This month’s cultural and identity-linked celebrations and awareness days include:
Consider the relevance of these events to your own pharmacy practice. We’ve shared some useful information below where appropriate.
Ganesh Chaturthi: This Hindu festival is marked over 10 days, celebrating the deity Ganesha by way of offerings, rituals, prayers and fasting, both in homes and in public celebrations. Britannica explains how the festival marks the birth of Ganesha, the god of prosperity and wisdom. During this period, it may be worth considering taking fasting into account when prescribing for those celebrating.
Bi Visibility Day: This day highlights bisexuality and the challenges posed by biphobia and bisexual erasure, as well as celebrating the work of organisations which champion bisexual visibility and equality. It celebrates its 25th anniversary this year. For us at CPPE and across pharmacy, the day can serve as a reminder of the importance of using inclusive language – not just on one day, but every day.
We draw our listed events from The University of Manchester’s 2024 Diversity Calendar. Concerning religions, this calendar covers the six major faiths in the UK. We acknowledge that the calendar does not include every possible significant event, celebration and observance day.
If you would like to contribute a few words on an event in the calendar or suggest an event that it does not cover, please contact sneha.varia@cppe.ac.uk.
