World Listening Day is an annual global call to celebrate the practice of listening and field recording by means of participating or organizing of any of these activities:
organize a soundwalk or a listening party when people play field recordings
organize a performance event that involves field recordings and other artistic expressions that explore our soundscape and how we can listen to our sonic environment
participate in a private / solitary way, by paying attention to your soundscape
facilitate an educational event that relates to acoustic ecology, field recordings, or a similar topic
contact organizations that are participating in World Listening Day, to see if you can get involved that way
July 18 was chosen as the official date for World Listening Day (but not limited to this date only) because it is the birthday of the Canadian composer R. Murray Schafer, who is one of the founders of the Acoustic Ecology movement -- soundscape studies that “find solutions for an ecologically balanced soundscape where the relationship between the human community and its sonic environment is in harmony” (World Soundscape Project).
World Listening Day is co-organized by the World Listening Project (WLP), a not-for-profit organization devoted to understanding the world and its natural environment, societies and cultures through the practices of listening and field recording; and Midwest Society for Acoustic Ecology (MSAE), a membership organization dedicated to exploring the role of sound in natural habitats and human societies, and promoting public dialogue concerning the identification, preservation, and restoration of natural and cultural sound environments.
In response to the open call, E.X.I.S.T. (EXperimentation In Sound art Tradition) will be participating this year’s World Listening Day by organizing a performance event that will feature selected artists whose work marks an important creative application on the practice of Field Recording and Phonography. It will consist of live performances of field recording materials and an informal presentation about Acoustic Ecology. Also, with the purpose of establishing an exchange of ideas, the event will be open to informative and meaningful discussion.
The event would be purposely held in an open-air venue to aesthetically/conceptually blend the performances with the outdoor environment. Although July 18 is the official date of World Listening Day, the event (Cavite, Philippines) would be set on Sunday, July 17.
