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Things to know

General

1. The 6th International Geography Olympiad (IGEO) will be held in Brisbane, Australia, from 28 June to 3 July 2006, under the auspices of the International Geographical Union (IGU) Olympiad Task Force.

2. IGEO 2006 will be held in conjunction with the IGU Regional Conference, 3 - 7 July, and the Commission on Geographical Education Symposium, 26 June - 2 July.

3. IGEO 2006 is being hosted by The Royal Geographical Society of Queensland Inc and the Australian Geography Teachers’ Association Ltd.

4. The aims of the International Geography Olympiad are to:

4.1 stimulate active interest in geographical and environmental studies among young people;

4.2 contribute positively to debate about the importance of geography as a senior secondary school subject by drawing attention to the quality of geographical skills and interests among young people;

4.3 facilitate social contacts between young people from different countries and doing so, contribute to the understanding between nations.

5. The official language of the International Geography Olympiad is English.

The Participants

6. Countries wishing to participate in IGEO 2006 should apply on the attached form by 3 January 2006. Countries which took part in either of the previous two IGEOs (Gydnia 2004 or Durban 2002) have right of entry to IGEO 2006 if they apply by the deadline. On 4 January 2006 other available places will be allocated on the basis of the date of receipt of a country's application. A maximum of 20 countries will be accepted.

7. Each participating country will send a team of a maximum of four students.

7.1 They should be students of secondary schools (general or technical), or ex-students who finished school in the year of the competition and have not yet commenced regular education at university level.

7.2 Their ages should be between 16 and 19 years old (inclusive) on 30 June 2006.

7.3 Students must be able to answer test questions in the official language of the IGEO (English). Non-native English speakers will get extra facilities.

7.4 Students should be selected through a national competition. Countries may apply for an exemption to this rule for IGEO 2006.

7.5 Students must answer the test questions independently. Violation of this provision will result in disqualification of the student from the IGEO.

8. In addition to the students, two adult team leaders are invited.

8.1 They must be involved in geography teaching or geography in education in their country.

8.2 Each of them must be able to speak and write the official language of the IGEO (English).

8.3 One leader will have membership of the International Board. S/he will maintain absolute security about the contents of any test until after that particular test has taken place. S/he will be eligible to participate on one of the jury panels, vote on the Statutes, review marking guidelines, translate geographic terms, etc.

8.4 The other leader will be the person responsible for the students.

8.5 Both of them will have equal rights at the event evaluation meeting of team leaders, which takes place at the end of the IGEO.

The Competition

9. The competition will consist of three parts: a written response test (40% of total marks), a substantial fieldwork exercise (40%), and a multimedia quiz (20%). These three test elements will be organised on different days. For past examples of questions, see other countries' sections on this website.

10. Students complete the test assignments individually. (Note: exercises in the field are carried out in cross-national groups, but the fieldwork test questions are completed individually.)

11. The tests will be based on the guidelines drawn up by the Olympiad Task Force, after consultation with the International Board. IGEO assignments will test both knowledge and skills in geography.

12. The IGEO assignments will be prepared by committees under the supervision of the Olympiad Task Force.

13. Students must produce their answers in the official language of the IGEO (English).

14. All students will receive a certificate. Approximately 50% of the participating students will receive a medal. Medals will be awarded in the approximate ratio of gold 1: silver 2: bronze 3.

Accommodation

15. Participants will be housed and the tests conducted in the facilities of Brisbane Grammar School. This is a large well-equipped boarding school within walking distance of Brisbane’s city centre.

16. Adults will be offered the option of staying at a nearby hotel at extra cost (probably Albert Park Hotel, www.albertparkhotel.com.au). The extra cost per night is expected to be A$90 for a single room or A$45 per person for twin share.

Programme

17. Brisbane, in southeast Queensland, is a friendly subtropical city with pleasant mild winters. The IGEO programme will include encounters with Australia's unique wildlife, rainforests and beaches. To find out more about Brisbane, look at the website at http://www.ourbrisbane.com.

18. As is traditional at IGEOs, a cultural function will be held, so teams should come prepared to perform a piece typical of their homeland.

19. Teams are also invited to give a presentation about some geographical aspect of their country. With the growing number of countries these need to be kept short. Guidelines will be sent in advance to participating countries.

20. The IGEO programme has been structured so that team leaders will be able to attend one day of the Commission on Geographical Education Symposium if they so wish. This will be on Thursday 29 June and will be at extra cost. See the Symposium website at http://www.office-logistics.com/igu_cge2006. Alternatively, at the conclusion of IGEO 2006 they may wish to attend the IGU Regional Conference, which will include sessions programmed by the Commission on Geographical Education. This website is at http://www.igu2006.org.

21. The top medals will be awarded to students during the Opening Ceremony of the IGU Regional Conference.

22. An outline of the programme is in the next section.

Optional tour

23. If enough countries are interested, an optional tour at extra cost will be organised following IGEO 2006. We plan to travel into the semi-arid country to the west of Brisbane (Brisbane - Toowoomba - Miles - Roma - Charleville - St George - Goondiwindi - Warwick - Brisbane). Activities are likely to include a visit to the Royal Flying Doctor Service, bilbies (a cute endangered animal with long ears), irrigated cotton farms, a Landcare group, oil well, etc. To keep the cost down this would be a camping trip using a chartered coach. Adults would have the option to upgrade to a cabin at extra cost. The trip would be about 6 days. If enough teams indicate on the application form that they are interested, a detailed itinerary and costing will be sent out. The cost should be less than A$500 (currency converter at http://www.xe.com/ucc) for transport, all meals, entry charges, camping equipment and fees.

Group flight booking

24. Similarly, if enough European countries are interested, a group booking on an airline will be organised, probably from Frankfurt. Please indicate on the form if you might want to take advantage of this.

Financial aspects

25. Participating countries will pay all travel costs for the students and the team leaders that make up their country's team.

26. Countries must take out medical/travel insurance to cover their teams. The local organiser will have public liability insurance.

27. Countries are responsible for arranging and paying any costs of visas to enter Australia. Further information on this will be provided to participating countries.

28. Each participating country will make a contribution to cover the local costs. For IGEO 2006 this is A$350 per person (currency converter http://www.xe.com/ucc), that is A$2100 for a team of four students and two leaders, payable in advance.

29. The local organiser will cover the other costs in providing accommodation, meals, awards and scheduled functions and excursions during the time of IGEO 2006.

Applications

30. Please apply on the form on this site as soon as possible, but no later than 3 January 2006. Countries which did not participate in the 2002 or 2004 IGEOs will be allocated available places based on the date of receipt of their application.

31. Participating countries will be sent further forms for each of their students and team leaders.

32. For more information on the IGEOs in general, please check other sections on this website.

33. Please contact the local organiser, Kath Berg, if you have any queries:

Kathryn Berg
International Geography Olympiad 2006
237 Milton Road
Milton Qld 4067
Australia
email: admin@rgsq.org.au
phone: + 61 7 3368 2066
fax : + 61 7 3367 1011

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