tomorrow. UNESCO's General Conference adopted the day in November 2021, linking it to the UN Secretary-General's report Our Common Agenda, and the first celebration took place in 2022. The day is built around futures literacy, the ability to imagine a range of possible futures and to use that thinking to make better decisions in the present. UNESCO, universities, and futures research networks mark it with conferences, workshops, and discussions on topics such as climate change, new technologies, and the well-being of future generations.

The International Day for the Abolition of Slavery is observed on December 2 to call attention to modern forms of slavery and to the work still needed to end them. The date marks the adoption by the United Nations General Assembly of the Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Persons and of the Exploitation of the Prostitution of Others on December 2, 1949. Although slavery is outlawed almost everywhere, it has not disappeared: according to the International Labour Organization, Walk Free, and the International Organization for Migration, about 50 million people were living in modern slavery in 2021, including 28 million in forced labor and 22 million in forced marriages. Modern slavery also includes human trafficking, debt bondage, sexual exploitation, and the worst forms of child labor, and it is found in every region of the world. In the United States, slavery was abolished by the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, ratified on December 6, 1865, yet human trafficking still occurs, and the National Human Trafficking Hotline (1-888-373-7888) offers free, confidential help. Governments, human rights groups, and businesses use the day to promote laws against forced labor and trafficking, support survivors, and keep supply chains free from exploitation.