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VK3ZWI > IARU 03.09.00 12:56l 75 Lines 4409 Bytes #999 (999) @ WW
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Subj: Opening address IARUR III Conference
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From: VK3ZWI@VK3FRS.#MEL.VIC.AUS.OC
To : IARUR3@WW
Opening address to the IARU Region III Conference by WIA President,
Peter Naish VK2BPN
It gives me great pleasure to welcome you on behalf of the Wireless Institute
of Australia to Darwin and to the 11th Conference of Region III of the
International Amateur Radio Union. I hope that in the next few days we will
be successful in our many efforts on behalf of Amateur Radio. Further, I hope
that we take the opportunity of getting to know each other better and to share
knowledge and information about the amateur radio activities in our own
countries. A number of recreational activities have been arranged for your
pleasure and these occasions will enable you to relax and, in true Amateur
Radio tradition, to rag chew with each other.
Amateur Radio has a proud and enviable reputation. For more than 100 years
amateurs have pioneered wireless communications often at times when others
showed little or no interest. Most of the technical innovations of present
day radiocommunications owe their initiation to work done by radio amateurs
working as individuals or in select teams to improve their personal skills.
There are many examples of these successes that are well known to you, I'm
sure. Even today, the spirit of the very early work performed by people like
Marconi and his contemporaries remains alive and well in the Amateur Radio
Service.
Because of our dominant position in the development of wireless communications
the Amateur Radio Service worldwide has been permitted the use of a vast
amount of radio spectrum with a minimum of regulation and at little actual
cost to the Amateur Radio stations concerned. This situation on which the
traditions of Amateur Radio are based is now changing. It is perhaps ironic
that the pioneering work achieved by amateurs, such as the opening of areas of
the spectrum previously considered of little serious use by others, is now
resulting in threats to the availability to radio amateurs of the very same
spectrum. More and more commercial interests are looking with hunger at the
spectrum to which radio amateurs have access. New technologies are enabling
these interests to promote services that the public at large will eagerly
accept with little or no regard to the Amateur Radio Service. I believe that
is a world-wide trend and not confined to a few countries.
It is therefore very appropriate that we have the strong voice of the
International Amateur Radio Union to continue to make the views of the
Amateur Radio Service heard. For over 75 years the IARU has been carrying
this message through its contacts and attendance at the ITU's World
Radiocommunications Conferences. Now is no time for complacency. Together we
must present Amateur Radio as an essential asset to human society. It is a
unique in that it has provided significant benefits to mankind for over a
century and will continue to do so for many years to come. Through this theme I
believe we can justify our use of the increasingly valuable radio spectrum
which we are privileged to use.
This meeting of delegates from Amateur Radio societies of Region III of IARU
will provide the opportunity to develop and progress many sensible and vital
issues for review by the IARU Administrative Council. Hopefully we may be able
to resolve a number of them tabled at earlier Region III meetings. I am
heartened to note the depth and professional expertise of the many papers
submitted for your consideration this week. They cover a very wide range of
subjects and will involve us all in some very hard work. In particular I note
the influence of new communications technologies and the use of new, perhaps
sophisticated, modes of transmission. This sits well in the scenario that
Amateur Radio is going forward into the 21st. Century as a technically
competent partner in the greater field of technology advancement.
In summary, I believe Amateur Radio is alive and well. Yes, we have many
challenges to face but together as a united force we will find solutions to
them that will ensure the future of amateur radio.
May I wish you all a very successful and personally rewarding conference and
I look forward to being part of it with you.
Thank you!
This IARU RIII Conference Report was issued courtesy WIA Victoria
www.tbsa.com.au/~wiavic
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