World Voice Day 2022

Abstract

World Voice Day 2022 Robert T. Sataloff CARE OF THE PROFESSIONAL VOICE Click for larger view View full resolution Robert T. Sataloff [Modified in part from: R.T. Sataloff, "World Voice Day 2021," Journal of Voice (2021; in press).] Each year, the Journal of Singing publishes an issue highlighting World Voice Day. The journal is committed to collaborating with the American Academy of Otolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery (AAO-HNS), the Voice Foundation, the American Laryngological Association (ALA), and other organizations to support World Voice Day. That issue is modified periodically and republished before World Voice Day (April 16th) in order to remind people to prepare to participate in World Voice Day. This topic has been discussed previously by the author and others (see References). All singing and acting teachers, physicians, speech-language pathologists, nurses, voice patients, and others who care for and about the voice should work together to raise awareness of the importance of the voice and of developments in voice care. More than three decades ago, the World Health Organization recognized a particularly high rate of laryngeal cancer in Brazil. In April, 1989, the Executive Committee of the Sociedade Brasileira de Laringologia e Voz (Brazilian Association of Laryngology and Voice), a multidisciplinary society that includes physicians, speech-language pathologists, and singing teachers, proposed April 16th as "Voice Day." Later, it was transformed to a national voice week, and even a voice month in some locations. Brazilian otolaryngologists established a National Voice Week. Soon, other societies around the world recognized the importance of public education about the voice, and the European Laryngological Association (www.elsoc.org), American Bronchoesophagological Association (www.abea.net), and other societies began collaborating to establish an annual World Voice Day. World Voice Day was celebrated in the United States for the first time on April 16, 2003. It was supported by the AAO-HNS (www.entnet.org), the Voice Foundation (www.voicefoundation.org), the American Laryngological Association (www.alahns.org), the National Association of Teachers of Singing (www.nats.org), and numerous other societies and organizations. A summary of the evolution of World Voice Day can be found on the website of the AAO-HNS and at World-Voice-Day.org. Typical World Voice Day activities include lectures, concerts, educational programs, clinical voice screenings, and media events scheduled to take place on and around April 16th. Web-based educational initiatives may be found through the AAO-HNS and the Voice Foundation websites, and elsewhere. Singers, singing teachers, actors, acting teachers, laryngologists, speech-language [End Page 491] pathologists, nurses, and others organize celebratory events in cities throughout the world to expand public appreciation of and knowledge about the human voice, and to raise awareness about the importance of good voice health and education. In Philadelphia in 2021, for example, World Voice Day events included a PECO Crown Lights display visible throughout much of the city, online voice education presentations, and other activities, despite the pandemic. Extensive events honoring World Voice Day take place each year in Lisbon, Portugal, under the auspices of Professor Mario Andrea; in the Detroit area under the guidance of Dr. Adam Rubin; in Pittsburgh with Dr. Libby Smith; in San Francisco with Drs. Clark Rosen and VyVy Young; in Los Angeles under the guidance of Dr. Michael Johns; in São Paulo, Brazil, under the guidance of Dr. Mara Behlau; and in many other cities. In addition, the National Association of Teachers of Singing supports World Voice Day actively, and many events around the U.S.A. are organized by singing teachers. Future activities promise to be even more expansive as guided through the new ad hoc World Voice Day planning committee, notable for its broad international representation. The group's initial meeting was held in Erlangen, Germany, on July 4, 2012; the organization is dedicated to sharing the excitement of voice science, pedagogy, and the vocal arts globally in collaboration with like-minded existing groups. Under the guidance initially of Johan Sundberg, Ph.D., in Stockholm, Sweden, and recently also of Dr. Mara Belau, this group documented 461 World Voice Day events in 2014, 736 in 2016, 632 in 2017 (when April 16th was on Easter Sunday...