[SFDXA] World Amateur Radio Day 2016

[Bill]

World Amateur Radio Day 2016 Will Celebrate Amateur Radio’s Contribution 
to Society

04/07/2016

World Amateur Radio Day (WARD), observed every April 18, marks the 
founding of the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) 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 
your activity information, and I will post 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).

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 everhsy 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) 
(small (A4) flyer).