IARU Celebrates 100 years

World Amateur Radio Day: IARU celebrates a century of connections

When amateur radio pioneers first gathered in Paris on 18 April 1925, they created the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) to support their activities worldwide. Since then, the IARU has worked tirelessly to defend and expand the official frequency allocations for amateur radio.

Thanks to the support of enlightened administrations in every part of the globe, radio amateurs can experiment and communicate in frequency bands that are strategically located throughout the radio spectrum. From 25 countries in 1925, the IARU has grown to include over 160 member-societies today.

Next year marks the centenary of the IARU’s founding, an event to be celebrated worldwide. A conference and dinner in Paris will mark the big occasion next April.

In the meantime, the IARU is kicking off its centenary celebrations on 18 April – World Amateur Radio Day. Our theme for this year is A Century of Connections: Celebrating 100 years of Amateur Radio Innovation, Community and Advocacy.

A gateway to STEM experience

We will celebrate what we have achieved for amateur radio services over the last 100 years, the work we have done to drive innovation, and how we continue supporting the worldwide community. Amateur radio has always been a critical part of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) training, and many leaders in global communications can trace the start of their careers to the amateur services.

We have also been leaders in the field of innovation, with numerous technical advances in communications tracing back to pioneers in amateur radio. Amateur operators, of course, have always provided effective and resilient emergency communications, giving them a vital role in times of crisis.

As an advocate and representative for the amateur services, the IARU is a proud and active member of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). We were first admitted into the work of the Consultative Committee on International Radio (CCIR), the forerunner to today’s ITU Radiocommunication Sector (ITU–R), in 1932.

We have continued contributing to ITU’s radiocommunications and emergency response activities ever since. Nowadays, the IARU is an active participant in ITU’s Telecommunication Development Sector (ITU-D) as well as in ITU-R.

Page Last Updated: Wednesday, 29 Jan 2025 at 12:47 hours by Peter Clee

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