NEW YORK — Approximately 4,200 attended the LEDucation 2021 Virtual Conference and Online Marketplace, which kicked off March 16. Lighting and design professionals from more than 60 different countries around the world attended accredited seminars and roundtables. These covered the latest challenges, research, and trends that address lighting design, controls, sustainability, and health and wellness. Engagement was brisk at the LEDucation Online Marketplace where 395 exhibitors showcased their latest lighting solutions and hosted colleagues and friends old and new.
“The 2021 LEDucation virtual show was a great success. The expansion into a virtual platform has proved to be of great value in extending our reach in education, and in maintaining connections within the lighting industry in these extraordinary times. Following on this success, LEDucation will offer a virtual component to our upcoming in-person show coming to New York in August,” LEDucation Co-Chairs Burt Grant and Caroline Rinker said in a joint statement.
“Thank you to all who made this event so successful, particularly the presenters for their time and knowledge. The virtual conference enabled many to join the presentations and attendance exceeded all expectations. Attendees were able to interact with speakers during the live Q&A that followed each pre-recorded session. Participants had time between each session to visit the virtual exhibits. We look forward to a hybrid platform in August,” stated Presentation Co-Chairs Wendy Kaplan and Craig Fox.
Speaker Leela Shanker, founder of The Flint Collective NYC, added, “Congrats to LEDucation 2021 for providing such a successful platform for the lighting community to re-engage with each other and the issues we have been thinking about. We were thrilled to have this degree of participation with peers from both the design and product sides of the industry around the world. After a year of relative isolation, it was exciting to find critical mass building to address climate competitiveness as another measure of performance in lighting—something that will continue to demand global collaborative effort and collective vision.”
With the inclusion of chatrooms and live meetings at the Online Marketplace, attendees enjoyed engaging with exhibitors; many connecting with colleagues they hadn’t seen in a long time. Most exhibitors presented highly creative content within their virtual booths and enjoyed the interaction as much as visitors.
Melissa Deutsch Stein, CEO of Stan Deutsch Associates, a LEDucation Platinum Sponsor, concluded: “LEDucation 2021 was a pleasant surprise. The virtual booths were creative and engaging this year. The live chats and booth tours enabled a lot of people to see new products on their own schedule. There was a lot of dynamic interaction with our factories, and many of the seminars were excellent. We have learned a lot since LEDucation 2020, and although we were still virtual this year, technology and creativity made LEDucation 2021 a very productive show.”
The in-person 2021 LEDucation Trade Show and Conference, scheduled for August 17–18, 2021 is slated to be held at the New York Hilton Midtown in New York City and will include multiple exhibition halls featuring the industry’s top manufacturers and suppliers, as well as a dynamic conference program. In a post COVID-19 environment, LEDucation will prioritize the health and safety of all attendees and will be run in accordance with official government and local authority guidance, as well as New York Hilton Midtown health protocols. Details will be posted in the coming weeks at leducation.org
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