There are hundreds of international commemorative days (Wikipedia lists almost 800), varying from the International Beer Day through the Hobbit Day, up to more the serious world AIDS Day or Pneumonia Day.
Yet, there are some important things to commemorate still missing on the list. Moments in our lives, which influence us almost every day, which are source of emotional disturbance and conflict, and which lead to lost value, time and – nerves.
Moments so abundant that we almost do not contemplate them and take them as a natural and inseparable part of our society. But they are not inseparable and people should be reminded of them and search for ways how to fight them.
Yes, I am talking about bureaucracy: “a system of administration marked by officialism, red tape, and proliferation”, as Merriam-Webster dictionary lists it. The fight against bureaucracy should be commemorated, as a fight against diseases is commemorated.
Respect of entrepreneurs’ and all citizens’ valuable time should be commemorated. Great ideas, which were brought down by bureaucracy in their young age and never stood up again, should be remembered.
Establishing a commemorative day does not take any special procedures, and does not require any money. The only condition is to actually remember at least once a year, on a given day.
Therefore, in 2016, Institute of Economic and Social Studies decided to establish and commemorate the International Bureaucracy Day. We chose the date of September, marked by the birthday of Ludwig von Mises, author of the brilliant analytical book Bureaucracy.
Since 2016, we have been commemorating the day with public stunts (see our 2016 Bureaucracy Folder, a public poll on streets, or our 2017 Bureaucracy Snake). We also publish the results of the Bureaucracy Index on the same day, in 2017 joined by two partners from other countries and this year with three international partners.
Rising awareness is the first step in diminishing a problem. We invite you to join us on Saturday, September 29 and commemorate the International Bureaucracy Day – on social media, among your colleagues, on the streets!
