Taking place in Paris January 10-14 2006
Sounds are everywhere in our daily life in supermarkets to promote and advertise products in shops to create ambiance in parking to set people’s mind at rest. New and developing technologies allows a high sound quality even in our car. Walkman MP3 home cinema all are available to a large public and provide more and more powerful decibels impacting the customers. Paradoxically the budget part allowed to sound in public and private investment remains very poor most of the time. The consequence being an excess of sound causing damages that are only discovered when it is too late.
The general public is not always aware of the role and limits of the audition system. Partial deafness is one of the consequences causing important costs for the medical care system and limits access to certain jobs where a perfect hearing is compulsory. Noises in our day to day life is also a source of nuisance. La Semaine du Son intends to raise issues on soundproofing and study new building material reducing noises. It intends also to educate children in elementary schools and promote the use of sound and musical therapy as a tool to open up and fight stress and fatigue and lead to a better concentration of minds.
The aim of the non profit association La semaine du Son (The Week of Sound) is to awaken public awareness about sound and the need for quality in our sound environment. It is a center of knowledge promoting and encouraging research on technical cultural and industrial as well as health aspects of sound. As part of its ambition to broadcast information on sound La semaine du son intends to encourage the studies of sounds create an international European and national network of proficiency focusing on sound and sound related studies in favor of creating new diplomas in sound techniques.
