MANILA, PHILIPPINES — Liter of Light, a Filipino-born global grassroots solar lighting movement, will unveil a large-scale solar artwork to celebrate Filipinos as the light to the world. The artwork, featuring a tribute to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal #7: Clean and Affordable Energy for All, will be unveiled on Earth Day, April 22, at the outdoor Sun Life Amphitheater at the BGC Arts Center. It is one of four artworks that the organization will be building in Bonifacio Global City, with future installations occurring twice a month.
The installation is being done in partnership with Philippine Army Finance Center Producers Integrated Cooperative, First Gen Corp., and Management Association of the Philippines.
Collaborating institutions include Rotary Club of Makati Business District, University of the Philippines Diliman College of Kinetics, BGC Arts Center / Bonifacio Arts Foundation, Inc. and Fort Bonifacio Development (FBDC) Corporation.
“The United Nations declared 2021 as the start of a new Decade of Action. To mark this milestone, we want to show how the Philippines continues to play a pivotal role in achieving the UN SDGs,” says Illac Diaz, Founder of Liter of Light. “On this Earth Day, we remember that Filipinos are leading the way in restoring our earth. Even in the midst of this pandemic, we are shining a light on the opportunities and responsibility we each have to create the future we want.”
Each of the hand-built solar lights used in the installation was built by hundreds of ordinary citizens who have participated in the organization’s “LIGHT IT FORWARD” Challenge. Inspired by the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, LIGHT IT FORWARD has given Filipinos new ways to connect for good by inviting them to build solar lights for communities without electricity from the safety of their homes. Since July 2020, this pioneering digital campaign has empowered tens of thousands of families in energy-poor and disaster-stricken communities across the country.
This is the latest in a series of large-scale solar installations that the Liter of Light has built since November 2020. This past March, one year after COVID19 forced the country and much of the world into lockdown, Liter of Light celebrated the efforts that continue to be made to solve big challenges around the world, pioneering its participative solar artworks with Barangay San Lorenzo in Makati City. Most recently, the organization created a large-scale replica of the UN SDG wheel, representing each of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, in partnership with Makati City Mayor Abby Binay and the Rotary Club of Makati Business District.
