Taiwan wins three medals at International Geography Olympiad

Taipei, Aug. 4 (CNA) Three students from Taipei's Jianguo High School won medals at the 8th International Geography Olympiad (iGeO) Wednesday, earning two silvers and one bronze to mark the country's best performance in the competition and the first time Taipei hosted the event. Taiwan won two bronze medals in the last iGeO competition in 2008, which is designed for secondary school students and organized every other year. Singapore was the biggest winner this year, with all four contestants taking home medals -- two golds and two silvers -- in the country's first appearance in the contest, an organizer said. According to the Taipei-based Geographical Society of China and the Department of Geography at National Taiwan Normal University, a total of 28 groups comprising 106 participants from around the world-- the most participants ever -- took part in the competition. A total of 53 medals were presented during the contest this year, including nine golds, 17 silvers and 27 bronze medals. The nine gold medal winners included two students from Romania, two from Singapore, and one each from Finland, Australia, Russia, Poland and Lithuania. The Ministry of Education said previously that because the competition is not globally recognized like the International Mathematical Olympiad, local winners would not be awarded by the ministry or recommended for admission to select universities. The international competition included a written test, a multimedia test and a fieldwork test. The questions were presented in English and students had to answer in that language. The competitors were secondary school students aged between 16 and 19 and selected through national-level geography competitions in their home countries. (By Lee Hsien-feng and Fanny Liu)ENDITEM/bc

Taiwan wins three medals at International Geography Olympiad Taipei, Aug. 4 (CNA) Three students from Taipei's Jianguo High School won medals at the 8th International Geography Olympiad (iGeO) Wednesday, earning two silvers and one bronze to mark the country's best performance in the competition and the first time Taipei hosted the event.