International Year of Light news
Opening Ceremony in Morocco
On 26 February the Opening Ceremony of the International Year of Light and Light-based Technologies [IYL 2015] in Morocco took place in Rabat, at the University of Sciences of Rabat. In addition to the participation of researchers, students, institutional partners and journalists, the main audience of this ceremony was children and teenagers, largely represented by student associations, astronomy clubs and UNESCO’s associated schools, amounting to a total of 300 attendees.
You can support the IYL 2015 organizers in Morocco and become a sponsor.
Read the full report on the IYL 2015 website and visit the national website: http://www.light2015.ma
Opening Ceremony in the United Kingdom
The UK has celebrated the start of the International Year of Light with a UK-wide launch that took place in the historic St James’s Palace in London on 28 January and was followed by events in Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland on February.
The UK launch was hosted by His Royal Highness Prince Andrew,The Duke of York, who is patron of IYL 2015 in the UK. Read the full report of the London ceremony on the IYL 2015 website.
Launch of IYL 2015 in Scotland
The International Year of Light was launched in Scotland on the 23 February. The launch saw the historic Royal Society of Edinburgh building filled with interactive exhibits covering the role of light in science, culture, art and industry. The event was in two parts: a daytime session where children were invited from schools across Scotland, and an evening session open to the general public. During a day, a rolling series of talks were provided by the RSE Young Academy on subjects ranging from the search for aliens to the use of light in neurosurgery. The evening event opened with a rendition of Eddie McGuire’s trumpet solo “The Big Bang” followed by a formal opening address, the launch of a new work on the theme of light by Robert Crawford and Norman McBeath, and a talk on James Clerk Maxwell by Malcolm Longair.
Read the full report on the IYL 2015 website.
Opening Ceremony in Spain
On 16 February the Opening Ceremony of the International Year of Light and Light-based Technologies (IYL 2015) in Spain took place in Barcelona, at the Poliorama Theatre of the Royal Academy of Sciences and Arts of Barcelona, with 500 attendees. The ceremony was one of the starting points for a series of events taking place all over Spain during this year to highlight the impact of light and light-based technologies in areas such as energy, education, health or communications.
Read the full report on the IYL 2015 website and visit the Spanish website: http://www.luz2015.es/
Opening Ceremony in Germany
The International Year of Light and Light-based Technologies (IYL 2015) was officially opened in Germany at the Deutsches Museum in Munich on 27 February. The Ceremony was attended by around 300 high-level guests from business, research and culture that paid tribute to light as the basis of life and a catalyst for science and technology.
Read the complete report on the IYL 2015 website.
Opening Ceremony in Italy
The Opening Ceremony of the IYL 2015 took place on 26 January in Torino, Italy.
The Italian celebrations started with lectures on astronomy in Venice at the exhibition “Within light/inside glass”, between art and science and will continue with a series of events that are listed on the website of the Italian Physical Society [SIF]. In April the following events will take place:
- 4-6 April: GLOWFestival
- 14 April: Science, art and CoeLux
- 16 April: Light and Energy
- 14-19 April: L.E.D. – Lighting Experience Design
- 21 April: Laser: a brilliant solution in search of a problem
- 28 April: Flights of fancy
- 28-29 April: You need chaos in your soul to generate a dancing star
- 30 April: Light and life
The complete calendar of events can be found on the SIF website.
