World Listening Day, July 18, 2013
World Listening Day has been happening annually on July 18, since 2010, and the fourth annual World Listening Day happens on Thursday, July 18. The purposes of World Listening Day are:
· To celebrate the practice of listening as it relates to the world around us, environmental awareness, and acoustic ecology;
· To raise awareness about issues related to the World Soundscape Project, World Forum for Acoustic Ecology, World Listening Project, and individual and group efforts to creatively explore phonography;
· And, to design and implement educational initiatives which explore these concepts and practices.
World Listening Day is co-organized by the World Listening Project (WLP) and the Midwest Society for Acoustic Ecology (MSAE). July 18 was chosen to happen on the birthday of the renowned Canadian composer R. Murray Schafer, who is celebrating his 80th birthday this year. Schafer started the World Soundscape Project in 1971. The culmination of its pioneering research into the sound environment is described in Schafer’s seminal book, The Tuning of the World. Published in 1977, it spawned international interest and activity in acoustic ecology, defining new terms and concepts that are commonly accepted now in science, art, and cultural studies.
WLP and MSAE invite you to participate in the 2013 World Listening Day, which will happen on Thursday, July 18. Other WLD events will be happening during the week of July 14. Here are several possibilities. You can:
· Organize a soundwalk or a listening party when people play field recordings.
· Organize a performance event that involves field recordings and other artistic expressions that explore our soundscape and how we can listen to our sonic environment.
· Participate in a private / solitary way, by paying attention to your soundscape.
· Facilitate an educational event that relates to acoustic ecology, field recordings, or a similar topic.
· Contact organizations that are participating in World Listening Day, to see if you can get involved that way.
The level of participation that happened during the inaugural 2010 World Listening Day was amazing. We would like to see if we could double or even triple the number of participants worldwide on the 2013 World Listening Day. If you wish to participate, please email worldlistening@gmail.com, and be sure to include ”World Listening Day” in the subject line. Thanks!