The IPO are organized every year in May, by one of the participating countries. They are open to high-school pupils from every country in the world.

Each country can participate with one or two pupils, with the exception of the host country which may participate with a maximum of 10 pupils.

The selection of the pupils who will participate in an International Philosophy Olympiad is made after competitions organized at national level; but in exceptional cases other methods may be followed subject to the approval of the Steering Board of the IPO. Normally each national competition is organized by, or is held under the auspices of, a national philosophical society which is a member of FISP.

But if the Steering Board of the IPO gives its approval, other methods of organising a national Olympiad may also be followed: for instance in cases where no national society is a member of FISP, or where the national society is unwilling to organise the competition, or where another tradition of organising the national Olympiad already exists.

>> The Competitions of IPO <<

Each international competition involves the following :

1. The writing of essays
   1. Every student writes an essay on one of the four topics given to them.
   2. The essay must be written in one of the following languages: English, German, French; however it must not be written in the mother tongue of the student (e. g. a German does not write in German).
   3. The time of writing is 4 hours.
   4. The names of the authors of all essays are encoded and not known to the assessors until the final ranking is fixed.

2. The grading of the essays
   1. There are three stages of this grading.
   2. The criteria of evaluation are: coherence, persuasive power of argumentation, philosophical knowledge, originality, and relevance to the topic.
   3. Each assessor gives his or her marks on a scale of 10 points.
      8-10 points means: I propose that this essay be selected for the next stage.
      6-7 points: I hesitate to propose that this essay be selected for the next stage.
      1-5 points: I propose that this essay be not be selected for the next stage.
   4. At the first stage each essay is marked by at least three assessors. If there are more than 4 points of difference among the individual marks, the Steering Board of the IPO decides which marks to retain. At the end of the first stage all the essays which have received an average of at least 7 points are selected for the second stage.
   5. At the second stage each remaining essay is marked by at two additional assessors. The average mark of an essay is calculated on the basis of all the marks it has received - both the marks of the assessors at the first stage and the marks of the two assessors at the second stage. At the end of the second stage the Organising Committee of the IPO selects the best essays for the third stage.
   6. At the third stage the Steering Board of the IPO selects the best 3 from among these last essays and decides their final ranking.

>> Administration of IPO <<

The administration of the IPO is carried out by the following bodies :

1. The International Committee: It consists of
   1. one philosophy teacher from each participating country; these members constitute the link between the national institutions and the Organizing Committee of the IPO and they will make the first assessment of the papers;
   2. the founding members of the IPO and the Presidents of the Organizing Committees of the countries which have already organized an international Olympiad; these members will make the second assessment of the papers and will forward the six best of them to the Steering Board of the IPO for final evaluation.

   The International Committee of the IPO will meet every year on the occasion of the Olympiads, and will discuss the measures to be taken for the future development of the IPO. It is chaired by the President of the national society member of FISP that is organising the International Olympiad in that year or, if such a society does not exist, by the President of the Organizing Committee of the IPO.

2. The Organizing Committee of the IPO: It consists of
   1. the founding members of the IPO and
   2. a representative of each of the countries which have organized the IPO during the past three years.

   It is presided over by the representative of the host country.
   The Organizing Committee of the IPO prepares twelve topics for the competition (in English, French and German) and submits them to the Steering Board of the IPO. It organizes the assessment of the essays, undertakes their second assessment and submits six of theses essays to the Steering Board for final decision. It takes decisions concerning the detailed arrangements for each Olympiad and decides the place of the next Olympiad.

3. The Steering Board of the IPO: it consists of
   1. the Director of UNESCO Division of Philosophy and Ethics or his/her representative,
   2. the President of FISP or his/her representative,
   3. the Chair of FISP ad hoc Committee for the Teaching of Philosophy,
   4. the President of IPO Organizing Committee and
   5. the President of the previous Olympiad.

   It is chaired by the President of FISP (or his/her representative).
   The Steering Board of the IPO collaborates with the Organizing Committee of the IPO for the successful preparation and realization of the competition. In particular it

   • helps with the diffusion of information, through the FISP News-Letter and in other possible ways,
   • helps the Organizing Committee of the IPO to find international financial support for IPO,
   • selects the topics of the competition from among those proposed by the Organizing Committee of the IPO,
   • supervises the evaluation of the essays and decides the ranking of the first three,
   • in case of any dispute takes the final decision,
   • prepares the final report to be submitted to the Steering Committee of FISP and to other sponsoring bodies.

>> Other Points <<

The date of the International Philosophy Olympiad is announced and communicated every year by the President of the Organizing Committee to all participating countries before October 1. He or she also sends the letter of invitation to those who express their intention to participate in the Olympiad of that year.

The host country undertakes to provide the accommodation expenses (including meals) for two pupils and one teacher from each country, as well as for members of the Steering Board and the Organizing Committee of the IPO who are not otherwise covered.

The host country decides about the value of the prizes to be offered to the winners of the competition.

These Regulations may be revised by the consensus of a combined meeting of the Steering Board and the Organizing Committee of the IPO.

19/9/00
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