The second edition of the “ALECSO Olympiad to Enhance Scientific Awareness among Arab Children” kicked off on September 6, 2022, in Hammamet, Tunisia. About 100 participants from 18 Arab countries took part in the Olympiad which was attended by Arab experts and coordinators, along with a representative of UNESCO.
In his statement on this occasion, H.E. Dr. Mohamed Ould Amar, Director-General of ALECSO, recalled that the Arab Summit held in Jordan in March 2017 had adopted the "Arab Strategy for Scientific and Technological Research and Innovation,” which stressed “the importance of spreading and consolidating the culture of scientific research and innovation, and popularizing sciences in Arab societies in general, and among young people in particular, by incorporating them into educational curricula from early educational stages”.
Dr. Ould Amar indicated that the idea of launching this Olympiad reflects ALECSO’s interest in enhancing scientific awareness among Arab children and developing their skills in terms of cooperation, communication and teamwork. He added that this Olympiad, organized alternately with the ALECSO Mathematics Olympiad, is part of the Organization’s efforts to develop a unified vision about the proper approach to imbue Arab children with a culture of research, exploration and inquiry.
Dr. Ould Amar further indicated that ALECSO is keen on enhancing the sense of creative thinking among Arab youth at all levels of education, by engaging them in classroom and extracurricular activities that enhance their ability to use proper methods for conducting scientific research, and develop their skills in terms of research, inquiry, analysis and criticism
The Olympiad is a periodic competition supervised by ALECSO and organized in cooperation with Arab National Commissions and the relevant ministries. It is held once every other year in one of the Arab countries. The first edition was held in Egypt in December 2019. The State of Kuwait will host the third edition in 2024.
