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IFCA organizes the International Day of Light in Santander

October 1st, 2020


The event, 'Santander is light', will be held at the Plaza Porticada and will include scientific workshops and a 'lightmob'.


The Institute of Physics of Cantabria (IFCA, CSIC-UC) organizes on Friday 9 October a scientific, cultural and artistic event with the collaboration of the City of Santander aimed at highlighting the role of light in science, art and education. This project funded by the Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology (FECYT - Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities) will take place in the Plaza Porticada. The event, called 'Santander is light', will include eight workshops on the applications of light in research and a 'lightmob', all free but will require prior registration, as capacity is limited.


This has been announced this Thursday at a press conference the Deputy Director of Outreach IFCA, Jónatan Piedra, and the Councillors for Tourism and Education, Miriam Diaz and Noemi Méndez, who explained that this is a "collective experience where the light will be the protagonist and no one will be indifferent". As they explained, this initiative, which seeks to transmit and disseminate scientific advances that have to do with light, is the only event of its kind to be held in Spain on the occasion of International Day of Light, which this year due to the state of alarm declared throughout the country could not be held as usual on May 16.


Under the technique of lightpainting, internationally renowned artists such as Sfhir, Frodo of Children Of DarkLight and Edu Cajigal, with the help of the audience, will paint with light using photographic techniques of long exposure and flashlights, and take photographs for several minutes from the main building of Liberbank, which collaborates with the assignment of space, to achieve a final artistic image. When&Where Comunicación y Eventos, a national company awarded with the recognition of Best Cultural Event in Spain, will be in charge of the production.


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Jónatan Piedra has explained that this event will allow us to see the role that light plays in science, education and art, and has detailed that, together with the Photonic Engineering Group of the Department of Electronic Technology and Systems Engineering and Automation of the UC, they have organized eight workshops in which we will be able to see how science can help to achieve the objectives of peace, education and equality established by the UNESCO. Piedra has detailed that in these workshops, which will take place with a frequency of about ten minutes and a limited capacity of six people, participants may participate, creating a graffiti with a laser pointer, observing cosmic rays, or measuring the properties of light, acquire notions about color and its meanings and know the state of food through the fluorescence of light, among other proposals.


The Councillor for Tourism, Miriam Díaz, said that this initiative is an example of public-private partnership for events in this new normality and that its name 'Santander is light' takes on a special meaning at this time when "we all need that light and hope". The mayor, who has invited all the people of Santander who wish to live a "unique experience" to join this activity, has highlighted the international projection of this event that is linked to culture, art and science. He also thanked the work developed by both the IFCA and the organizing company.


For her part, the Councillor for Education, Noemí Méndez, stated that "science and art are more united than they seem" and expressed the opinion that thanks to activities such as this, promoted by IFCA, "society can get to know science from another point of view".


Registration for the workshops, which will take place between 6 and 8 p.m., will be available from Friday, October 2nd. Similarly, you can download the registration form to attend the lightmob and the artwork at 20.00. In order to guarantee the security of the attendees, the access to the Plaza Porticada will be controlled and only those people who have previously booked through the website www.lightmobexperience.com will be able to access it. The organization will send by e-mail the instructions, the map and the protocol to be followed by the assistants, who will have at their disposal hydroalcoholic gel so that security is guaranteed and the lightmob can be developed.


  • Joint Centre with the combined effort of Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) and University of Cantabria (UC)

    Instituto de Física de Cantabria
    Edificio Juan Jordá
    Avenida de los Castros, s/n
    E-39005 Santander
    Cantabria, Spain

  • © IFCA- Institute of Physics of Cantabria