Attended by more than 250 in-person delegates as well as many hundreds of members online, last month’s Centenary Lighting Summit was both a celebration of the ILP’s 100th birthday and a reflection on the opportunities, and challenges, that lie ahead, writes Nic Paton.
Along with the delegates, there were 33 exhibitors plus of course the headline sponsors of DFL, OrangeTek and Charles Endirect, with content sponsorship from Schréder.
The event, held over 18-19 June, saw 13 top-level CPD papers being presented at the Leonardo Royal Hotel at Tower Hill, plus nine workshops.
Discussions and conversations ranged from the current and future role of AI through to the challenges around the end of PFI, the evolution of EV charging infrastructure, safety at night, driving at night, the need for new (or just different) guidance around flashing lights at night, 100 years of V(λ), sustainability and solar lighting and much, much more.
Exhibitors also presented one-minute ‘elevator pitches’ to delegates throughout the two days.
The first night of the Summit saw the return of the black-tie Centenary Dinner at the Dockside Vaults in St Katharine’s Dock, which brought together no less than 20 Past Presidents of the Institution in the one room, stretching back to 1992’s David Paylor.
ILP Chief Executive Justin Blades said: “The Centenary Lighting Summit was a great opportunity to showcase the ILP in its hundredth year; reflecting and celebrating our past and delivering CPD knowledge and information for today’s and tomorrow’s lighting professionals.”
CENTENARY MEDAL ACCOLADE
Allan Howard, group technical director, Lighting & Energy Solutions, at WSP and ILP President from 2011 to 2012 received the ILP’s inaugural Centenary Medal at the Centenary Lighting Summit.
The medal is a new honour designed to reflect outstanding service to both the Institution and the industry. As ILP Chief Executive Justin Blades made clear, it is ‘the highest accolade the Institution can bestow’.
In response, Allan said: ‘I would like to express my heartfelt thanks for awarding me the ILP Centenary Medal. This unique award personally means more to me than you can imagine.
‘To be acknowledged by my peers, and respected professional colleagues for the work I enjoy undertaking to promote and develop the application and understanding of light and lighting just means so much.’
LIGHTING JOURNAL ARTICLE OF THE YEAR
The centenary dinner also saw the return of the award of ‘Lighting Journal Article of the Year’.
The award went to ‘Measuring pedestrian reassurance’, published in the October 2023 edition (vol 88 no 9) and written by Shahab Gorjimahlabani, Dr Jim Uttley and Professor Steve Fotios of Sheffield University.
The article considered research looking at how higher illuminance leads to higher pedestrian reassurance but how there can also be a reduction in the differences between the levels of reassurance reported by men and women.
Finally, very many congratulations too to Ryan Page, project manager at Mott MacDonald, who was named Exterior Lighting Diploma Student of the Year.
Image courtesy of Simon Callaghan Photography