On 26 April 2025, I attend­ed the Inter­na­tion­al Ama­teur Radio Union (IARU) Cen­ten­ni­al Lun­cheon held in Paris, com­mem­o­rat­ing 100 years of IARU’s lead­er­ship and ser­vice to the glob­al ama­teur radio community.

The event was host­ed by the IARU Inter­na­tion­al Sec­re­tari­at, with Joel Har­ri­son, W5ZN, IARU Sec­re­tary, serv­ing as the Mas­ter of Cer­e­mo­ny. The lun­cheon began with open­ing remarks by Ms. Doreen Bog­dan-Mar­tin, KD2JTX, Sec­re­tary-Gen­er­al of the Inter­na­tion­al Telecom­mu­ni­ca­tion Union (ITU). This was fol­lowed by address­es from Richard Rod­er­ick, K5UR, Pres­i­dent of ARRL/International Sec­re­tari­at, Tim­o­thy Ellam, KC, VE6SH/G4HUA, Pres­i­dent of the Inter­na­tion­al Ama­teur Radio Union, Chris­tiane Seifert, Chair of the CEPT Elec­tron­ic Com­mu­ni­ca­tions Com­mit­tee, and Oscar Leon Suarez, Exec­u­tive Sec­re­tary of the Inter-Amer­i­can Telecom­mu­ni­ca­tion Com­mis­sion (CITEL).

A his­toric high­light of the event was the pre­sen­ta­tion by Ms. Bog­dan-Mar­tin of a spe­cial gift to the IARU: the orig­i­nal copy of the first Inter­na­tion­al Radiotele­graph Con­ven­tion book, sym­bol­iz­ing the deep his­tor­i­cal ties between inter­na­tion­al radio reg­u­la­tion and the ama­teur radio movement.

The keynote address was deliv­ered by Mr. Atti­la Matas, HB9IAJ, for­mer Head of the Space Pub­li­ca­tion & Reg­is­tra­tion Divi­sion of the Radio­com­mu­ni­ca­tion Bureau (ITU‑R). In his speech, he reflect­ed on the evo­lu­tion of inter­na­tion­al radio reg­u­la­tions, the con­tri­bu­tion of ama­teur radio to tech­no­log­i­cal inno­va­tion and emer­gency com­mu­ni­ca­tions, and the need for con­tin­u­ous adap­ta­tion to future chal­lenges and oppor­tu­ni­ties. Mr. Matas also shared that many del­e­gates from admin­is­tra­tions lat­er sup­port­ed the posi­tion of ama­teur radio in the ITU Radio Reg­u­la­tions after vis­it­ing the ITU club sta­tion 4U1ITU and receiv­ing expla­na­tions on how active ama­teur radio is, espe­cial­ly in the con­text of emer­gency com­mu­ni­ca­tions and tech­no­log­i­cal advancements.

The lun­cheon was attend­ed by 84 par­tic­i­pants, includ­ing spe­cial guests, cur­rent and for­mer IARU offi­cers, as well as rep­re­sen­ta­tives from IARU mem­ber soci­eties in Region 1. Through­out the event, par­tic­i­pants engaged in mean­ing­ful dis­cus­sions about reg­u­la­to­ry devel­op­ments, emerg­ing tech­nolo­gies, and strate­gies to engage younger gen­er­a­tions in ama­teur radio. The event con­clud­ed with a com­mem­o­ra­tive lunch to hon­or IARU’s cen­tu­ry of achieve­ments and to look ahead to a vibrant future.

Attend­ing the IARU Com­mem­o­ra­tive Lunch was a very inspir­ing expe­ri­ence, under­lin­ing the impor­tance of ama­teur radio and the spir­it of inter­na­tion­al col­lab­o­ra­tion and hope­ful­ly ben­e­fit­ing IARU Region 3 and its mem­ber societies.

Paris, 27 April 2025

Wis­nu Wid­ja­ja YBØAZ
The IARU Region 3 President