The international day of light (IDL) is a worldwide event created in 2015 by UNESCO to commemorate the role light plays in science, culture and art, education, sustainable development, and in fields as diverse as medicine, communications, and energy. The IDL is celebrated on May 16th in honor of the anniversary of the first successful operation of the laser in 1960 by physicist and engineer, Theodore Maiman. The celebration allows many different sectors of society worldwide to participate in activities that demonstrates how science, technology, art, and culture can help to build the foundation for peaceful societies. 

IPVF joined the celebration of the IDL with a photo contest having two themes: science-to-art to showcase the research we do at IPVF, and world-of-light to show the role that light and light-based technologies play in your daily life. Congratulations to the winners of this first edition: Stéphanie Gbegnon with an optical microscope image of titanium dioxide nanoparticles for perovskite solar cells, and Marie Legrand with a photo taken near the Pont des Arts in Paris.