Participation is way more important than winning
«If you are keen on Physics, you can invent spaceships and fly to Mars. It`s obvious how it`ll make things better. If you study Biology, you`ll be able to develop a medical treatment. And what happens when we face Economics? How do it`s issues really effect our lives? » – that was the question that Ruben Enikolopov, NES Russia rector, asked the participants of the first ever International Economics Olympiad.
Actually, who are these brave guys who came here to discuss not only global economic problems but also the whole purpose of this science? The first day was the best opportunity to get to know them.
Each coffee break or, as it`s called here, «energy break» is more like a global village: languages, flags and cultures mix up into one loud fair. One of the most discussed teams is the one from New Zealand: these guys overcame almost 13000 km to get to Russia! We decide to find them and chat.
«It`s really good, no, it`s awesome to be here. We haven`t been in Moscow yet, we`ve just kind of drive around the city. Now we are so looking into visiting it», says team member Kyla Allen-Jennings. As for the selecting process for the IEO, in New Zealand it`s called The National Economic Scholarship. «This Olympiad is our first event of such scale and we think that next year it will be harder to apply. So we can call ourselves lucky», – laughs Kyla.
But not only New Zealand came from far away land. It took the Malaysian team almost 30 hours to finally land in Russia! Their flight was delayed for 14 hours. Malaysia NT consists of only 4 persons: 2 competitors and 2 team leaders. They gently maintain the positive mood despite all the adversity and keep saying that even such a hard flight was worth being here.
One more interesting fact: there are two countries which are represented by two separated teams: it`s Russia and Kazakhstan.
It was a busy day for IEO participants: opening ceremony, a lecture by Eric Maskin, Nobel prize winner, first round and so much more! We can`t wait to meet our participants again. But for now, we invite you to go and check our Facebook page where you can find more photos. Stay tuned!