Dear Supporters of the International Day of Light,
Enthusiasm for next year’s International Day of Light in 2020 (IDL2020) is growing at a tremendous pace, and we are starting to receive advance notice of many exciting events that are being planned. As usual, please make sure to register your event on our event calendar as soon as possible, and don’t hesitate to send us more details as your plans develop!
With the emphasis on promoting grassroots events worldwide, we want to make it as easy as possible for local organizers. Running an International Day of Light activity is much easier than you think! Most universities host regular seminars, and these are very easily extended to create a fantastic half-day or even a full-day event focusing on the broader themes of light science and applications. To this end, an item below describes some new resources that have been placed online that will allow you to easily print promotional banners, extract images for your own use, and to get inspired to try out some new activities. We have also received agreement from many of the speakers at previous International Day of Light activities to allow their names to be listed on a Speaker Database, and this will have new names added to it regularly! So you should be easily able to find participants to cover any topics you wish.
Moreover, some pre-packaged presentations for 2020 are also being prepared. These will include some short introductory slides on the general aims of IDL, some particular slides covering the fact that 2020 represents the 60thanniversary of the laser, as well as material on light and sustainable development. These will be online in early 2020.
Of course, another important factor is that although the UNESCO proclamation is for May 16 when laser oscillation was first observed in 1960, IDL-recognized events can take place on other dates that may be more convenient. Some particular dates relating to laser science are the first Press Conference announcement of the laser on July 7th, 1960 and the publication of the first scientific paper in Nature on August 6th. There is much flexibility in when you organize events and we’ll be happy to place them under the International Day of Light banner if you let us know what you are planning.
Also for 2020, in partnership with the IDL Steering Committee and with sponsorship from the IEEE Photonics Society, OSA and SPIE, we are planning a global awareness-raising campaign which will take place under the #seethelight hashtag. This campaign will communicate the importance of the science of light and light-based technologies to the general public worldwide. You will be hearing more about this in a special pre-Christmas announcement that will be coming soon!
Finally, please regularly check the website for updates and news items and continue to reach out to us via Twitter and Facebook @IDLofficial or by email if you have any questions about IDL or you want to share any idea or resources. For a successful International Day of Light in 2020 your involvement is essential!
John Dudley and Joe Niemela
International Day of Light 2020 Steering Committee Chairs
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IDL is now on Instagram!
The International Day of Light now has an Instagram page! Follow @IDL2020 for updates about #IDL2020 including news and announcements, as well as a special collection of photography that features the role and beauty of light in our daily lives!
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New Resources Now Online
Because we can now benefit from a fantastic array of experienced speakers and professionally prepared resources, it is becoming easier and easier to organize an International Day of Light event. What follows below is a selection of some of the most relevant resources you may need, especially with links to new materials that we have just placed online:
Graphics and Banners
IDL logos in multiple languages are at the top of the general IDL resources page. Banners and Rollups can be printed easily using the high-quality PDF files provided by SPIE. Direct download here. A particular series of posters on Optics for Sustainable Development are also available here from SPIE.
An introductory IDL video in English, Spanish and French is available on the general IDL resources page. If you wish to make your own graphics or designs, we have links to available online images here.
Local Lobbying
When first beginning to organize your event, you will need to explain what IDL is and what it has already achieved. A very effective way to do this is to use the IDL2019 infographic which is available here.
Videos on LightIdeas and Inspiration
If you want ideas for how to organize an event, we have now placed online the Programmes for the IDL2018 and IDL2019 Flagship events, as well as the Final Report of the IYL2015 and the Programmes of the IYL2015 Opening and Closing Ceremonies on a dedicated Books and Programmes page. IDL Steering Committee member SPIE has placed a range of activity plans and other posters online.
Speakers
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New in 2020: A Global Voice for the Science of Light
To help spread the message of the importance of the science of light and light-based technologies more broadly with the general public, the 2020 celebration of the International Day of Light will feature a global ad campaign with the tagline "See the Light". The IDL Steering Committee endorsed the first look at this campaign in June 2019. In December, we will ask you to consider sharing the campaign at your events to amplify their reach with resources that will be available on lightday.org. Stay tuned to the next IDL Newsletter for more information. If you have questions, please contact dayoflight@eps.org.
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SPIE International Day of Light Micro Grants
SPIE IDL Micro Grants support local community events and activities for IDL 2020 that highlight the critical role that light plays in our daily lives. The maximum grant amount is $3,000 (USD) with many partial grants awarded each year. Apply by 2 December 2019. More information is available here.
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Terrassa to hold the 2020 Central IDL Event in Spain
The Spanish Committee for the IDL has accepted the proposal put forward by the School of Optics and Optometry (FOOT) of the Technical University of Catalonia (Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya - UPC), and it is with great pleasure that the city of Terrassa will hold the Central IDL Event in Spain in 2020.
The organizers of this event want to give special emphasis to Light, Vision and Visual Health, taking advantage of the fact that the year 2020 coincides the nomenclature 20/20, which is commonly used to designate normal visual acuity in common eye examinations.
The celebration of this Central Event will run from Friday 15 May to Saturday 16 May. In keeping with the spirit of the IDL, the Local Organizing Committee is programming a set of activities related to light to show its transversal impact in all areas and to reach a broad audience.
Learn more about these exciting developments in the latest IDL news item.
