Campaign
Beschallungsfrei is an initiative of Linz 2009 European Capital of Culture, the Austrian Trade Union Federation ÖGB, the Union of Private Employees GPA-djp, and the Catholic Church in Upper Austria/City Pastoral.
Beschallungsfrei – The Campaign Against Imposed Noise is targeted against the massive presence of background music in the public sphere. Its aim is to raise awareness that unrequested environmental noise is not a matter of fact and therefore does not have to be accepted without complaint. With the positive distinction of environmental noise-free spaces, the exemplary acoustic design of spaces, a long-term engagement in schools and universities, and actions for the International Day Against Noise or No Music Day, for example, Linz09 communicates the freedom from imposed noise as a human right and an elementary component of the quality of life in a developed society.
The campaign promotes more spaces in the public sphere free from imposed noise and opposes the purposeful abuse of the ears through imposed noise with background music – imposed noise that has become commonplace from supermarkets to fitness studios to restrooms, and which has become a severe mental strain for many employees. The carrier organizations of the campaign invite all organizations, companies and businesses that dispense with background music to identify their publicly accessible spaces as being permanently free from imposed noise.
Beschallungsfrei calls for:
- A stop to the abuse of our ears: curtail imposed noise!
- Stop the permanent noise of canned music from the meat counter to the restrooms!
- Protect our children from acoustic overstimulation!
- Publicly accessible quiet zones!
- Linz must become Acoustic City!
