Video: ‘I Was Here’ Campaign – Small Actions to Change the World · Global Voices
Juliana Rincón Parra

Join us as we see how small actions can change the world through the I Was Here campaign for the United Nations World Humanitarian Day. On Sunday, August 19, 2012, as a way to recognize humanitarian work throughout the world, the UN and American singer Beyoncé gave out a worldwide invitation: to make someone else's life better by doing something good for someone, somewhere.
The reason? World Humanitarian Day is on August 19 and was conceived as a way to remember the anniversary of the 2003 bombing of the United Nations headquarters in Baghdad, Iraq, where 22 people lost their lives. The day honors those who have died while trying to help others and also pays tribute to those who day after day continue to help others everywhere around the world.
While the media may be filled with bad news, suffering and pain that others are experiencing, there are also stories from near and far of people doing small or great acts of kindness and helping those in need, reaching out a hand to those who suffer.
On the ‘I Was Here‘ website, the UN provided some suggestions of simple ways in which to help someone else, in the belief that seemingly small actions can have great impact on someone's day. Helping someone do their shopping, giving a homeless person a meal such like a sandwich, volunteering skills for a community project, standing up for someone being bullied or picked on, visiting someone elderly or someone up in a hospital.
Perhaps cooking a meal for new parents, volunteering at a local charity, donating things you no longer need or use, doing something for your neighbors like mowing their lawn, cleaning a park or tutoring someone from a disadvantaged background.
After doing something, you are welcome to add your name and pin your act to the website's map and let people know how you changed someone's day. Some of the ways in which people have already helped are assisting displaced people in Mali, amplifying the voices of the Sahrawi refugees, serving a meal for someone who really needs it, teaching someone how to read and write and taking care of children.
I Was Here logo for the UN World Humanitarian Day Campaign 2012
The call to action video has already been subtitled into 22 different languages in the effort to reach one billion people who will then hopefully follow through and take action on one day, a goal which has already been surpassed by reaching 1,132,204,110 people.
The video and song by Beyoncé has already been translated into ten different languages through a volunteer based  subtitling platform – the idea is to complete at least twice as many.
What action are you going to take to make your mark and improve someone's day or life?