The International Day of Light is celebrated on May 16 every year in order to mark the first successful operation of laser in 1960 by physicist and engineer, Theodore Maiman. This day is, therefore, a call to strengthen scientific cooperation and harness its potential to promote peace and sustainable development. Maiman's laser led to the subsequent development of many other types of lasers. The laser was successfully fired on May 16, 1960.

The International Day of Light (IDL) is celebrated every year on May 16. International Day of Light 2020 will thus be celebrated on May 16, which falls on a Saturday.

Significance & Celebrations of the Day:

The significance behind celebrating this day is to highlight the role light plays in science, culture and art, education, and sustainable development, and in fields as diverse as medicine, communications, and energy. Owing to the coronavirus outbreak this year, cities and countries have put in place several measures to control the spread of COVID-19. In view of the rising numbers globally, the lockdown has been imposed in several places. As a result, many activities that were planned for the International Day of Light 2020 (IDL2020) on May 16 would no longer take place as scheduled.

International Day of Light initiative this year urged people to celebrate the day virtually. Two exciting initiatives for IDL2020 were announced ahead of the day- First was asking people to post pictures on social media using hashtags #IDL2020 and #SeeTheLight with images that capture how light influences our lives in the broadest sense. The second initiative was a call for a video, asking people to submit a video that showcases how they study, celebrate and/or enjoy the light.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 16, 2020 08:00 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).