World Amateur Radio Day (WARD) is coming up on Sunday April 18th. 2021 marks the 96th anniversary of the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU), founded at the 1925 International Radiotelegraph Conference in Paris.
Amateur Radio experimenters were the first to discover that the short-wave spectrum — far from being a wasteland — could support worldwide propagation. Amateur Radio pioneers met in Paris in 1925 and created the IARU to support Amateur Radio worldwide.
From the 25 countries that formed the IARU in 1925, the IARU has grown to include over 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.
Since its founding, the IARU has worked tirelessly 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.
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 more than 3,000,000 licensed operators!
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.
IARU has chosen “Amateur Radio: Home but Never Alone” as the theme for WARD 2021. The theme acknowledges that during our physical distancing to reduce the spread of COVID-19, amateur radio stands out as a welcome respite for its variety of activities and opportunities.
Learn more about WARD info: https://www.iaru.org/on-the-air/world-amateur-radio-day/
ARRL WARD info:
http://www.arrl.org/news/celebrate-world-amateur-radio-day-2021-on-april-18
