World Listening Day 2022: Listening Across Boundaries

Today we announced that the theme for World Listening Day 2022 will be “Listening Across Boundaries.” I’m super excited to have been chosen as the theme creator for this year and that my choice of theme seems to resonate with so many and in such interesting directions.

World Listening Day is celebrated every year on July 18th.

Check out the World Listening Project website to learn more and to register your events, or sign up to participate in events.

Here is the theme description I developed:

The theme for World Listening Day 2022 “Listening Across Boundaries” invites us to explore the role of listening across branches of knowledge including scientific, medical, and musical purposes; how natural soundscapes do not recognize human-drawn boundaries of protected areas or countries; listening across cultures; the remarkableness and challenges of listening virtually; and seeming limitations or barriers to listening that can be overcome.

Some sound transmission channels are expanding across geographical and technological boundaries  – especially in the virtual realm – and we need to adapt to best seek opportunities. Some listening spaces are seemingly limited by pandemic precautions, yet have untapped potential. Other areas and ways of listening are unexplored, waiting to be discovered, hiding insights at intersections of boundaries and unheard perspectives. As more of the world becomes interconnected and online, it is important to be inclusive of all peoples of the world who have not had as much voice at the table. Climate change shifts ecological and biome boundaries, forcing migrations of flora, fauna, and people. It is imperative to document and listen to existing and changing soundscapes.

As we listen across boundaries, in ways previously unimaginable, we gain respect and insights, and connect.