International Day of Friendship Date in the current year: July 30, 2024

The celebration of Friendship Day was first proposed by the founder of Hallmark Cards Joyce Hall. He chose the date of August 2 because it was the center of a large gap between holidays. The first person to propose the idea of a World Friendship Day was Dr. Artemio Bracho from Paraguay in 1958.

Bracho founded the World Friendship Crusade, a foundation that promotes friendship among all human beings, regardless of their race, skin color or religious beliefs. The foundation began to celebrate Friendship Day on July 30. The first celebration was held in Paraguay, then the holiday was adopted by some other countries.

The World Friendship Crusade has addressed the United Nations on more than one occasion, lobbying to recognize July 30 as World Friendship Day. Finally, it was officially proclaimed as a United Nations observance in 2011.

UN International Day of Friendship is marked with events and activities that promote a dialogue among different cultures, respect for diversity, mutual understanding and solidarity.