World Voice Day 2021: Theme this year is 'One World, Many Voices'; history and significance

Smoking, shouting, drinking and poor speaking technique are some of the ways in which people abuse their voice and refuse to acknowledge how important a gift it is. In order to create awareness, recognise and celebrate the human voice, 16 April is marked as the World Voice Day. The theme this year it’s “One World, Many Voices”. The day was first observed as the Brazilian Voice Day when a group of voice care professionals from the same country decided to celebrate in 1999. Brazilian Society of Laryngology and Voice under the chairmanship of Dr Nedio Stephen were the first to observe 16 April as the day dedicated to the voice. Once established as the Brazilian Voice Day, the event was also celebrated in countries Argentina and Portugal. The day then became a global phenomenon. The members of the Academy’s Speech, Voice and Swallowing Disorders Committee spoke with colleagues from Brazil and Europe to establish the global World Voice Day we celebrate today. According to Voicefoundation.org, the day serves as a part of the campaign to educate the public about the importance of human voice and the need for preventive care. The other objective of the day is also to encourage people to take care of their voice and know it’s important to seek help when necessary. Since many of us take the wonderful gift of voice for granted, the day also serves as a reminder to the people how blessed they are that we can communicate our thoughts and concerns. The day also underlines the struggles millions go through for having lost their voice to several voice-related illnesses. At the same time, the day celebrates millions who have overcome their voice-related challenges in life. Several doctors, researchers and voice experts come on a common platform, initiate and engage in a comprehensive discussion on this day. The discussion is usually centered around the need for creating as much awareness as possible about preventing voice problems, rehabilitating the sick voice and training those in need, and conduct research on the function and application of voice.