Numerous prizes won by Lithuanian students at the Baltic Geography Olympiad (Baltic iGeo)
From June 26 to 30, the Lithuanian national team of students won six medals at the Baltic iGeo held in Jelgava, Latvia.
Young geographers from Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, and Poland competed in the Olympiad, along with a team from Germany which participated in the event for the first time.
Ugnius Vilimas, a 3rd grade student at Vilnius Lyceum, won the Gold Medal. Silver Medals went to Lukas Petrikas (Vilnius Lyceum, 3rd grade) and Faustas Kondratavičius (LSMU Gymnasium, 4th grade). Rojus Kondratavičius (LSMU Gymnasium, 4th grade), Miglė Birštunaitė (Vilnius Lyceum, 2nd grade), and Augustinas Bajoras (LSMU Gymnasium, 3rd grade) brought Bronze Medals to Lithuania. Hubertas Būdvytis (Vilnius Lyceum, 3rd grade) was awarded a Letter of Commendation.
During the five days of the Geography Olympiad, the young participants were required to demonstrate a very broad range of knowledge and a lot of specialised practical skills.
This year, students at the Olympiad tackled theoretical problems on geothermal energy, eutrophication, international trade, tourism, rare metals, and other topics. While completing environmental research tasks, participants assessed landscape features of the Lielupe Isles, issues in Jelgava’s residential areas, and the infrastructure of the floodplains along the Švėte River. Quick, logical thinking and a broad knowledge of geography were essential for solving visual (multimedia) tasks.
Having gained experience at the Olympiad in Jelgava, four Lithuanian high school students will represent our country at the International Geography Olympiad (iGEO), which will take place August 11–17 in Istanbul, Turkey.
This year, a dedicated team of geographers and alumni prepared students for the Baltic and European Geography Olympiads, including: Rytas Šalna, Angelė Pakamorienė, Edgaras Zaboras, Tomas Sinkevičius, Gabija Vasiliauskaitė.
Last year, the Lithuanian high school students’ team won a total of 13 medals at the European Geography Olympiad held in Vilnius and, for the first time in history, won four Gold Medals at the International Geography Olympiad, which took place in Bangkok, Thailand.
The participation of Lithuanian students in international Olympiads is organized by the Lithuanian Non-Formal Education Agency (LINEŠA).
Information and photo by LINEŠA