Gets clean and sustainable source of energy from advocates
LET THERE BE LIGHT: Advocates from the Embassy of Italy in Manila, The Philippine Italian Association (PIA), Management Association of the Philippines, Galleria Duemila, Rotary Club of Makati Business District 3830, Philippines AirAsia, Italian Chamber of Commerce in the Philippines, and Archipelago for you, commit to support communities who have been affected by lack of tourism due to the pandemic by raising funds to provide clean and sustainable sources of energy
By Victoria “NIKE’ De Dios
Photos courtesy of The Philippine Italian Association
On July 3-4, Liter of Light, a Filipino-born global grassroots solar lighting movement, the Embassy of Italy in Manila and the Philippine Italian Association (PIA) hosted a Day of Climate Action.
The event, which took place on 5th Avenue in front of the Philippine Stock Exchange in Bonifacio Global City, coincided with the International Day of Cooperation, July 4, and was organized in partnership with the Management Association of the Philippines, Galleria Duemila, Rotary Club of Makati Business District 3830 and Philippines AirAsia, Italian Chamber of Commerce in the Philippines, and Archipelago for you.
During the event, Liter of Light conducted socially distant workshops at the tented area of My Street High Street to raise funds to provide clean and sustainable sources of energy to communities who have been affected by lack of tourism due to the pandemic.
At 6:30pm on July 4, Liter of Light unveiled its latest pop-up participative solar artwork. Built using 1,500 hand-built solar lights, the artwork featured a symbol for the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (UN SDG) #13: Climate Action. For the “Day of Climate Action”, members of the private sector, organizations, individuals, and residents of Bonifacio Global City signed on to Liter of Light’s “Light It Forward” challenge, building solar lights from the safety of home as a symbol of their commitment to take action on climate change.
The artwork is the latest in a series of pop-up artworks that Liter of Light has built across Metro Manila to pay tribute and call for action in achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals in the lead-up to the global climate change conference (COP26) which will be held in Glasgow, Scotland, this November. Liter of Light will be participating at COP26, as well as the special Pre-COP26 program organized for youth climate change advocates, Youth4Climate: Driving Ambition, hosted by conference co-host Italy in September 2021.
“Our Day of Climate Action has given youth a platform to show their commitment in finding real solutions to the climate crisis,” said Illac Diaz, Founder and Executive Director of Liter of Light. “Each of the hand-built solar lights they assembled from the safety of home is now a pixel of light and hope in this participative artwork. At the Pre-COP26 activities in Italy, we will continue to amplify the voices and leadership of our youth in calling for tangible, meaningful progress in creating the future we want.”
About the Light It Forward Challenge:
Everyone who participates in the “Light It Forward” campaign receives a kit that they will use to build a solar light, which takes less than 30 minutes to assemble. Liter of Light has created online videos to guide participants on how to assemble the devices. Challenge participants are asked to dedicate their light to an essential worker or frontline that has impacted them during the COVID-19 pandemic. After recording their solar light building, each participant must challenge their friends to build a light.
The campaign is part of a broader strategy for Liter of Light, a UN FCCC “Momentum for Change” Awardee and the Philippine private sector representative to the upcoming World EXPO, which will take place in Dubai from October 2021 to March 2022. [https://tinyurl.com/yxfv2e7b] The organization will use its platform to shine a light on how Filipino malasakit is paving a way for a brighter future in a tangible, measurable way.
To learn more about Liter of Light and its Light It Forward campaign, visit:
Instagram: @literoflight
Facebook: www.facebook.com/aliteroflight
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmkj2sShWG4O5xGdq15gB7A/
About Liter of Light:
Working in 32 countries with over 2,700 youth ambassadors, Liter of Light is one of the largest organizations that works with youth to engage companies in Europe, Latin America, Southeast Asia, and Africa on building simple and repairable solar lights, mobile charging systems, and street lights. Using materials from within each community, the organization has empowered the lives of over one million people a year, while creating opportunities for green micro business, and lowering carbon emissions by 1000kg per hand-built solar lamp.
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