News: IUPAC to Support the International Chemistry Olympiad

On 10 July 2007, IUPAC President Bryan Henry signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Manfred Kerschbaumer, chairman of the Steering Committee of the International Chemistry Olympiad (IChO), to formalize IUPAC’s support for IChO.

IUPAC will provide USD 10 000 to the IChO to help economically disadvantaged countries participate in the Olympiad. Countries that wish to apply for support may submit a written request to the chair of the Steering Committee of the IChO. IChO will manage, administer, and distribute the funds according to the following criteria:

* countries that cannot afford the participation fee and therefore cannot participate in the IChO
* countries that cannot travel with a team of four students
* countries that cannot travel with two mentors.

The unused portion of any grant will be provided to next year’s host. In future Olympiads, the IUPAC president (or his or her nominee) will be invited to speak at the closing ceremony of the IChO and to take part in the gold medal presentations. Financial support will begin for the 40th IChO in Budapest, Hungary, in 2008.

<announcement published in Chem. Int. Nov-Dec 2007>

> For updates about the 40th International Chemistry Olympiad (12–21 July 2008, Budapest), visit <www.icho.hu>

> For a report on the 39th International Chemistry Olympiad (16–23 July 2007, Moscow), see Chem. Int. Nov-Dec 2007

> For an overview of the International Chemistry Olympiad, written by Jan Apotheker, see Chem. Int. July-Aug 2005