THE Liter of Light project, led by Filipino social entrepreneur Illac Diaz in collaboration with the French Embassy in the Philippines, unveiled the Blue Lantern climate artwork on the evening of Tuesday, May 27, 2025, a glowing symbol of their collective mobilization to protect the oceans.
The artwork, which is made of over 1,000 solar lamps built by civil society organizations, partner companies, young professionals, and students for the past months, will be available for public viewing every evening until Sunday, June 1, at Fort Santiago in Intramuros, Manila.
This initiative, under the #100DaysMobilizationOcean campaign in preparation for the United Nations Ocean Conference (#UNOC3) in June 2025, underscores the importance of climate action, marine protection, and sustainable tourism.
It is also part of the Blue Nations initiative, a partnership between France and the Philippines for a shared strong advocacy for the climate and ocean’s protection since the Manila call to action on climate change in February 2015 that led to the Paris Agreement (COP 21).
The initiative seeks to build on the longstanding cooperation between France and the Philippines on maritime and climate issues and is designed to amplify efforts in these key areas in the lead-up to the 2025 UNOC in Nice, France.
In an interview, Diaz said the 1,000 solar lamps will be distributed to remote communities with electricity issues especially to students in order to give them access to light that will help them in their studies.
He said they intended to provide at least a million solar lights each year for disadvantaged communities and families including fishermen.
Diaz said not only fishermen can use these solar lamps at home but most especially for fishing at night. (TPM/SunStar Philippines)