Lisa Leenders, PA2LS, IARU Region 1 Youth Working Group chair. |
IARU Region 1 Forms Youth Working Group
Region 1 of the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU R1)
- representing national ham radio societies in Europe, Africa and the Middle
East - has formed a region-wide Youth Working Group and appointed 24-year-old
Lisa Leenders, PA2LS, of the Netherlands, to a three-year term as Chair and
Youth Coordinator. According to the ARRL Letter, the group was also given a
three-year budget of nearly $30,000 US for events and activities. One of its
first projects will be to organize and coordinate Youngsters On The Air (YOTA)
events and activities.
Delegates to the IARU Region 1 general conference in
Bulgaria in September also approved forming an Amateur Radio Observation
Service to monitor DXpeditions for malicious interference and to try to track
down possible sources. The delegates also supported a proposal by five IARU R1
countries to the European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications
Administrations (CEPT) for a region-wide secondary amateur allocation at
69.9-70.5 MHz, also known as 4 meters. Some European countries already allow
amateur operation on 4 meters. A request to the FCC for a matching band in the
US was recently turned down.