World First Aid Day

About the event

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) introduced World First Aid Day in 2000. Each year, more than 100 Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies around the world organise events and ceremonies on the second Saturday of September to raise public awareness of how first aid can save lives everyday and in situations of crisis. The IFRC believes that first aid should be accessible to all - including the most vulnerable, and should also be an integral part of a wider developmental approach. 

How to approach it

There are several things you can focus on today. Firstly, reinforce your student’s knowledge of first aid and how important it is. See if any one of your students can give an initial explanation for what first aid is. First aid is about the first response after injury and it can be done by anyone, friends, teachers, colleagues and paramedics. See if students can give examples of what first aid might require, and what you would need to know in order to carry it out effectively. Explain that most organisations like schools, workplaces and clubs are required to have someone trained in first aid and that anyone can be trained to do this. Ask: what is useful about knowing first aid? What is useful about lots of people being trained in first aid? 

Secondly, you could introduce your students to the work of the Red Cross and the Red Crescent. Check out our Red Cross and Red Crescent Day for more information. Ask: what values do these first aid workers have? Is it compassion? Care? What else? What is inspiring about these organisations that are designed to look after people? What would a world look like if we designed all systems to look after people?

Finally, you could introduce a global angle to this day by asking students to consider access to first aid in more deprived communities and overseas. Explore how, although we have lots of first aid professionals, training,  and resources this isn’t the same for everyone around the globe. Show that organisations such as the Red Cross are trying to address this inequality, so that everyone is able to be safe if an accident was to occur. Ask students: how else could we address this inequality of access? Some ideas could be international aid funding, local government funding, support from western businesses, international NGOs or national debt forgiveness.