On April 16, 1964, the 1st. Pan-American Amateur Radio Congress was inaugurated in Mexico City in order to create what is known today as IARU Region 2.
Delegates from Argentina, Bermuda, Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, Panama, Peru, the United States and Venezuela were present. Brazil, Chile and Jamaica participated through proxy.
IARU President, Herbert Hoover Jr., W6ZH, was very clear in his speech when stating the objectives of the new organization: First establish the bases for a permanent organization to promote the interests of radio amateurs in the Western Hemisphere; second…get to know each other better, obtain a deeper perspective and strengthen international friendship ties…”
He encouraged present societies to participate actively with their regulators to get the votes needed in the coming World Radio Conference, where it was imperative to defend the bands allocated to the radio amateurs.
He also mentioned that currently, IARU represented 60 member societies and 350 thousand radio amateurs throughout the world.
The Congress, as indicated by the reports, was very intense. Diverse commissions were created to work actively for 4 days, creating documents and the processes needed for its operation. An Executive Committee was elected by acclamation, integrated by six persons selected using a criterion of geographic balance. The result was as follows:
President: Antonio Pita, XE1CCP
Vicepresident: José Italo Giammattei, YS1IM
Secretary: Gustavo Reusens, OA4AV
Treasurer: Noel B. Eaton, VE3CJ
Director: Miguel A. Czysch, LU3DCA
Director: Robert W. Denniston, WØNWX
Thus, IARU Region 2 was created on April 18, 1964.
This year we will hold our XX General Assembly in Lima and, as we did 55 years ago, we will work to meet the objectives mentioned in that initial speech. This work with regional telecom organizations of our continent, the Inter-American Telecommunications Commission (abbreviated CITEL in Spanish) and with the Caribbean Telecommunications Union (CTU) is consolidated in a worlwide effort along with the other two regions and with IARU International Secretariat to achieve the defense of our interests, of our bands, in the World Radio conference to be held at the end of this year in Egypt.
Therefore, it is very important to count on the participation of all member societies of the continent in our General Assembly of Lima. We have achieved significant progress, but the commitment is greater: nowadays, IARU comprises 160 member societies and represents more than 3 million radio amateurs around the world, and the radio spectrum is used not only by traditional radio signals but by new technologies. It is an effort that we can achieve but only if we work collectively.
73
Ramón Santoyo, XE1KK
Vice-President
IARU Region 2
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