04/07/2016
World Amateur Radio Day (WARD[1]), observed every April 18, marks the founding
of the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU[2]) in 1925. As they do every
year, radio amateurs worldwide will take to the airwaves to celebrate Amateur
Radio's contribution to society.
"April 18 is the day for all of Amateur Radio to celebrate and tell the world
about the science we can help teach, the community service we can provide, and
the fun we have," the IARU said in announcing World Amateur Radio Day 2016. "We
hope you will join in the fun and education that is World Amateur Radio Day!"
Taking note of the increased activity around the world for WARD 2016, ARRL
Media and Public Relations Manager Sean Kutzko, KX9X, pointed out that WARD
2016 coincides with National Parks Week in the US, so listen for amateurs on
from NPS units for National Parks on the Air. "ARRL is happy to list
coordinated activity from WARD stations worldwide. Send me[3] your activity
information, and I will post[4] it to the IARU WARD page."
Amateur Radio experimenters were the first to discover that the shortwave
spectrum - far from being a wasteland - could support worldwide propagation. In
the rush to use these shorter wavelengths, Amateur Radio was "in grave danger
of being pushed aside," the IARU's history has noted. Amateur Radio pioneers -
ARRL co-founder Hiram Percy Maxim, 1AW, among them - met in Paris in 1925 and
created the IARU to support Amateur Radio worldwide.
As Maxim and his counterparts envisioned, the IARU is an international
confederation of national Amateur Radio organizations that allows a forum for
common matters of concern and collectively represents matters to the
International Telecommunication Union (ITU[5]).
Just 2 years later, at the International Radiotelegraph Conference, Amateur
Radio gained several allocations still recognized today - 160, 80, 40, 20, and
10 meters. Since its founding, the IARU has worked to defend and expand the
frequency allocations for Amateur Radio. Thanks to the support of enlightened
administrations in every part of the globe, radio amateurs are now able to
experiment and communicate in frequency bands strategically located throughout
the radio spectrum.
From the 25 countries that formed the IARU in 1925, the IARU has grown to
include 160 member-societies in three regions. IARU Region 1 includes Europe,
Africa, the Middle East, and Northern Asia. Region 2 covers the Americas, and
Region 3 is comprised of Australia, New Zealand, the Pacific island nations,
and most of Asia. The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has
recognized the IARU as representing the interests of Amateur Radio.
Today, Amateur Radio is more popular than ever, with over 3,000,000 licensed
operators! World Amateur Radio Day is the occasion when IARU member societies
can demonstrate Amateur Radio's capabilities to the public and enjoy global
friendship.
The IARU has provided a World Amateur Radio Day poster. Any club may download
it to promote WARD. The poster comes in two sizes (61cm x 91cm[6]) (small (A4)
flyer[7]).
Groups should promote their WARD activity on social media by using the hash tag
#WARD2016[8] on Twitter and on Facebook.
[1] http://www.iaru.org/world-amateur-radio-day.html
[2] http://www.iaru.org/
[3] mailto:skutzko@arrl.org
[4] http://www.iaru.org/world-amateur-radio-day.html
[5] http://www.itu.int/
[6] http://www.iaru.org/uploads/1/3/0/7/13073366/61x91.pdf
[7] http://www.iaru.org/uploads/1/3/0/7/13073366/a4.pdf
[8] https://twitter.com/hashtag/ward2016
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