21 世界电视日 World Television Day

Do you ever stop to think about your television? Well, there is a special day to do this. World Television Day started on November 21, 1998. The United Nations General Assembly decided there should be a day to commemorate one of the most revolutionary inventions ever. This date is when the first World Television Forum was held, in 1996. The purpose of this day is to encourage countries to exchange TV programmes that focus on peace and culture. The UN hopes to encourage greater international understanding. The UN also believes that making high quality television shows leads to a well-informed and better-educated public. It also hopes to promote freedom, equal rights and democracy.

Television is one of the most influential forms of media in history. We grow up with it. Babies learn language from it. It shapes our ideas and is a window on the whole world. Television sets first started appearing in people’s homes in the 1930s. There was only one channel back then and it was in black and white. Today, we have multi-channel TVs that broadcast programmes live all over the world. We watch wars, floods, presidential inaugurations and sports finals as they happen. Not everything about TV is good. Many people blame it for obesity in children, a breakdown in family communication and an obsession with celebrity. No one knows what the future of television will be. Maybe computers will replace them.

1996年12月17日，联合国大会通过第51/205号决议，指定11月21日为世界电视日。这是由于认识到电视通过提醒世界注意冲突及其他对和平与安全的威胁，从而对决策的影响日益增强，同时意识到电视对引导公众关注包括经济和社会问题等主要问题所能发挥的作用。