Lighting designers’ associations pre-convention meeting

Wednesday, 23. October, 2019 from 14.30 – 17.00

The meeting, attended by representatives from ten lighting designers’ associations around the world, began with a round of introductions and an update on the status quo of recognition of Lighting Design in different countries/regions.

The meeting continued by addressing factors that impact the degree of recognition, such as university programmes, membership in an association and documented CPD (Continuing Professional Development). Moderator Jonathan Rush, together with Alison Ritter, explained the background to the idea of creating a CPD platform, as initially discussed with the Think/Do Tank (a group of dedicated lighting designers, educators, researchers and industry representatives founded in 2015).

The meeting then discussed the merits and differences between licensing (mandatory) versus certification (voluntary). Although there was no conclusive response as to which would aid recognition more, the associations present agreed that it would help to show a joint position: a collective of associations that can unite around some of the common goals of the associations.

Jonathan Rush explained that in the Think/Do Tank there was a broadly united position that the following could be useful in establishing a unified cooperative of associations: Code of Ethics, Scope of Works, Career Path, Formal Education (core curriculum), Grievance Procedure and a Continuing Professional Development base (lifelong learning).

Given the consensus in the pre-convention meeting to move forward in a combined effort, Jonathan Rush proposed setting up a Dropbox into which existing information within the respective associations can be copied so all associations can start discussing. This could initially comprise the Code of Ethics, Scope of Works, and Career Path. If the associations can agree on a unified version of those three, this could provide a sound basis for further cooperation.

For more information, please contact Alison Ritter at aritter@via-internet.com