Taiwan wins silver and bronze at International Geography Olympiad

國際地理奧林匹亞賽台灣奪得銀牌和銅牌

Taiwan also tied with Canada and the Netherlands as best performer in the poster presentations


TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Taiwan has garnered two silvers and one bronze medal at the 16th International Geography Olympiad (iGeo), which is taking place in Hong Kong between July 30 and Aug. 5.

The competition this year adopts the theme of, “Discovering a vibrant city for our smart future.” In addition to a fieldwork exercise, the event involves written response and multimedia tests that spotlight climate change, hazard management, sustainable development, economic geography, urban geography, and more.

According to National Taiwan Normal University Department of Geography, Taiwan has emerged as the best performer, on a par with Canada and the Netherlands, in the poster presentations. The winning poster from the four participating students is about Taiwan’s earthquake early warning system, and sheds light on the island nation’s efforts to respond to quakes.

To stand out in iGeo, the contestants must be knowledgeable in a wide variety of fields, including history, geography, biology, and engineering, said Wu Bing-sheng (吳秉昇), assistant professor of the NTNU Department of Geography and leader of the Taiwan team. This year’s challenging tests focused on environmental geography and required good English writing skills and systematic thinking, Central News Agency quoted Wu as saying.

iGeo, which commenced in 1996 as a biennial event, has been held annually since 2012 due to its growing popularity. Taiwan started competing in the geography Olympiad in 2002, with contestants selected through a senior-high school level competition organized by the Taipei-based Geography Society of China, before receiving training from National Taiwan Normal University.