Proposed Draft Resolution for International Day of Hope
In his recent address, Secretary Antonio Guterres said: “Our world is in big trouble. Divides are growing deeper; inequalities are growing wider; challenges are spreading farther… we need hope.”
We ask UN Ambassadors of countries around the world to support our United Nations Resolution for Hope, so we help all activate hope in their lives.
According to Snyder (2002), individuals with higher levels of hope, as compared to their lower hope peers, set goals that are higher quality and are better able to generate routes to achieve their goals, predict and overcome obstacles, and effectively harness mental energy during goal pursuit.
It is impossible to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) unless all know ‘how’ to hope.
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Draft Resolution proposed for the General Assembly
International Day of Hope
The General Assembly,
Recalling its previous resolution 66/281 of 12 July 2012, which invites Member States to pursue a more inclusive, equitable and balanced approach to economic growth that promotes sustainable development, poverty eradication, happiness, and the well-being of all peoples,
Recognizing that individuals with higher levels of hope are more likely to achieve their goals[1], subsequently improving their well-being, and that goals are met because these individuals have high agency-related hope thoughts[2] (i.e., belief that they can attain their goals and are successful in life) and pathways-related hope thoughts2 (i.e., belief that they can overcome barriers and develop alternative solutions to goal a when needed).
Emphasizing that the knowledge of how to proactively management of hopelessness, and learn skills to move towards hope, should be a fundamental human right, that hope is teachable and learnable[3],[4], and that teaching hope leads to the motivation to set and pursue goals, take risks, and initiate action[5] which are all skills that are critical to attaining all goals in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGS),
Recognizing that hopelessness is growing, and predictive of weapon carrying on school property6, self-harm6, violence,[6] addiction[7], risky behaviors[8], motor vehicle accidents[9], psychological distress[10], depression[11], and suicide[12], that hopelessness is often a consequence of oppression and discrimination[13] so often higher in vulnerable populations, and that not teaching others how to proactively manage hopelessness impacts our collective ability to implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, including the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs),
Recognizing that hope has relevance to promoting benefits in all areas of life (i.e., health[14], academic[15] and work performance[16], all SDG attainment, relationships[17], etc.), and that there is an importance of their recognition in public policy objectives and related outcomes,
Recognizing the necessity for a more inclusive, equitable, and balanced approach to economic growth that promotes sustainable development, poverty eradication, health, and prosperity of all peoples, and attaining our individual and collective hope,
- Decides to proclaim May 1st the International Day of Hope;
- Invites all individuals, Member States, organizations of the United Nations system and other international and regional organizations, as well as civil society, including non-governmental organizations and individuals, to observe the International Day of Hope in an appropriate manner, including through education and public awareness-raising activities;
- Requests the Secretary-General to bring the present resolution to the attention of all Member States, organizations of the United Nations system, and civil society organizations for appropriate observance. INSERT NUMBER plenary meeting INSERT DATE.
[1] Moss, S. A. (2018). Hope and goal outcomes: The role of goal-setting behaviors [Master’s thesis, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1513865199503514
[2] Oettingen, G., & Gollwitzer, P. (2002). Turning hope thoughts into goal-directed behavior. Psychological Inquiry, 13(4), 304-307. https://www.jstor.org/stable/1448874
[3] Kirby, K., Sweeney, S., Armour, C., Goetzke, K., Dunne, M., Davidson, M., & Belfer, M. (2021). Developing hopeful minds: Can teaching hope improve well-being and protective factors in children? Child Care in Practice, 28(4), 504-521.
[4] Bryce, C., Goetzke, K., O’Brien, V., Espnoza, P., & Tomasulo, D. (2024). Promoting hope: preliminary investigation in a college-level hope curriculum. Journal of American College Health, 5, 1-7.
[5] Ojala, M. (2023). Hope and climate-change engagement from a psychological perspective. Current Opinion in Psychology, 49, 101514.
[6] Duke, N., Borosky, I., Pettingell, S., & McMorris, B. (2011). Examining youth hopelessness as an independent risk correlate for adolescent delinquency and violence. Maternal and Child Health Journal, 15(1), 87-97. doi: 10.1007/s10995-009-0550-6
[7] Jalilian, F., Matin, B., & Ahmadpanah, M. (2014). Substance abuse among college students: Investigating the role of hopelessness. Life Science Journal, 11(9), 396-399.
[8] Kelly, D., Rollings, A., & Harmon, J. (2005). Chronic self-destructiveness, hopelessness, and risk-taking in college students. Psychological Reports, 96(3). https://doi.org/10.2466/pr0.96.3.620-624
[9] Alavi, S., Mohammadi, M., Souri, H., Kalhori, S., Jannatifard, F., & Sepahbodi, G. (2017). Personality, driving behavior and mental disorders factors as predictors of road traffic accidents based on logistic regression. Iran Journal of Medical Sciences, 42(1), 24-31.
[10] Lin, T., Yi, Z., Zhang, S., & Veldhuis, C. (2022). Predictors of psychological distress and resilience in the post-COVID-19 era. International Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 29, 506-516.
[11] Rholes, W., Rikind, J., & Neville, B. (2011). The relationship of cognitions and hopelessness to depression and anxiety. Social Cognition, 3(1). https://doi.org/10.1521/soco.1985.3.1.36
[12] Wolfe, K., Nakonezny, P., Owen, V., Rial, K., Moorehead, A., Kennard, B., & Emslie, G. (2020). Hopefulessness as a predictor of suicidal ideation in depressed male and female adolescent youth. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 49(1), 253-263. doi: 10.1111/sltb.12428
[13] Mitchell, U., Gutierrez-Kapheim, m., Nguyen, A., & Al-Amin, N. (2020). Hopelessness among middle-age and older Blacks: The negative impact of discrimination and protecting power of social and religious resources. Innovative Aging, 4(5), igaa044. doi: 10.1093/geroni/igaa044.
[14] Long, K. N., Kim, E. S., Chen, Y., Wilson, M. F., Worthington Jr, E. L., & VanderWeele, T. J. (2020). The role of Hope in subsequent health and well-being for older adults: An outcome-wide longitudinal approach. Global Epidemiology, 2, 100018. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloepi.2020.100018
[15] Day, L., Hanson, K., Maltby, J., Proctor, C., & Wood, A. (2010). Hope uniquely predicts objective academic achievement above intelligence, personality, and previous academic achievement. Journal of Research in Personality, 44(4), 550-553. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrp.2010.05.009
[16] Yadav, G., & Kumar, S. (2016). Hope: A tool for managing adversities at workplace. Indian Journal of Health & Wellbeing, 7(12), 1156.
[17] Stevens, E., Guerrero, M., Green, A., & Jason, L. A. (2018). Relationship of hope, sense of community, and quality of life. Journal of Community Psychology, 46(5), 567-574. https://doi.org/10.1002/jcop.21959