Welcome to the Glass Age

22 local communities had to be harnessed for local activities. The task of diffusion and coordination of thousands of activities across the planet has started: congresses and seminars, industrial fairs and glass schools will co-exist with artistic exhibitions, books, social media, scientific, technical and general interest magazines. Event planning is relying on grass roots input and a network of volunteers; delegation is indispensable. Regional Organizations have been created based on location, language and the geographical distribution of endorsers across the planet. These total 18 groups and they are listed in Table 1. Each group will focus on coordination, advertising, sharing best practice and providing a supportive environment. Additionally, an Executive Committee, based on representatives from the Regional Organizations will promote the best ideas and multiply their impact. Financial arrangements for local activities are being dealt with at a local level but a Sponsorship Program has been created to support internationally activities, particularly the Opening Ceremony a UN ‘requirement’. Finally, an overarching small executive committee is able to identify issues, react quickly and offer guidance as the need arises. The internet, underpinned by glass fiber cables, and viewed through glass screens is supporting communication. One positive outcome of the Pandemic is the rapid growth in tools such as Zoom and Teams to allow widely separated groups to meet and communicate efficiently. We are also designing a framework to record, develop and share ideas across the glass world based on our web site (www. iyog2022.org ) and a LinkedIn group International Year of Glass 2022 exists. Looking to the future, a successful sustainable development agenda will require partnerships between governments, the private sector and civil society built on principles and values, a shared vision and goals with people and the planet at the center; partnerships are needed at global, regional, national and local levels. An IYoG will initially underline the varied roles of glass but should also stimulate, mobilize and redirect such partnerships to unlock their resources and deliver sustainable development over the long term. Major events planned The original application was formulated around several significant historical anniversaries. These included the 670 th anniversary of the earliest depiction of eyeglasses in a painted work of art (frescoes dated 1352 by Tommaso da Modena in Treviso, Italy); the 200 th anniversary of the invention of the Group 1 Brazil Group 2 Germany, Liechtenstein Group 3 China Group 4 Turkey, Greece, Cyprus, Malta, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, United Arab Emirates, Bahrein, Israel, Bulgaria Group 5 Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Peru, Uruguay Group 6 Mexico, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Colombia, Venezuela, El Salvador, Panama Group 7 USA, Canada Group 8 Spain, Portugal, Andorra Group 9 France, Belgium Group 10 Japan, Korea Group 11 Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania Group 12 UK, Ireland Group 13 Russia, Poland, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Moldavia, Ukraine Group 14 Hungary, Slovenia, Serbia, Rumania, Slovak Republic, Czech Republic, Switzerland, Austria, Croatia Group 15 Algeria, Angola, Egypt, Eritrea, Morocco, Nigeria, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Ghana Group 16 Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, Vietnam, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand Group 17 India, Iran, Pakistan Group 18 Italy Table 1. List of regional groups and the countries included in each.