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The Lux Pacifica Lighting Conference Report

Tetsuo YAMAYA
Member of the Lux Pacifica Committee of the Illuminating Engineering Institute of Japan.

1. Introduction

The 4th Lux Pacifica Lighting Conference (Lux Pacifica 2002 – New Delhi) was held over three days, from September 9 (Monday) to 11 (Wednesday), at the Vigyan Bhavan Convention Center in New Delhi, which is at the center of the City of Delhi, the capital of India. The Conference, hosted by the Indian Society of Lighting Engineers (ISLE) and overseen by CIE Vice-President Hari S. Mamak (India), was a great success, welcoming a total of 500 participants.

This paper will provide a basic report on Lux Pacifica 2002 – New Delhi, and at the same time will introduce the goals and content of the Lux Pacifica Lighting Conference, which is a comparatively new international conference in the field of lighting. It will also discuss the current status of activities, and the status of involvement in these activities among organizations in Japan.

2. Report on efforts leading up to the conference

As a result of international trends in recent years, the international significance of the Pacific Basin Region has increased dramatically, particularly in terms of politics and the economy, industry, and scientific and technological research. In this backdrop, many lighting designers, engineers, and researchers in the field of lighting in countries along the Pacific coast had been awaiting the opportunity to see an international lighting conference hosted and operated in the Pacific Basin Region as a separate entity from long-established gatherings such as the CIE Conference and Lux Europa.

In 1985, America, Japan, Australia, and other countries around the Pacific Rim participating in the interim General Assembly Meeting of the CIE, and in Lux Europa, which was held around the same time, discussed the concept of holding and operating a “Lux Pacifica” Conference. Four years later, in the spring of 1989, the 1st Lux Pacifica Lighting Conference, “Lux Pacifica ’89 – Shanghai,” came into being through the efforts of Mr. J. E. Jewell (North America) and other interested parties.

The goal of the Lux Pacifica international conference is to promote mutual enlightenment among the participants, as well as the development and improvement of lighting technologies in various countries. Held once every four years, it provides an international venue for lighting designers, engineers, and researchers in the field of lighting in countries around the Pacific Rim to gather together, to present and discuss achievements in lighting research and lighting design in which they have been involved, and to exchange ideas and technical information.

Mr. Jewell, who was instrumental in the establishment of the Conference, was appointed as the first Chairman of the “Lux Pacifica International Organization Committee,” which at the time was comprised of members from various countries representing the Illuminating Engineering Society of Australia and New Zealand, the Illuminating Engineering Society of Thailand, the China Illuminating Engineering Society, the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America, the Hong Kong Illumination Committee, the Illuminating Engineering Society of Russia, and the Illuminating Engineering Institution of Japan. The Organization Committee assisted in the planning and preparations for each Conference, and the Societies and Associations in the host countries took turns undertaking direct operations.

As noted above, the first Conference was held in April 1989, in Shanghai, in the People’s Republic of China. The second Conference was held in November 1993 in Bangkok, Thailand, and the third in October 1997, at the Nagoya Congress Center in Nagoya, Japan.

At the end of the highly successful 3rd conference, Mr. Jewell stepped down as Chairman, and Mr. Warren G. Julian (Australia) was appointed to this position. At the same time, the new title of Vice-Chairman was established, and Ms. Lily P.C. Chang (Hong Kong) became the first to be named to this position. Table 1 is a list of the members of the Lux Pacifica International Organization Committee (2002).

Functions Countries Names Societies
Chairman, Lux Pacifica Australia Warren G. Julian Illuminating Engineering Society of Australia and New Zealand
Vice-Chairman, Lux Pacifica Hong Kong Lily P.C. Chang Hong Kong Illumination Committee
Chairman, Organizing Committee India Hari S. Mamak Indian Society of Lighting Engineers
Committee member China Yang Ming China Illuminating Engineering Society
Committee member Japan Tetsuo Yamaya Illuminating Engineering Institute of Japan
Committee member Russia Anna Chaparunians Illuminating Engineering Society of Russia
Committee member Thailand Jamnarn Hokierti Illuminating Engineering Association of Thailand
Committee member U.S.A. James E. Jewell Illuminating Engineering Society of North America

According to deliberations by the International Organization Committee during the 3rd Conference in Nagoya, the 4th Lux Pacifica Lighting Conference, which will be introduced in this paper, was originally slated to be hosted by the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America in Vancouver, Canada, in 2001. In 2000, however, shortly before the Conference was to begin, the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America was forced to withdraw as host due to unavoidable circumstances, and the fate of the 4th conference was placed in doubt.

At this time, Chairman Julian, the second Chairman of the International Organization Committee, called a new meeting – the 1st Preparatory Assembly – which would be held during the Lux Europa 2001 Conference in Reykjavik, Iceland, in June of that year. At this meeting, a consensus was reached on India’s admission to the Lux Pacifica Lighting Conference, and preparations began anew for the 4th Conference to be held in India’s capital city of Delhi (in the New Delhi Region).

Later, the 1st Lux Pacifica International Organization Committee Meeting was called during the CIE Interim Meeting (September 2001, Istanbul, Republic of Turkey), and preparations were carried out regarding calls for papers, establishment of a program framework, and laying the groundwork for the keynote speeches. The 2nd Preparatory Assembly was called during the International Nightscape Lighting Conference (Shanghai, People’s Republic of China; November 2001), and preparations for the upcoming Conference moved ahead with great determination. In April 2002, when the papers were gathered, the 2nd Lux Pacifica International Organization Committee Meeting was held at the Conference venue (New Delhi, India), where members made final adjustments to the Conference program, confirmed the status of papers submitted, and put these papers in order as well. During this time, Yoshiki Nakamura (Tokyo Institute of Technology), Chairman of the Lux Pacifica Committee of Japan, promoted increased numbers of papers submitted from Japan, planned a nine-day “IEIJ Lux Pacifica 2002 India Tour” with a ship chartered for participants, aimed at drawing even more members for the Conference.

Conflicts between India and Pakistan, however, which had been brewing for some time, flared up once again in late May of 2001. Even the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs posted a travel advisory on their homepage regarding safety in various countries and regions overseas, recommending that travel be postponed, and drawing attention particularly from persons traveling to India. As a result of this advisory, the nine-day “IEIJ Lux Pacifica 2002 India Tour” plan was cancelled, and persons wishing to participate in the Conference had to make their own arrangements. As may be expected under the circumstances, participants began withdrawing one after another from the 4th Lux Pacifica Lighting Conference (2002) in New Delhi.

After this, thanks to the efforts of diplomats in various countries, the crisis did not develop into a full-scale war, and in late July, the risk advisory from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was finally reduced by one level to “Please act with caution in planning travel.” Based on this new advisory, the IEIJ received a “Go” sign in early August, and Flight JL471 left Tokyo Narita Airport at 2:10 p.m. on September 8 (Sunday) with participants in Lux Pacifica 2002 – New Delhi, bound for the Indira Gandhi International Airport near the Conference venue. Thinking back on it now, it was an incredibly close call.

Fig.1: Outline of Lux Pacifica Conference 2002, New Delhi

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