The main objective of the International Year of Light and Light-based Technologies (IYL2015), which is led by UNESCO, is to raise global awareness of how light-based technologies can provide solutions to the global challenges of sustainable development. Light-based technologies have many applications in fields as diverse as medicine, communications or energy. They offer the possibility of a transition towards more sustainable lifestyles, and can contribute to alleviate poverty, especially for 1.3 billion people living off the grid, with no access to electricity.

The 2-day event gathered over 1,000 participants, including decision makers, industry representatives and leading scientists. Five Nobel Prize laureates are giving lectures: Ahmed Zewail (“Light and Life”); Steven Chu (“Energy and Climate Change: Challenges and Opportunities”); William Phillips (“Einstein, Time and Light”); Serge Haroche (“Light and the Quantum”) and Zhores Alferov (“Efficient Light Conversion and Generation”).