header

Sustainable, quality lighting is crucial declare major African cities

 

The continent’s first conference for cities on urban lighting saw eight African cities sign the LUCI Charter on Urban Lighting. This founding document unites municipalities across the world around common principles in sustainable public lighting.

 

Abomey, Bamako, Chefchaouen, Dakar, Ouagadougou, Porto Novo, Rabat and Saint-Louis. Eight new cities recently signed the LUCI Charter on Urban Lighting. The event took place during the conference Urban Lighting in African Cities, held in Dakar on 23 – 24 May 2017.

The conference was organised by the City of Dakar and LUCI, the international network of cities on urban lighting. It gathered over 90 elected city officials and municipal lighting professionals from 20 countries across Africa and beyond.

 

By signing the LUCI Charter, these cities commit to implementing public lighting policies that respect sustainable urban development. They join over 50 signatory cities worldwide, such as Paris, Lyon, Brussels, Budapest, Glasgow, Helsinki, Moscow, Osaka, Shanghai and Seoul.

The LUCI Charter on Urban Lighting outlines issues that cities engage to address when setting up their sustainable public lighting policies: improvement of the quality of life, energy efficiency, reduction of light pollution, maintenance, recycling, the cultural and social dimensions of light, etc. It provides a reference framework within which towns and cities can develop their own sustainable lighting strategies.

 

“The fight against climate change is an environmental issue that engages us, as local authorities, to make public lighting a strategic priority for sustainable development. We are pleased to express our commitment to sustainable development to the world by signing the LUCI Charter on Urban Lighting.”
– Soham El Wardini, 1st Deputy Mayor of Dakar who opened the conference.

“I am pleased to be among these pioneering cities in Africa, the first on the continent to sign the LUCI Charter and join cities worldwide that have realised that quality urban lighting not only saves energy and money, but also changes cities for the better and improves the lives of the people living in them.”
– Mary-Ann Schreurs, Vice-Mayor of Eindhoven and President of LUCI

 

The LUCI Charter signature ceremony was one of the highlights of the Urban Lighting in African Cities conference. The conference was the first of its kind on the African continent. It brought together elected city officials and municipal lighting professionals from African cities to present their urban lighting practices. It is the first step towards creating a regional dynamic exploring good practices and challenges of public lighting on the African continent and identifying common challenges, solutions and opportunities.

 

A report on the Urban Lighting in African Cities conference outlining some of the main challenges, solutions and perspectives for urban lighting in West African Cities – and featuring a detailed look at challenges for solar street lighting – can be read in the Cities & Lighting magazine issue n°6. Read it here

 

 

 

Verified by MonsterInsights