• 2000 South Korea

2000 South Korea

Preface

This report is a record of the experience and a collection of materials of the third International Geography Competition held from the 13th to 19th of August 2000 in Seoul, Korea. The Competition is a unique program of the IGC that has been prepared especially for futures young geographers. The Competition had two goals: to promote international awareness for High School Students through social contacts and interaction, and to contribute to the study of Geography at Secondary Schools. We hope many geographers share the experience of the Competition and contribute to geography education in their country.

Compared with the long history of the IGU, which had its 29th Congress in Seoul, the competition has a relatively short history. It had only its third competition. Some countries have had their National Olympiad of Geography for much longer. However, it was at the Regional Congress in Prague in 1994 when the idea of having a standing international geography competition program was first discussed in earnest by the IGU President and several members of the Commission on Geographical Education. As a result, the first International Geography Competition was held in 1996 in Hague, the second in 1998 in Lisbon, and the third in 2000 in Seoul.

The Seoul Competition was a great success and opened new possibilities for the internationalization of the program. The number of participating countries in the competition was twice that of previous competitions. Although the increase of participants caused many difficulties in preparing for and operation of the Competition, all participants were satisfied with the organization of the program. Three kinds of test and 11 events of ceremonies and social programs were executed during the competition week.

The competition should be developed into a better format. Although the Seoul competition showed a possibility of the satisfactory format it was yet in challenging and experimental stage. Such matters as financial difficulties and institutionalization of the program need much endeavor and should be solved. It is expected that the International Geography Competition program will continue as an important tradition of IGU academic activities. The organizers hope the experience of Seoul Competition would provide a new road map in the years to come.

The success of the Seoul Competition owed much to the devotion and support of many persons and organizations. For one and half years, all the members of the Organizing Committee poured themselves , into preparing for the competition. It was not an easy task; however, all of us feel it was worthwhile both for ourselves and for the future of geography. We enjoyed working on it. Closing the event, we would like to extend our sincere gratitude to all who assisted us with this program.

Dooil Kim, Chuisue Hwang, Woo-ik Yu

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