World Bee Day in pictures: beekeepers around the world celebrate the pollinators

May 20 marks World Bee Day, a celebration introduced in 2018 by the UN General Assembly

Tunisian beekeeper Elias Chebbi holds a honeycomb in one hand and a locally-made SmartBee device in the other in Testour in the Beja province. AFP

The device remotely monitors activity inside his hives. AFP

A Syrian beekeeper filters honey before packaging it for sale at a workshop in the town of Binnish in the rebel-held province of Idlib. AFP

Syria's apiculture has been affected by the 10-year conflict in the country. AFP

Two Syrian beekeepers pick honey from their hives in the rebel-held province of Idlib. AFP

Syria's apiculture has also been affected by climate change, which has increased drought and wildfires worldwide. AFP

A Syrian beekeeper sorts honey. AFP

Bees populate high-tech hives in Israel's Kibbutz Bet Haemek.

Part of the Beehome project, the hives are decked out with artificial intelligence systems. AFP

Palestinian beekeepers remove bees at a farm in the central Gaza Strip. Reuters

Bees gather on a Palestinian beekeeper in the Gaza Strip. Reuters

From beekeepers to nature lovers and environmental groups, people around the world will celebrate the humble bee on Friday.

May 20 marks World Bee Day, an annual occasion designed to raise awareness of the essential role bees and other pollinators play in keeping people and the planet healthy, as well as highlight the many challenges they face today.

The government of Slovenia, with the support of Apimondia, first proposed the idea of celebrating World Bee Day in 2016, and chose May 20 to mark the birthday of Slovenian beekeeping pioneer Anton Jansa in 1734. In 2018, the UN General Assembly declared May 20 as World Bee Day.

Jansa came from a family of beekeepers in Slovenia, where it is an important agricultural activity with a long-standing tradition.

“Today bees, pollinators, and many other insects are declining in abundance,” the Food and Agricultural Organisation of the United Nations or FAO says on its website. “This day provides an opportunity for all of us — whether we work for governments, organisations or civil society or are concerned citizens — to promote actions that will protect and enhance pollinators and their habitats, improve their abundance and diversity, and support the sustainable development of beekeeping.”

The theme for this year’s World Bee Day is “Bee Engaged: Celebrating the diversity of bees and beekeeping systems”.

The FAO is hosting a virtual event featuring bee and pollinator experts and practitioners from across the world to raise awareness on the importance of the wide variety of bees and sustainable beekeeping systems, the threats and challenges they face and their contribution to livelihoods and food systems.