An interview with Tim Ellam, VE6SH, IARU President on World Amateur Radio Day 2020 has been published by ITU news. The Director of the ITU Radio Bureau has also sent a tweetto promote the interview on social media.
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Author: Sylvain, F4GKR
IARU Member Societies ARA (Algeria) and ARAT (Tunisia) have started this week a series of online knowledge sharing sessions for their members and the public. The sessions last for an hour each. Topics are presented by volunteering members from both associations.
Following the Covid-19 outbreak, both ARA and ARAT, like most member societies around the globe, were obliged to suspend their activities in Algeria and Tunisia respectively. So it was suggested to benefit from the fact that people are locked down at home to initiate knowledge sharing sessions and thus maintain interest among members.
The first online session was conducted on April 5th, open to members and the public. It was chaired by Mohamed 7X2TL who took participants through electronics principles.
The sessions will continue to be planned and conducted 2 to 3 times a week. The plan for the future is to extend the range of contributions by inviting hams from other countries to give interactive lectures if a particular (advanced) topic is requested by members. For more information contact Ash, KF5EYY / 3V8SF at:
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Member societies are starting to create new intiatives to provide interest for radio amateurs who are required to stay at home as part of social distancing policies. IARU Region 1 will publicise those which may be of general interest to amateurs across Region 1 countries.
Please provide details of other initiatives to <president “at” iaru-r1.org> if you would like them included on this page.
HOPE QSO parties(RSGB): The RSGB is running a series of 90 minute contests to provide challenge and enjoyment to those confined to home at this time. Details here
REF has made latest issue of Radio REF magazinefreely available to the amateur community. You can find it here
The Kuwait Amateur Radio Societyis spreading awareness among radio amateurs all over the world about the importance of staying at home and NOT mixing with others. 9K9STAYHOME is a special call sign to help get this message across.
Since this Kuwait initiative, others have joined the “STAYHOME” project. SRAL is launching ten different stations from OH0 thru OH9 who sign with STAYHOME suffixes, such as OH5STAYHOME. Stations from other countries signing STAYHOME are understood to include E7STAYHOME, VESTAYHOME with the RAST (Thailand) E2STAYHOME station expected to join soon.
The South African Radio LeagueCouncil has made the April 2020 issue of Radio ZS available for members and not yet members of the SARL. You can download the PDF of the April edition of Radio ZS, published by SARL here
URE has made latest issue of Radioaficionados magazine freely available to the amateur community. You can find it here.
RSGB has made available the May copy of its monthly publication RadCom. You can find it here
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Radio amateurs will share the concerns of everyone about the seriousness of the COVID-19 outbreak. Governments all over the world are advising “social distancing” to slow the spread of the virus and to give health services the chance to cope.
Field days bring radio amateurs together and so represent an environment where social distancing is difficult to achieve. We must recognise that many radio amateurs are in the older, higher risk age groups. IARU Region 1 therefore asks national societies which promote field days and multi-operator contests to reconsider their position on these events for the next few months of 2020. Field days are essentially team contests, and so IARU will not sponsor the Region 1 HF-CW Field Day in June. It is a matter for national societies to decide whether and how they continue with their national field day events.
IARU Region 1 believes more generally that multi-operator contests are not consistent with the principle of ”social distancing” and should not be promoted at this time.
The position on other IARU events in 2020 which involve multi-operator categories is under review.
Single operator contests, however, remain a great way for those forced to stay at home to enjoy the magic of amateur radio!
Don Beattie, G3BJ, President IARU Region 1
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IARU has published on its global website a summary of the above. It reads:
Here are some notes about how the IARU is dealing, as of March 19, with the restrictions now in place to slow the spread of COVID-19.
The ITU has cancelled some meetings, postponed others, and converted still others into E‑meetings with no in-person dimension. ITU Headquarters in Geneva is not accessible to visitors until April 17 “at the earliest.” IARU representatives are adjusting their plans accordingly.
The largest amateur radio gathering in Europe, Ham Radio in Friedrichshafen, Germany, is still scheduled for June 26 – 28 and plans are going forward for a two-part IARU stand, including a dedicated one for youth. Whether the event will take place is unknown at this time.
The IARU Region 1 Executive Committee was scheduled to meet April 17 – 19. A series of virtual meetings will be held instead.
IARU Region 2 was planning workshops on Emergency Communications and Satellite Communications in Trinidad & Tobago, May 30 – 31, but has announced that the workshops will be held online instead. Interest and registrations have surged since the announcement. These workshops will be held in English but preparations are underway for workshops in Spanish to be held later.
IARU Region 3 has cancelled its first Youngsters on the Air (YOTA) Camp that had been planned for Rayong, Thailand, in early October.
Reminder: World Amateur Radio Day, April 18, is just a few weeks away! Help us celebrate amateur radio’s contributions to society, the 95thanniversary of the founding of the IARU, and that amateur radio is the best way to practice social distancing!
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