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Active Learning for the International Day of Light
ALOP (Active Learning in Optics and Photonics) is a flagship activity of UNESCO’s International Basic Sciences Programme using hands-on optics to teach teachers more about science and to encourage them to share their knowledge with other teachers as well as their students. Activities involve simple, inexpensive materials that, whenever possible, can be fabricated locally. Optics is ideal as subject matter because it provides a basis for many wider educational topics in science and technology and is adaptable to research and education in many developing countries.
The ALOP program began in 2004 and has since hosted workshops for over 1,000 teachers from over 60 developing countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. We are working closely to coordinate ALOP activities with the International Day of Light objectives, sharing resources and ideas, even though ALOPS events are naturally spread throughout the year. In 2019, the program for 2019 kicked off with a workshop in Lima, Peru, 15-21 August 2019, followed by another in Badung, Indonesia 3-11 October 2019. To complete the year, the ALOP program will come to Pune, India 9-13 December 2019, and this will be immediately followed by a special day of optics outreach for girls from schools in Maharashtra State, taking place at the Lila Poonawalla Foundation in Pune. ALOP plans for 2020 already include workshops in Tunisia (March 2020), Vietnam (July 2020) and Jamaica (August 2020), and will continue to bring high-quality education to developed and developing countries across the globe.
If you wish to learn more about ALOP you can download the training manual from the International Year of Light webpage. If you wish to consider hosting an ALOP workshop in your country, please contact Dr Joseph Niemela.
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Light Up with Physics at UJ
The LAMBDA Physics Group at The University of Jordan (UJ) in Amman, Jordan, inspired by all those interested in light, will be organizing a 2nd edition of “Light Up with Physics” in 2020 (Light Up-II) in 2020. “Light Up with Physics at UJ” represents an interactive series of activities dedicated to illuminate the role that light plays in our lives, from science to art. This series began in 2015 by LAMBDA. Following the same goal, several activities followed at UJ throughout the years, including in particular a field visit for physics and engineering students in 2018 to the multidisciplinary research centre SESAME as an example of "light for science" in the Middle East.
The "Light Up -II" event in 2020 will feature a range of activities that include public and specialized seminars, open days, and hopefully field trips. One activity will be of particular interest to artists of all backgrounds: the "Light Challenge" competition, which will allow the participants to express "light" in their own creative way. The agenda of activities will be available on the LAMBDA’s website in early 2020. Many activities will also be open to the public.
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Student Chapters: Celebrate Light with OSA Grants and Classroom Kits
“Optics in action” kits are now available to OSA Student Chapters worldwide. These kits contain everything you need to celebrate the International Day of Light with your community. The lesson plans and experiments educate on optics and photonics and build greater awareness of the impact of the science of light on our lives. Each kit contains supplies for a classroom of 30 students. Chapters can also apply for a grant of up to $1,000 to support other events to celebrate the IDL 2020. These events may include but are not limited to:
- Community seminar on optics and photonics
- Participation in a local science fair or similar
- Production of a chapter’s own optics experiments that can be distributed to neighbouring schools
- Other large scale ideas that a chapter has in mind to promote science locally
Applications for these opportunities are open through 15 January 2020. For more information visit the IDL page of the OSA website or contact this email.
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IEEE Photonics Volunteer ‘Lights Lives’ on Humanitarian Trip to Rural Kenya
IEEE Photonics Society Associate Vice-President of Student Membership, Bassem Tossoun of the University of Virginia, travelled on a humanitarian service trip to Kenya in Summer 2019. The IEEE Photonics Society sponsored his trip in collaboration with Unite-to-Light and the IDL2019. Bassem received funds through an annual IDL grant that is designed to encourage the Society’s student members to engage in humanitarian action projects.
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Bassem conducted his outreach in Kenya, Africa in a nearby village on the outskirts of Nairobi, named Tala, where he met a woman by the name of Aginess, who explained the ongoing famine in the village due to the lack of rainfall for nearly 5 months. Many of the houses that welcomed Bassem did not have running water; neither access to electricity. Through his efforts, he was not only able to distribute solar lamps to the villagers there, but also educated about how solar can improve their lives, such as through health, education and prosperity.
Bassem later arrived in Maseno, a rural and impoverished area in great need of these lamps. He distributed solar devices to families, widows, churches, and an orphanage. Word spread about the lamps and neighbouring villagers that sought Bassem’s support.
Specifically, at the Opopo family’s house, the lamps will help Brian James and Maxwell, who attend local elementary and high schools, to study at night more effectively, and help them get closer to achieving their dreams of pursuing higher education. Their grandmother Gawdencia hopes that her grandchildren study hard so that they can obtain good jobs with steady incomes. The lamps will also allow her to get around the house more easily at night.
Bassem encountered many more amazing families with huge hearts and smiles throughout the rest of his trip. He stated, “I’m exceedingly grateful to have been able to be a conduit for Unite-to-Light to these beautiful people, and hope that these lamps will truly light up their lives.”
Unite-to-Light was co-founded by IEEE Life Fellow and University of California Santa Barbara Student (USCB) Chapter Advisor, John Bowers. In 2009, a professor visiting from Africa lamented to faculty at UCSB’s Institute for Energy Efficiency (IEE) that students from rural parts of their country were unprepared for the rigors of higher education. They noted that if the students had access to safe, affordable and reliable lights, they would be able to spend more time studying and also replace the kerosene lamps and candles that cause financial and health issues.
Unite-to-Light has now come to find their solar light distribution has increased graduation rates in Africa by 30%. Simple gestures like Bassem’s help give children the tools they need to meet their potential.
If you are interested in volunteering with Unite-to-Light, you can learn more here.
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