THE ASSOCIATION LA SEMAINE DU SON BEHIND RESOLUTION 39C/49 ADOPTED BY UNESCO ON OCTOBER 31, 2017

On October 31, 2017, UNESCO adopted a landmark resolution on the importance of sound in today’s world to promote good practice. LA SEMAINE DU SON, an association that has been raising awareness of the societal challenges of sound among the general public, elected representatives and all those involved in society for over 15 years, is at the origin of a constituent resolution for the whole world. The sound environment reflects and shapes our individual and collective behavior, productivity and ability to live harmoniously together. Giving greater importance to sound-related issues in today’s increasingly noisy world is therefore becoming a vital issue. Extract from UNESCO Resolution 39C/49, adopted on October 31, 2017

History

The story goes back to November 1998, when Christian Hugonnet founded the association LA SEMAINE DU SON (law 1901).

January 2004

The 1st edition of La Semaine du Son was launched in January 2004, after lengthy preparation by a steering committee made up of personalities from all fields of sound. For the 1st time, conferences, debates, demonstrations and concerts are offered free of charge to the public in prestigious venues (Radio France, BNF…) on sound-related issues in five areas: (auditory) health, acoustics and sound environment, recording and broadcasting techniques, the relationship between image and sound, and musical expression and education.

June 2014

Ten years later, the association’s general meeting approves its La Semaine du Son Charter, defining 33 concrete objectives to be achieved in these 5 areas of activity. These include: encouraging the use of hearing aids; introducing students to the scale of sound levels, in the same way that temperature is measured in degrees Celsius; encouraging the use of multi-broadcasting techniques in concerts and public broadcasts, in order to achieve greater homogeneity of reproduction and reduce overall sound levels; recognizing the contribution of sound professionals to creative work; and raising awareness of the fact that collective musical practice is a means of combating violence and exclusion…

January 2016

La Semaine du Son Charter was presented for the first time at UNESCO on January 18, 2016, in the presence of Director-General Irina Bokova, the French and Lebanese ambassadors and Dr Shelly Chadha, Head of the Deafness Prevention and Hearing Prevention Programme at WHO.

October 2017

The resolution was adopted by UNESCO’s General Conference (195 member states). This resolution marks the willingness of countries to consider the fundamental importance of sound everywhere in the world.

August 2024

La Semaine du Son is now an official partner (consultative status) of UNESCO. This partnership validates UNESCO’s recognition of the importance of the association’s work, and opens up new avenues of collaboration with UNESCO.