International Year of Light (IYL 2015):
The International Year of Light and Light-based Technologies (IYL 2015) was proclaimed by the United Nations in 2015. It was an major initiative that aimed to raise awareness from the general public and the policy makers about the importance of light in our daily life. It also aimed to increase awareness about the scientific, technological, economic and cultural aspects associated with light, with an emphasis on energy, education, climate-change, healthcare, peaceful cooperation and sustainable development.
The year 2015 has been chosen for this celebration of light because it commemorates several milestone years, such as the 1000 years of the publication of the first Treatise of Optics (Ibn Al Haythem, 1015), the 200 years of fundamental experiments on the wave nature of light (Augustin Fresnel, 1815), the centenary of the theory of general relativity which defines the central place of light in the triptych matter-space-time (Albert Einstein, 2015), and the 50 years of the discovery of the microwave cosmic background radiation (Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson, 1965). The logo of this worldwide event (see at the end of this page) was characterized by three key elements, namely the sun (source of energy; life), flags (international event; culture), and rainbow colors (spectrum of visible light; science & technology).
I have been honored to be a member of the delegation of 5 persons who successfully defended this project at the Headquarters of United Nations in New-York in May 2013. This international year was proclaimed at the United Nations General Assembly in December 2013, and was placed under the patronage of UNESCO.
The activities of this year of celebration have been essentially oriented towards the general public, most notably through the promoting of the world cultural heritage in relation with light, through educating people everywhere about the benefits of photonic technologies, as well as creating platforms for debates about the the societal and environmental challenges associated with light. At the scientific level, this year has served to promote activities linked to research on the origin of life, public health, telecommunications, renewable energies, optical instrumentation, and sciences of the Universe. These activities concretely consisted in magistral lectures on the History of Science; debates about the links between light, art and culture; workshops and training activities on photonic technologies; information about scientific careers in the area of photonics; conferences about the impact of photonics for development (education, energy, medicine, telecommunications, industry, etc.)
The activities highlighted above are not exhaustive, and this international year has been deployed as a bottom-up organization, instead of top-down. This is why the nature and outreach of the ideas that have been proposed by the many people involved have gone far beyond what we had expected at the very beginning. As a result, more than 13000 IYL events have been organized in 147 countries and all continents, with an estimated outreach of more than 100 million people.
From a personal perspective, I have been involved in several events in Europe, in America, and in Africa, such as talks in cultural centers for the general public, scientific conferences, technological exhibitions, training activities, or workshops dedicated to photonics for development, just to name a few. These activities where quite often associated with media outreach through radio and international newspaper interviews.
The Final Report of the activities led within the framework of IYL 2015 was officially presented at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris in October 2016. It an extended document that highlights the main events organized in all the countries that participated to this worldwide celebration.
The IYL steering commitee has also edited a book entitled Inspired by Light, which gathers various reflexions, viewpoints, and artwork in relation with light and light-based technologies. Both documents provide the keys to understand the reasons behind the outstanding success of IYL 2015, and permit as well to foreshadow a lasting impact and legacy for the years to come.
International Day of Light (May 16th):
After the Closing Ceremony in Mexico, held in February 2016, the Year of Light Steering Committee endorsed a proposal to work with UNESCO to develop an enduring follow-up to the International Year through the designation of an annual International Day of Light (IDL). The International Year of Light has built many new bridges between different communities, and an International Day will allow these to be maintained and strengthened on a permanent basis. A resolution for an International Day of Light (IDL) has been endorsed by UNESCO during its 200th session in october 2016. It is expected that the International Day of Light will be observed every May 16th, starting in 2018.
Captions for the pictures –
Top: Presentation of the IYL project at the United Nations Headquarters, New-York (May 2013);
Middle: Plenary talk about IYL at the CLEO Munich – World of Photonics conference (June 2015);
Bottom: Presentation of the IYL 2015 Final Report and advocacy for IDL at the UNESCO Headquarters, Paris (October 2016).