International Mountain Day 2026

Ideas for schools and colleges

• Build a regional case study. Choose one mountain area and investigate its landscape, settlement patterns and livelihoods using reliable maps and local sources.
• Follow a food or fibre journey. Explore how a product moves from a mountain producer to a customer. Ask which people and services are involved at each stage.
• Compare perspectives. Read an account by a community member alongside a tourism description. Discuss what each reveals and what further questions learners would ask.
• Create an informed exhibition. Pair every image with a place, source and explanation. Include the people and work connected with the landscape, as well as its physical features.

Workplace and community activities

A walking club, library or environmental group could host a talk about a particular mountain region and its communities. Choose a speaker with relevant knowledge and agree an accessible format. A local outdoor activity can accompany the learning, with routes and arrangements suited to participants and local conditions.

Businesses buying food, textiles or outdoor products can use the day to ask better questions about their supply chains. Find out which claims about origin and production can actually be evidenced. A useful outcome might be a clearer product description or a conversation with a supplier about the people represented in promotional material.

Community groups can also share FAO’s official resources or contribute an appropriate event to the campaign’s listings when registration is available. Check the current participation guidance and any requirements for use of campaign graphics. Do not imply that a locally organised event is endorsed by FAO unless that has been agreed.

The focus for 2026

FAO has announced the 2026 theme as “Mountain pastoralists: Sustaining rangelands, knowledge and livelihoods”. It connects the observance with the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists 2026. The focus offers a way to learn about mountain landscapes as places where people live and work, including the knowledge and practices of pastoral communities.

International Mountain Day has been observed since 2003. It is an international occasion with its own annual date, distinct from national mountain holidays held elsewhere in the calendar. For example, an activity about this UN day should not be given the August date of Japan’s Mountain Day.

Explore the people behind the landscape

Mountain photographs often focus on scenery. A useful activity can ask what is outside the frame: settlements, grazing routes, markets, local services and the work required to maintain a livelihood. Use a documented example from a specific region rather than suggesting all mountain communities share the same way of life.

Pastoralism can be explored through geography, food systems, language and cultural knowledge. When using material about Indigenous Peoples or local communities, follow the source’s terminology and attribution. Invite people to describe their own experience where appropriate, with agreed expectations and recognition for their contribution.

Keep the activity connected to its purpose

Set one question to revisit at the end: what did participants learn about the relationship between mountain landscapes and livelihoods? Record useful sources, correct misconceptions and identify a practical next step, such as a follow-up discussion or a better-labelled display. Include the people responsible and a realistic timescale for carrying it out.

Continue the wider environmental conversation through World Environment Day and explore food systems through World Food Day.

Source check: 23 October 2026. The date, coordinating agency and 2026 theme were checked against FAO’s official International Mountain Day page.