World Voice Day

World Voice Day (WVD) is a worldwide annual event that takes place on April 16 devoted to the celebration of the phenomenon of voice. The aim is to demonstrate the enormous importance of the voice in our daily lives, as a tool of communication, and as an application of a large number of sciences, such as physics, psychology, phonetics, art, and biology. It was initiated in 1999 as a combined effort of American and European otolaryngologists and speech and language pathologists, particularly the American Academy of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery (AAO-HNS) and MD Mario André in Portugal. Now, the celebration of the World Voice Day is scattered around the globe, including concerts, symposia, open house at voice clinics and voice education institutes, TV shows, and radio programs.

Background

The voice is like a gem with facets reflecting multiple scientific disciplines and practical and artistic concerns. Both humans and animals depend heavily on vocal communication, so voice science incorporates physiology, biology and bioacoustics.

The voice provides the main tool for both semantic and emotional communication, and is therefore relevant to auditory perception, psychology, neurology, cognition, linguistics and phonetics. It is a crucial tool not only in education but also in the daily work for about 30% of the entire working population.

A functioning voice is highly significant to quality of life. The voice is a musical instrument in singing, making it a part of art and culture. Voice science has foundations in various branches of physics, particularly biophysics, aerodynamics, mechanics and acoustics. Voice pedagogy involves vocal development, and artistic expressions of speech and singing are integral to every relationship and culture in the world.

However, both the general public and professionals in many disciplines lack an understanding of the great significance of the voice. In particular, the true inter-disciplinary scope of voice science, pedagogy and art is inadequately recognized by funding bodies, and its potential in the public understanding of the voice disciplines and as an accessible topic for education in physics, mathematics and biology, as well as cultural and personal development remains under-utilized.