The World of Photonics Congress is the leading international congress for optical technologies in Europe and ranked in the top 3 worldwide. It is held in conjunction with LASER World of PHOTONICS 2009, the international trade fair for optical technologies including components, systems and applications, so there was an intense exchange between the scientific and industrial sectors. Themes are selected and discussed based on their scientific relevance and industrial impact. The World of Photonics Congress is a unique event that covers all of photonics. Topics range from the latest findings in research and development to optics, biophotonics and medical applications, measuring technology, industrial image processing and the use of lasers in manufacturing.

The World of Photonics Congress is a strategic and operative umbrella for individual conferences held by leading associations and organizations. Those conferences and their organizers are as follows:

• CLEO / EQEC, Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics Europe and European Quantum Electronics Conference, organized by the European Physical Society (EPS)
• Frontiers in Electronic Imaging, Manufacturing of Optical Components, Lighting and Displays organized by the European Optical Society (EOS)
• Lasers in Manufacturing (LiM 2009), organized by the German Scientific Laser Society (WLT)
• European Conferences on Biomedical Optics (ECBO 2009), organized by the Optical Society of America (OSA) and the International Society of Optical Engineering SPIE 
• Optical Metrology, organized by the International Society of Optical Engineering SPIE Europe
• Medical Laser Applications, organized by the German Association for Laser Medicine (DGLM)

Thanks to a comprehensive program of related event such as workshops focusing on specific applications, the congress is also a suitable platform for production engineers and sales people. The World of Photonics Congress is organized by Munich International Trade Fairs. The German Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) has supported the ongoing development of the congress since 2004.