International Chemistry Olympiad
The International Chemistry Olympiad (IChO) is an annual academic competition for high school students.
Up to 4 students for each national team compete around July in both a theoretical and an experimental sections, with about half of the participants being awarded medals.
The international jury, which consists of the 2 mentors from each of the participating countries, discusses the competition tasks and translates them into the language of their students' preference.
In addition, the host country of each IChO issues a set of preparatory problems well in advance of the competition every year.
These preparatory problems cover specific topics in considerable more depth than typical post-secondary education.
These events are also outstanding opportunities for the students to meet people from all around the world who share similar interests, to visit different places, and to get in touch with different cultures.
However, in May 1968, relations between Czechoslovakia and the Soviet Union became so delicate that only Poland and Hungary participated in the first international competition.
[3] The second chemistry Olympiad took place in 1969 in Poland, and Bulgaria also participated, with USSR and GDR only sending observers.
The decision was made to invite more socialist countries to future competitions and to limit the number of pupils to four.
[2] In 1974, Romania invited Sweden and Yugoslavia to the Olympiad in Bucharest and Germany and Austria sent observers.
The Federal Republic of Germany was the first NATO-country with an observer present and this was only able to occur because the Brandt government had contracts in the East.
[4] With the fall of the Iron Curtain and the break-up of the Soviet Union into independent states in the early 1990s, the number of participants increased again.
In addition, the increasing interest of Asian and Latin American countries became apparent with the numbers of participants.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, IChO 2020, 2021 and 2022 were organized remotely without a laboratory exam in order to keep the Olympic spirit of collaboration and peace even in harsh times.
