Ruairí O'Brien elected to governing Council of the Professional Lighting Designers Association PLDA

Acceptance speech read out to the members at the AGM in Berlin on Saturday 18.05.2013

Dear council, past and present,
Dear President, Dear fellow members,
Dear colleagues and of course Dear students.

With joy I received the message that my candidacy for the post of Director for Education and member of the governing Council was successful.
I am delighted that the members have shown me such confidence and thank everyone who voted for me. Unfortunately I cannot be in Berlin with you at this moment due to a private unforeseen event in Dresden.
In this way I would also like to send my congratulations to all the selected candidates.
I look forward to the important work ahead with you all.

History has taught us that no society, institute or family can ignore the needs of their young and survive.
To ensure our future and the future of the profession we have to begin early with the communication of our values and our standards. We must want people at the earliest age to understand what good lighting is. One of the most important areas for this is of course the universities but one should not forget the schools.
If we want a future society that understands and respects lighting design as being of utmost importance to our everyday life then we need to ensure that there is a wider public understanding of "what we do."
We also need to communicate how "what we do" influences their world, "the people on the street."
A major part of my work will be the "Communication" of our vision to the schools, universities, the profession, the industry and the students. This will be balanced by the second most important part of my work that of "Understanding" the needs of our partners, in the profession, universities, industry and the general public at large. Only with their help can we develop our vision, protect our standards and nuture our values. The future lighting designer and the educational programs required for the next generation requires our Input. We must be generous and share our experience, enthusiasm and our knowledge with others in order to achieve the highest results. But we must also be prepared to take the time to understand the problems before we try to solve them. The "Education zone" is a neutral meeting point for all, to be respected and cherished, it is our future. It is a place were the future of the lighting design Profession could be decided.

However despite the dark skies here in Dresden this morning I say, the future is bright for the children of light !

Enjoy the rest of your stay in Berlin.

Thank you.

Ruairi O'Brien