Liter of Light Attempts Guinness World Record for Building Solar Lights to Raise Awareness for Sustainable Energy

Wazzup Pilipinas!

On Wednesday, January 10, 2018, social enterprise Liter of Light will attempt to set a Guinness World Record for building solar light in order to raise awareness and action for the millions of people in the Philippines and around the world who lack access to clean, affordable energy.

The Guinness World Record attempt will take place in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates, under the patronage of the Zayed Future Energy Prize in celebration of its 10th year anniversary.

Liter of Light won the seventh edition of the Zayed Future Energy Prize in the Non-Profit Organization (NPO/NGO) category in 2015, and is the only Filipino organization to have won this prestigious prize.

The world’s biggest award for renewable energy and sustainability honored the organization for an innovative lighting solution that addresses the combined challenge of climate change, energy security, and the environment. The Liter of Light empowers communities by training locals how to manufacture and install solar lights, creating hundreds of job opportunities for sectors not commonly involved with energy, such as rural women’s cooperatives, youth groups, and refugee camps.

The Guinness World Record attempt will call on thousands of students and young volunteers to participate in an environmental sustainability lesson, where they will build simple, repairable solar lights that will be rendered into an art installation at the end of the day.

“Liter of Light’s Guinness World Record endeavor is about more than setting a new milestone for community-built solar lighting,” said Illac Diaz, Founder and Executive Director of the Liter of Light. “In organizing this large-scale action, we want to raise awareness for the millions who continue to live without access to clean energy, including the tens of thousands of Muslim Filipinos in the southern areas of Mindanao.”

Liter of Light has already brought 131 streetlights and thousands of community-built solar lights to Marawi as part of relief efforts, but tens of thousands remain displaced by the conflict. Without access to electricity, the communities in the post-conflict zone will continue to suffer from increased vulnerability to theft and violence.