Leipzig signs LUCI Charter on Urban Lighting at PLUS Regional Forum
Leipzig hosted its first Regional Forum on the 1st of July 2011 to mark the city’s official signature of the LUCI Charter on Urban Lighting in the presence of the Mayor of Leipzig, Mr Burkhard Jung, and LUCI President, Councillor Allan Stewart.
Heike Besier, PLUS Project Manager in Leipzig, tells us more about the event:
What were Leipzig’s strategic objectives for the Regional Forum?
Public lighting deals with issues of security, energy efficiency and design. In this context, we wanted to give an overview of the development and current situation regarding public lighting in Leipzig and put this in context with the LUCI Charter. For this overall overview, we presented the pilot project, “Intelligent Lighting City Centre”.
Who were the main stakeholders involved?
The main stakeholders were members of the city council, colleagues of different departments within the Municipality of Leipzig, lighting designers, engineers, lighting manufacturers as well as colleagues from other municipalities. Because of the signature of the LUCI Charter, the Mayor, Mr. Burkhard Jung, also attended our Regional Forum.
Why did you combine the forum with the signature of the LUCI Charter?
We wanted to explain to our stakeholders that the LUCI Charter is an integral part of the PLUS Project and that this document will play an important role in the development of Leipzig’s new lighting strategy. It was also important to show that the City of Leipzig is an active partner in the LUCI network and that we gain a lot of information and knowledge through the PLUS project as well as our work in LUCI and on the Charter.We think that working on an international level enriches our own local projects.
What did Leipzig draw from the Regional Forum?
The forum resulted in a better understanding – not only amongst our stakeholders but also amongst the general public via the media – about our lighting projects and the importance of a new sustainable lighting master plan. Public relations and civic participation in this process are important for acceptance and appropriation by citizens and politicians.
