Thursday, 24. October, 2019

Time: 15:45

The lighting design community is spread across all countries and continents.
PLDC marks the largest gathering of persons from the different sectors within the lighting design community at different levels – lighting designers, lighting educators and researchers, architects, media architecture designers, urban planners, light artists, designers and facilitators from related disciplines, public and private clients, students of Lighting Design and related disciplines.

In some countries around the globe lighting designers’ associations have been founded. Many of these sign up as Partner Associations of PLDC and recommend that their members attend the Thought Leadership convention to learn and network. Some associations are active on a local scale, others partner with other associations or events to gain visibility.

At the first PLDC event, PLDC 2007 in London/UK, a Declaration on establishing Lighting Design as a profession was read out to a room packed with just over 1000 PLDC attendees. In the meantime, PLDC has been known to attract more than 2000 attendees.

Twelve years after the first PLDC in London, the convention is now staged annually. Serving as a platform for networking and discussion on and around professional practice, the spirit and enthusiasm that builds up before the respective event and follows in its wake has given rise to renewed interest in discussing the way forward with regard to gaining official recognition for the work performed by lighting designers/specialists in this day and age.

Over the past years, a group of lighting professionals and enthusiasts have been working together in a Think/Do Tank* to define the necessary steps for gaining recognition to raise the profession to the next level. One main point that evolved from these discussions is the need for a working, independent CPD structure for practising lighting designers to follow in the course of their career – in their own time and in different ways.  

The PLDC 2019 programme includes a 45-minute plenary session, offering the design community the chance to express their views and ideas on the status of Lighting Design in the world and to explain what structures and collaborative efforts are required to define what knowledge, skills, creativity and creative thinking are required to recognise qualified professionals in the field.

The Plenary session will close with an official vote from the plenum – all those present from the lighting design community are invited to participate – to obtain a clear statement on the pursuit of recognition based on a common front and structured and verifiable CPD platform.

Feedback from the Think/Do Tank and first insights into the proposed CPD platform will be presented.

Pro-active in the Think/Do Tank to date: