Last month’s Centenary Lighting Summit saw the formal Presidential transition from WSP’s Rebecca Hatch to London Borough of Southwark’s Perry Hazell.
In his Presidential speech to delegates, Perry said: ‘When I reflect on where lighting has come from in the last 100 years and where is it going, it is less that the technology has changed over the years (and invariably will continue to do so), and more how the principles of why the Institution was formed remain the same. Namely: sharing best lighting practice, sharing membership competence, sharing guidance, and sharing knowledge.
‘Our Strategy 2026 Project, and the SIP projects that have spun out of it, has really helped us as a Board to form the foundation of what we want the Institution to look like. Some of it has gone more slowly than we had hoped; but bear with us, these are, after all, volunteer-led projects.
‘The appointment of our two new VP roles, for Peter Raynham (membership) and Emily Bolt (technical), will again I think help to push two key areas forward. I want to thank too our honorary treasurers, Kieron Jarvis and John Sutcliffe, for all the work they do.
‘We’ve also made a great connection with a local London university technical college (UTC), with about 45 students attending the Summit,’ Perry added.
FUTURE FOCUS
Perry reflected over what the past 100 years has meant for the Institution and how lighting has changed. He questioned, too, what will the future look like for the ILP?
‘I know lighting will always be the backbone of what we do but we now have so many adjacent sectors that overlap our industry. Electric vehicles, telecommunications, AI and so on,’ he said.
‘So, for me, there is a real fork in the road – a fork where the ILP needs to be. We need to be leading, and contributing to, the conversation in these evolving and fast-changing areas.
‘My final thought is what makes a great Institution? For me, it is the members, the relationships you grow and cultivate throughout your career.
With these relationships come trust; you know there are people you can pick the phone up to speak to, to discuss technical questions, issues or even failures. But without the worry of what people think. So please let’s all of us continue to do that; please continue to support change,’ Perry added in conclusion.
Image courtesy of Simon Callaghan Photography
