November 21 – World Television Day

World Television Day was established by the United Nations General Assembly on November 21, 1996, in recognition of television’s significant impact on society. The UN acknowledged television’s profound influence on public opinion and its role as a cornerstone of the entertainment industry. Television is a symbol of communication and globalization, educating, informing, entertaining, and shaping our thoughts and decisions.

The Invention of Television

In 1927, a 21-year-old inventor named Philo Farnsworth developed the world’s first electronic television. Growing up in a home without electricity, Farnsworth envisioned a system that could capture moving images, convert them into a code, and transmit these images via radio waves to different devices. His system, which used an electron beam to capture moving images, was years ahead of the mechanical television systems of the time. Farnsworth famously transmitted an image of a dollar sign with his television after a colleague asked, “When are we going to see a dollar out of this thing?” Neither of them could have foreseen that television would become a global symbol, facilitating the spread of information worldwide.

The Birth of World Television Day

On November 21 and 22, 1996, the United Nations held the first World Television Forum. Leading media figures gathered to discuss the growing importance of television in an ever-changing world and to explore ways to enhance cooperation. UN leaders recognized that television could draw attention to conflicts, raise awareness of threats to peace and security, and focus attention on social and economic issues. Television was seen as a primary tool for informing and influencing public opinion, with a significant impact on world politics.

Following this event, the UN General Assembly declared November 21 as World Television Day to acknowledge television as a symbol of communication and globalization in the modern world.