International Year of Light news
Queen Letizia of Spain to chair the Honorary Committee of the International Year of Light in Spain
The Queen Letizia of Spain was announced as the chair of the Honorary Committee of the Spanish International Year of Light and Light-based Technologies (IYL 2015). Other members of the committee include leading Spanish figures from academia and businesses where the technology of light plays a key role.
More information here.
IYL 2015 African Regional Conference celebrated in Ghana
On 14-16 September 2015, Ghana celebrated the International Year of Light and Light-based Technologies 2015 (IYL 2015) with the African Regional Conference “Harnessing Light and Light-Based Technologies for Africa’s Development” in Accra.
The IYL 2015 Africa Regional Conference sought to promote interactions and dialogue among academics, professionals, policy-makers, industrialists, entrepreneurs, young people, innovators and other stakeholders to highlight the relevance of light in the sciences, the arts, culture and the humanities. It also served to promote the central role of light in enhancing many opportunities in light-based technologies for the welfare of humankind. Representatives from Mexico, Sweden, Senegal, Algeria, Cameroon, Egypt, and other countries attended the conference.
More information here.
SPIE People’s Choice winning photo illustrates life with little access to electricity
An image highlighting the difficulties encountered by the 1.5 billion people around the world who lack access to electricity has been named winner of the SPIE International Year of Light Photo Contest People’s Choice Award.
More information here.
GalileoMobile’s new documentary celebrates Cosmic Light
The Light-Year documentary depicts GalileoMobile’s expedition to northern Bolivia and Brazil where the project performed astronomy activities preceding the celebration of the International Year of Light and Light-based Technologies 2015 (IYL 2015).
Along the way GalileoMobile met several people with different interpretations about the universe. The documentary aims to portray the encounter of these different views and to reflect on the significance of the knowledge on cosmological phenomenology. Similarly, we seek the presence of light through its beautiful manifestation. The documentary is also a tribute to light.
More Information: http://www.light2015.org/Home/About/Resources/Videos/Light-Year-Documentary.html
The schools’ day at EPFL
Over 2000 children aged from 10 to 13 and their teachers visited EPFL on 2 June 2015. They were able to run experiments and visit the labs during the whole day. This was a fantastic occasion to communicate about the International Year of Light. Several workshops, conferences and demonstrations were organized on the light theme.
http://journeedesclasses.epfl.ch/programme2015
Shedding the Light on the Light
On the occasion of the International Year of Light and Light-based Technologies 2015, on November 7th, the EPFL proposes a special day dedicated to light for 7 to 13 years olds and the general public.
During the whole day youngsters will have the opportunity to attend hands on physics and chemistry workshops. They will make a solar lamp, recompose the white light from colours, or produce light from chemical reactions for example. They will also attend a conference on the Northern Lights and they day will be closed by an official ceremony where all participants will get a certificate.
In the afternoon of November 7th 2015 in parallel with the workshops for youngsters, a series of short presentations aimed at the general public will be organised where experts will talk about light. Different aspects of light in relation with science, art, theology, health and technology will be described in a language suitable for a diverse audience.
For more information: http://sps.epfl.ch/cms/site/sps/lang/fr/AnneeLumiere
Find the latest updates about the International Year of Light on www.light2015.org and on the IYL 2015 Blog and IYL 2015 social media channels: Twitter, Facebook and Google+.
