IN THIS SECTION
News
Notice to all supporters of the International Day of Light:
Because of the recent outbreak of COVID-19, cities and countries worldwide are putting into place a number of containment measures that seriously impact the organization of conferences and public events. As a result, many activities that have been planned for the International Day of Light 2020 (IDL2020) on May 16 will no longer be able to take place as scheduled. Whilst we appreciate that this will be disappointing, it is essential to prioritize health above all, and we would like to stress to everyone the importance of following all local and national guidelines that are being put into place to safeguard our wellbeing.
There are, however, some potential alternatives that you may wish to consider:
Firstly, although the International Day of Light recognizes the anniversary of first laser operation on 16 May, events throughout 2020 can still take place with official recognition as an IDL2020 activity. And so instead of cancelling outright, at this stage you may wish to simply announce rescheduling to a later date to be confirmed once we see how the global situation evolves. Please contact Bethany Downer to update your event information (such as dates or event description) on the IDL Events page.
Secondly, many events such as conferences are already responding to the travel restrictions by adopting all-online formats. An excellent example of how this can be done is the recent Photonics Online Meetup event, which has now been written up in detail and is available now as an arXiv preprint. This provides an excellent primer of how to proceed!
And of course, IDL2020 will continue to be active on Social Media and our regular communication channels.
The situation we are in at this time is unique, and we are all learning together how to adjust and reorganize our work and lives. Please contact the International Day of Light secretariat if you have any questions. And of course, please take all precautions to stay healthy during this challenging time.
John Dudley, Joe Niemela, Bethany Downer
IDL2020 Secretariat Team