Opening ceremony of the International Year of Light 2015 in Barcelona
Ignacio Cirac (Max-Planck Institut für Quantenoptik), Caterina Biscari (ALBA Synchrotron), Jerome Nadal (Barraquer Clinic) and the music of Lluís Claret are the main characters of the opening ceremony of the International Year of light in Spain.
The International Year of Light and Light-Based Technologies (IYL 2015) is a global initiative adopted by the United Nations to raise awareness of how optical technologies promote sustainable development and provide solutions to worldwide challenges in areas such as energy, education, communications, health, and sustainability.
After the opening ceremony held in Paris on 19-20 January, the official inauguration was held in Spain on February 16, 2015 at 19 am in the Poliorama of Barcelona. In this event, which is one of the starting points of a series of actions that will be developed throughout the Spanish geography along this year, three lecturers have offered different perspectives on the role and impact of light on our lives:
- Dr. Ignacio Cirac, director of the Theory division of the Max-Planck Institut für Quantenoptik (Germany).
- Dr. Caterina Biscari, director of the ALBA Synchrotron (Spain).
- Dr. Jeroni Nadal, coordinator of the Retina department and the macula unit at the Clínica Barraquer (Spain).
The event was enlivened with the performance by the renowned cellist Lluís Claret.
YL 2015 programs will promote improved public and political understanding of the central role of light in the modern world while also celebrating noteworthy anniversaries in 2015 from the first studies of optics 1000 years ago to discoveries in optical communications that power the Internet today.
Further information: International Year of Light 2015