H.E. Eng. Zahra Al Aboudi, Undersecretary at the Ministry of Public Works inaugurates the 4th Annual Middle East Lighting and Energy Summit 2015

4th Annual Middle East Lighting and Energy Summit 2015 Started Today with a Record Turnout of 400 Attendees

MONDAY NOVEMBER 23, 2015

The Middle East region’s foremost lighting summit, the 4th Annual Middle East Smart Lighting and Energy Summit 2015, got underway at Jumeriah at Etihad Towers in the city today. Held under the patronage of the Abu Dhabi City Municipality and organized by global conference producers, Expotrade, the summit witnessed over 400 lighting professionals come together under one roof to discuss advancements in lighting technology, exchange dialogue on global solutions and share success stories that are key to achieving the sustainable goals that is part of Abu Dhabi 2030 vision.

The summit was inaugurated by Eng. Zahra Al Aboudi, Undersecretary at the Ministry of Public Works along with Mohamed Ahmed Alameri, Director Infrastructure (North), Abu Dhabi City Municipality in the presence of esteemed dignitaries and Ambassadors from the Embassies of Canada, Kuwait, Netherlands Chile and Angola to name a few.

The two-day summit commenced with a welcome address from the premium sponsors – Havells Sylvania and Yaming – and was followed by a keynote session on Abu Dhabi City Municipality’s Sustainable Lighting Strategy that was delivered by Eng. Hussein Mohsen Al Saeedi, Head of Sustainable Standards and Specifications Team, Infrastructure and Municipal Assets Sector, Abu Dhabi City Municipality.

Mr. Bastiaan de Groot, Director - Lighting Controls Business, Havells Sylvania, presented a session on Launching Applications for the Digital Lighting Area. Talking about the summit, he said, “We are really excited about this conference, in-line with our open-innovation strategy we have partnered with some of the most exciting technology companies in the industry (including Organic Response, GOOEE and CREE) to show our customers in the middle-east the latest innovative smart-lighting products and solutions in our portfolio ranging from solutions to optimise and analyse retail environments to luminaries containing distributed intelligence that commission themselves.”

Lighting expert of Abu Dhabi City Municipality, Mr. Martin Valentine took the stage to explain the future of lighting standards for Abu Dhabi. During his session he not only emphasized upon the technical and design revisions being made to current DMA Lighting specifications but for the first time, he also showed and explained the new content on DMA Lighting specifications.

Mr. Brad Hariharan, Regional Director, Expotrade Middle East, commented, “We are truly ecstatic by the response we have received from all our speakers, sponsors and delegates. The sessions presented by over 20 speakers have offered delegates a fresh perspective on the trends and developments in the lighting industry. We thank Abu Dhabi City Municipality for their support in making this event a stupendous success.”

While Mr. Martin Klaasen, Principal, Klaasen Lighting Design, during his session highlighted the challenges and opportunities of today’s LED lighting technology; Christine Nash, Director/CEO, Metrosmart International spoke on innovative street infrastructure with a special emphasis on their range of state-of-the-art products and solutions such as the Digi wrap, the Soluxio and Starfin.

Paolo Cervini, President, Philips Lighting Middle East & Turkey, spoke on the new smart lighting systems that are now available, and lessons that the company has learnt from scores of connected lighting systems it have installed worldwide.

David Andrew Dunn, Technical Delivery Manager- Utilities, Mouchel Consulting moderated an interactive panel discussion on Is UAE making the best use of Solar Power in Lighting to increase Energy Efficiency. He was supported by fellow panelists Aswathy Prasad, Lighting Specialist, WSP Group; Elisa D'Emilio, Lead Landscape Architect, Dorsch Consult and Faisal Rashid, Director – Demand Side Management, Dubai Supreme Council of Energy.

Other sessions covered on the first day were on energy management contract; a case study on the key success factors for a prestigious lighting project; Internet of Things: already in lighting; enhancing indoor lighting with daylight; outdoor lighting initiatives in Dubai and outdoor lighting network management in Helsinki.

The first day of the summit ended with a complimentary city lighting tour organized by Abu Dhabi City Municipality for all the registered delegates. Covering the key landmarks in the city - Baynuna Street, Mushrif Park, Sheikh Zayed Bridge, Salam Street Tunnel, Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque and Sheikh Zayed Street - the tour showcased the LED lighting installations in the city and also offered a holistic perspective on the city’s achievements in the lighting domain.

More than 20 companies including Havells Sylvania, Yaming, Metrosmart International, Philips, Valmont France, Fagerhult Lighting Group, NIKKON and iGuzzini amongst many others have displayed their solutions at the exhibitor lounge at the summit.