A Look Back at NGA's Celebration of The International Year of Glass 2022

WHAT IS THE INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF GLASS?

The United Nations International Year of Glass of 2022 will celebrate the essential role glass has and will continue to have in society. The International Commission on Glass (ICG), along with the Community of Glass Associations (CGA) and ICOM-Glass outlined a vision for the United Nations International Year of Glass (IYoG2022). The vision is to celebrate the past, present, and future of this transformative material following the United Nations’ goals in Agenda 2030.

CELEBRATING THE PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE OF GLASS

• Demonstrate the role of glass in advancing civilization throughout recorded history.
• Organize international glass science and art festivals, with workshops to excite and inform the public of this rich history, and highlight links between glass, art and culture.
• Stimulate research on glass amongst organizations in education, industry, research and the public domain, including museums, to address the great challenges the world faces: achieving sustainable and equitable growth, and improving the quality of life everywhere.
• Build worldwide alliances focused on science and engineering for young people, while addressing gender balance and the needs of developing countries/emerging economies.

NGA’S ROLE IN THE INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF GLASS

The National Glass Association supports the worldwide effort to designate 2022 as the United Nations International Year of Glass, organized by the International Commission on Glass (ICG). NGA wrote a letter of endorsement on behalf of members, board of directors and staff. 

The global events dedicated to 2022 IYOG are structured under 18 Regional Organizations so that each area of the globe has a local organizing committee. The North American Steering Committee for IYOG was established to coordinate IYOG activities in the U.S. and Canada with members from all the key constituencies associated with glass. NGA’s Urmilla Sowell serves on this committee as the Architectural Glass representative. NGA member companies are also actively engaged in the effort.

IYOG 2022 CLOSING CEREMONY

To commemorate the many ways glass was celebrated throughout the world this year, the United Nations hosted a special capstone event at their New York headquarters on Dec. 14.
 
This has been a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to have glass as a building material recognized by the United Nations for an entire year. NGA helped secure this unique recognition and we’ve leveraged IYOG to promote the many benefits of architectural glass and glazing this year.
 
Katy Devlin, Associate Publisher & Editor-in-Chief, Glass Magazine, served as moderator. Urmilla Sowell, Advocacy and Technical Services Director, presented on the impact of glass on sustainability and well-being goals. 

See a recording of the event on the UN website.