The paper documents the process of proclaiming International Geodiversity Day as a grassroots initiative of the Earth science community for the benefit of our present civilization and for future generations. The huge support that this initiative has gained among scientists around the world has contributed to the rapid circulation of documents necessary to establish an international day at the UNESCO Forum. The paper presents the timeline of this process of proclaiming International Geodiversity Day, its implications and the course of the first celebrations in 2022.