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LUCI AGM Tartu – a one-of-a- kind event

The LUCI Annual General Meeting 2021 in Tartu, Estonia brought together over 200 LUCI members and the urban lighting community in an unprecedented, one-of-a kind, hybrid format.

  • 100 in-person participants in Tartu
  • 110 online participants
  • Over 27 speakers   
  • 44 cities officially represented
  • Lighting professionals from 45 countries

Following almost two years limited to online interactions, the cities and lighting professionals of the LUCI network and beyond were delighted to reconnect in person with each other as they experienced the lights of LUCI member city, Tartu.


Tartu, a city of enlightenment

The second largest city of Estonia and home to its oldest university, the City of Tartu has a unique approach to urban lighting.

A conference session on the topic featured key lighting decision-makers – Raimond Tamm, Deputy Mayor, City of Tartu; Tiiu Kelviste, IT maintenance of Public Lighting, City of Tartu; Jaanus Tamm, Project Manager, City of Tartu; and Elo Liiv, main organiser TAVA2021 – emphasised the importance of collaboration and the fact that a city needs to involve everyone to create better lighting.

Participants learnt about Tartu’s new lighting master plan, the current state of streetlighting in the city, installation of LED luminaires, Tartu’s lighting management solution, as well as the TAVA light festival.

Experiencing AGM Tartu in full onsite

For in-person participants that made it to Tartu for the event, this was also the opportunity to see the TAVA light festival in action. A guided tour with some of the light artists and designers not only gave an insight on the light art pieces, but also demonstrated how the TAVA festival successfully accomplishes its mission to educate and raise awareness about good quality lighting in the city.

In addition to networking with fellow cities and lighting professionals during coffee breaks and festive dinners, AGM participants also got to create new links and flex their creative muscles in a lantern-making workshop with LUCI members Walk the Plank. A new initiative that resulted in some new connections as well as fantastic lanterns!


International panel discussion – taking smart steps towards smart lighting

AGM Tartu participants got an exclusive preview of the ground-breaking new document helping cities to take smart steps towards smart lighting. The Cities Guide to Smart Lighting – a new white paper from cities, for cities – aims to support municipal decision-makers build their vision on smart lighting, choose their paths, and take steps towards realisation.

Panellists from the cities working on the document – Helene Qvist, City of Albertslund, Zoltán Pap, BDK Budapest, Rik van Stiphout, City of Eindhoven and Youngho Baik, Seoul – together with white paper co-author, Philip Ross, shared some of the key recommendations and insights from the document.

One key point that all agreed on: a city is made by people. Smart lighting is not a about technology for itself, but technology for the people.

Lighting in European Capitals of Culture

With over a dozen LUCI member cities that have been, or will be, European Capitals of Culture, the link between light and culture is clearly a strong one.

That is why the AGM Tartu brought together previous, future, and recently awarded EU Capitals of Culture – Oulu, Matera and Tartu – to discuss how cities can integrate lighting into their wider cultural policies.

Panellists Beatriz Garcia, Associate Director of the Centre for Cultural Value, Piia Rantala-Korhonen, Director of Oulu2026, along with Massimiliano Burgi and Elvira Stephanie De Giacomo, Fondazione Matera Basilicata 2019, shared how European Capitals of Culture used light, mega events and opening ceremonies to bring together communities. Light spectacle has become a sustainable legacy for cities.


Broad spectrum of lighting projects from cities worldwide

Whether online or in-person, LUCI members from around the world took the floor in the AGM Open Conference Sessions to showcase their latest lighting projects or initiatives.

From creating lighting ambiences for a planned city, to developing a light festival, to analysing obtrusive light, or understanding the biology behind light and health, a variety of topics were on the agenda in presentations from Lyon, Reykjavik, Tallinn, EPM Medellin, Helsinki, Schreder,  Hangzhou YD Illumination, Vilnius, Kazan, Putrajaya, Pessac and the University of Surrey.

Reinforcing LUCI activities and values

A key annual moment for the LUCI network, the LUCI General Assembly gathered LUCI members on site and online to discuss LUCI activities and projects over the years and build the future of LUCI together.

It was also the occasion for two new LUCI members, the cities of Vilnius and Kazan, to officially sign the LUCI Charter on Urban Lighting.

They have now joined the over 60 cities worldwide that have signed this document marking their commitment to sustainable lighting strategies and development!

The event concluded with the City of Tartu passing the lantern to the City of Busan, South Korea, host of the next LUCI Annual General Meeting in October 2022!

  • Click here to see many more photos from AGM Tartu
  • Take a look at the #LUCIagmTartu feed to get a glimpse of the event as it happened
  • LUCI members will soon be able to access the presentations made during the conferences in the LUCI Hub!
  • Access the archived event pages for more information on the programme and speakers.
  • Learn more about other LUCI events
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