The International Year of Sound 2020 (IYS) is a global initiative to highlight the importance of sound and related sciences and technologies for all in society. The International Year of Sound will consist of coordinated activities on regional, national and international levels. These activities will aim to stimulate the understanding throughout the world of the important role that sound plays in all aspects of our society. As well, these activities will also encourage an understanding of the need for the control of noise in nature, in the built environment, and in the workplace.
In the scope of the International Year of Sound, an International Competition for students of Primary, Middle and Secondary Schools from all over the world has been announced.
The competition is structured in two categories:
1. Competition for students of Primary and Middle Schools (approximately from 5 to 12 years old); Students are asked to produce hand-made drawings, pictures, patchworks, collages and similar, related to their world of sounds, inspired by the the motto of IYS2020 “Importance of Sound for Society and the World” and, possibly, by melody and refrain of the song “We are the sounds of our world”.
2. Competition for students of Secondary Schools (approximately from 13 to 18 years old); Students are asked to write a stanza of 4 verses in mother tongue and/or in English, inspired by the melody and the refrain of the song “We are the sounds of our world” as well as by the motto of IYS2020 “Importance of Sound for Society and the World”.
Participants can be students: as individual or organized in groups and whole classes, considered as representatives of their school.
Deadline is 30 April 2020, Winners and awarded items will be announced by ICA (International Commission for Acoustics) by 31 August 2020.
You can find the competition details in this document (PDF) or on the IYS website.

The Occupational Safety and Health Africa Foundation (OSHAfrica) is a Pan-African organisation. Its main aim is to improve occupational safety and health across the African continent.
To support the training and education of occupational safety and health professionals and to promote mainstreaming OSH into education and training tailored to the African needs are two main objectives of OSHAfrica.
On November 6th 2019, Ehi Iden, President of OSHAfrica, and Dr Ulrike Bollmann, President of ENETOSH, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).
Both organisations have agreed to work together and help nurture a mutually supportive relationship aligned with each organisation’s aims and objectives.
Both organisations will endeavour to cooperate, wherever possible, on issues relevant to education and training in OSH at European level, Pan-African level and globally.
The full document can be accessed here.
More information on OSHAfrica on the website www.oshafrica.africa

This new report "New Forms of Work Among Young People - Implications for the Working Environment", released by the Nordic Council of Ministers, highlights new employment forms. Based on interviews with young employees, the report shows examples of new working environments, such as working in the gaming sector, on digital platforms, with social media and in flexible or temporary work arrangements.
Changes in the labor marked globally and in the Nordic countries involve new forms of work and atypical employment among young workers. A significant proportion of young workers are in temporary positions, working irregular working hours, and part-time work. The fourteen portraits of young people working in new and atypical forms of work in the Nordic countries in this report show that most of these young people have several jobs or incomes at the same time or a number of different jobs/incomes for short periods.
They are working at online platforms as e-sport gamers, YouTuber or Influencers, an thus move into the borderland of the meanings we usually ascribe to the categories ‘work’ and ‘working environment’. These developments also apply to traditional professions, such as carpentry work or service work, but the new aspect is that the work is mediated through online platforms, which seems to affect the working environment for those young workers. It is important to know more about new employment forms if we are to improve working environment among these young workers.
The project group consisted of participants from four Nordic countries - Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Iceland. Project leader was Johnny Dyreborg, Ph.D. of the National Research Centre for the Working Environment, Denmark.
The report can be downlaoded as PDF or ePUB file or read online here.

AfriSAFE is an annual award project that is committed to celebrating the best professionals and their achievements in keeping facilities and lives safe. Covering all specialties of health, safety and wellbeing practice, AfriSAFE aims to be the biggest unifying industry catalyst in Africa, recognizing exceptional professionalism, rewarding excellence and raising awareness on prevention of hazards.
The AfriSAFE project also involves yearly publication of the African Health and Safety Report and Directory of all Safety Professionals in Africa with areas of specialty for easy reference and networking.
This year, Dr Ulrike Bollmann, coordinator of the ENETOSH network, has been selected from several nominees to receive an award in one of the several categories, the “AfriSAFE Lifetime Achievement Award” for excellence and professionalism in her contribution to the growth and development of OSH in Africa. This nomination is a great honor and will be a motivation to strengthen ENETOSH's efforts for cooperations with OSH professionals and institutions in Africa.
The awarding ceremony will take place in the scope of an "Excellence Gala Night" on 8 November in Lagos, Nigeria. More information on the AfriSAFE website.