On 20 December 2013, the UN General Assembly 68th Session proclaimed 2015 as the International Year of Light and Light-based Technologies (IYL 2015).
The International Year of Light is a global initiative which comprises a series of coordinated activities on national, regional and international levels, aiming to inform all citizens of the world about the importance of light and light-based technologies in their daily lives, their future, the development of society and art, and overall social progress.
Light is one of the initiators of the process of photosynthesis, an essential factor for the development of the biosphere and the evolution of the human species. The light plays a central role in human activities starting from the understanding of the world through the sense of vision, artistic expression, modern communications, Internet, to the development of the fundamental concepts that allow us to understand our place in the Universe and record the events in time and space. Application of light-based technologies gave revolutionary contribution to the development of medical diagnostics and treatment, telecommunications, energy efficient manufacturing, media, art and culture, and thus improve the health and overall quality of life.
Almost all scientific fields are based on the theories of light and its interaction with matter, and light is also the main messenger in the study and our understanding of the Universe and subatomic world. The history of the study of light spans centuries, while the modern science of light was born in the 20th century. Today light and light-based technologies become key disciplines in science and technology of the 21st century.
