While photonics enables so many aspects of our daily lives, it remains an unknown science for many. A new outreach project intends to change that and make photonics a household word.

GoPhoton!, founded by the European Centers for Outreach in Photonics (ECOP) and funded by the European Commission through the Seventh Framework Programme, aims to bring photonics closer to the general public by educating society about its universal nature and the role it plays in our everyday lives.

The project will launch in full force in 2015, which coincides with the International Year of Light and Light-based Technologies. Outreach activities and events, such as PhotonicSplash, will be carried out in eight cities across Europe — Barcelona, Bratislava (Slovakia), Galway (Ireland), Milan, Berlin, Brussels, London and Paris.

PhotonicSplash programs will offer students, teachers, industry and other research institutes as well as the general public the opportunity to learn about photonics by visiting research centers for open-day events, going to exhibitions, attending talks, participating in workshops, and taking part in educational, entertaining and fun events revolving around the concept and applications of light.

Partners in the GoPhoton! intitiative include the Institute of Photonic Sciences in Spain, Vrije Universiteit Brussels, Ferdinand-Braun-Institut and Leibniz Institut für Höchstfrequenztechnik in Germany, the National University of Ireland-Galway School of Physics and Applied Optics Group, Institut d’Optique Graduate School in France, Imperial College London, Politecnico di Milano in Italy and the International Laser Centre in Slovakia.

For more information, visit: www.ecopalliance.eu