REGULATIONS OF THE LITHUANIAN PHILOSOPHY OLYMPIAD

REGULATIONS OF THE LITHUANIAN STUDENTS’ PHILOSOPHY OLYMPIAD

I. GENERAL PROVISIONS

1. The Regulations of the Lithuanian Students’ Philosophy Olympiad (hereinafter – the Olympiad) have been prepared in accordance with the Regulations for Subject Olympiads, Competitions and Other Events, approved by Order No. ISAK-426 of the Minister of Education and Science of the Republic of Lithuania on 26 February 2009 (Official Gazette, 2009, No. 27-1078).
2. These Regulations define the objectives of the Olympiad, its organizers, the procedures for its organization, financing, and the awarding of participants.

II. OBJECTIVE AND TASKS

3. The objective of the Olympiad is to develop students’ independent and critical thinking, encourage interest in philosophy, foster learning to philosophize, deepen engagement with philosophical texts, develop argumentation skills, and strengthen the work of philosophy and ethics teachers.

III. ORGANIZATION OF THE OLYMPIAD

4. The Olympiad is organized by the Lithuanian Centre for Non-Formal Youth Education (hereinafter – the Centre) together with the Lithuanian Association of Philosophy Teachers (hereinafter – the Association).
5. The Association shall:

5.1. prepare the tasks for the first round;

5.2. register the students’ submissions for the first round;

5.3. evaluate the completed tasks and select participants for the second round;

5.4. determine the venue and coordinate the date of the second round with the Centre;

5.5. prepare the tasks for the second round;

5.6. organize cultural events;

5.7. conduct the second round of the Olympiad;

5.8. prepare the protocol of the winners of the second round and submit it to the Centre for publication on the website;

5.9. organize and host the award ceremony for the winners;

5.10. prepare competition tasks for selecting candidates from among the Olympiad prize winners to participate in the International Philosophy Olympiad;

5.11. conduct the selection competition and choose two students who will represent Lithuania at the International Philosophy Olympiad, and inform the Centre of the selection results for publication on the website;

5.12. form the Lithuanian delegation for participation in the International Philosophy Olympiad: select the head of delegation and accompanying teacher, who inform students and their parents about the conditions of the Olympiad, specifics of participation, safety requirements, and continue consulting the students;

5.13. within one week after returning from the International Philosophy Olympiad, inform the Centre about the achieved results and, within two weeks, submit travel documents and tickets to the Centre’s accounting department.

6. The Centre shall:

6.1. send the first-round tasks prepared by the Association, together with information about the Olympiad, to the education departments of municipal administrations;

6.2. upon receiving the list of selected second-round participants from the Association, send invitations to them;

6.3. approve the evaluation committee for the second round upon the recommendation of the Association;

6.4. organize accommodation and meals for students participating in the second round;

6.5. prepare diplomas for the first-place winners of the second round and provide them to the Association before the end of the second round;

6.6. approve the composition of the Lithuanian delegation to the International Philosophy Olympiad upon the recommendation of the Association and organize its travel;

6.7. publish information about the Olympiad on the websites www.lmnsc.lt and www.olimpiados.lt.

7. The evaluation committee of the second round shall assess students’ works, determine the winners of the Olympiad, and provide comments on the completed tasks and solutions to teachers and students.

IV. PARTICIPANTS AND STAGES OF THE OLYMPIAD

8. The Olympiad is open to all students of grades 9–12 who wish to participate.
9. The Olympiad takes place annually in two rounds:

9.1. The first round is conducted remotely. The Centre provides the tasks prepared by the Association and information about the Olympiad to the education departments of municipal administrations. The specialist responsible for philosophy education ensures that the information reaches schools and that students’ completed tasks are submitted on time in PDF format by email to [email protected];

9.2. The second round is attended by the highest-rated students who receive an invitation from the Centre;

9.3. Students participating in the second round are accompanied by a teacher.

10. Prize winners gain the opportunity to further participate in the selection competition for the International Philosophy Olympiad, provided that the IPO is organized in that year. They complete additional tasks in foreign languages, based on which one or two participants (depending on the number of students invited that year) are selected to represent Lithuania at the International Philosophy Olympiad.

V. AWARDING OF PARTICIPANTS

11. Only the individual results of participants are evaluated in the Olympiad.
12. Winners of the Olympiad are awarded diplomas from the Ministry of Education, Science and Sport of the Republic of Lithuania, as well as prizes from sponsors.

VI. FINANCING OF THE OLYMPIAD

13. The expenses of the National Students’ Philosophy Olympiad are covered by the Centre. Participants (students) are provided with accommodation and meals.
14. Teachers’ business trip expenses and students’ travel costs are covered by the education departments of municipal administrations.
15. Travel tickets and insurance for participation in international philosophy olympiads are covered by the Centre.
16. Living expenses during the International Philosophy Olympiad are covered by the host country.