The BalkanLight Conference, which was first held inBulgaria in 1999, and then in Turkiye in 2002, Romania in 2005, Slovenia in2008, Serbia in 2012, Greece in 2015 and again in Bulgaria in 2018, was held after a long break due to the pandemic, on 28-29 November 2024, at the Istanbul Lütfi Kırdar Convention and Exhibition Center, together with the Light +Intelligent Building Fair, hosted by the CIE Turkish National Committee on Illumination (ATMK). According to the experiences to date, we can not that the BalkanLight Conference is generally held by the National Illumination Committees of the countries, many of which are members of the CIE.
This year, the BalkanLight’2024 Conference, which was held in Istanbul, brought together representatives from 9 Balkan countries, namely Bulgaria, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, Turkiye and Greece - along with participants from countries across different continents, including Japan, South Korea, Germany, Austria, Spain, Slovakia, Belarus and Mexico. With this structure, BalkanLight’2024 achieved its goal of being an international forum with participation from other countries as well as the targeted Balkan countries.
The conference, which was themed as “Future of Lighting: Efficient and Intelligent,” presented 43 papers that underwent two-stage peer-review on energy efficiency, digitalization technologies, control techniques, human-centered lighting, and the lighting of cities, historical monuments, and buildings. Dr. Diana Wernisch, Secretary General of the CIE, was a guest speaker at the conference opening session, where she delivered a presentation titled “Light and Lighting: Role and Strategy of the CIE,” highlighting the CIE's structure, research strategy, and international collaboration and research opportunities.
The fact that the BalkanLight’2024 Conference was held together with the Light + Intelligent Building Fair organized by Messe Frankfurt made a positive contribution, especially in terms of private sector participation, and also provided the conference participants with the opportunity to learn about the Turkish lighting sector. Our Secretary General Dr. Diana Wernisch visited Turkish lighting companies that were participants in the fair and had the opportunity to explain the CIE cooperation opportunities and benefits.