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Jasmine to represent Australia in the International Geography Olympiad

Jasmine Ye, Year 12

Year 11 Meriden student, Jasmine Ye, has been selected to represent Australia at the 2023 International Geography Olympiad to be held in Indonesia. Jasmine will join a  four-member Australian team who topped both the Australian Geography Competition national exam and Geography’s Big Week Out.

“Sixteen high-achieving students participated in the Geography’s Big Week Out held in Darwin, where we did four days of fieldwork, then a final exam where we applied our knowledge,” said Jasmine.

“It is an incredible honour to be selected for this team, and it is truly testament to all the amazing geography teachers I have had at Meriden who have pushed me to perform at my very best.”

Next year, Jasmine will join the best young geographers in the world at the 19th International Geography Olympiad.

Each participating country sends four to six of their best high school students to the week-long competition involving three academic challenges: a written response test, a multimedia test and a fieldwork exercise requiring observation, cartographic representation and geographical analysis.

The event which will be held in August 2023 in Bandung – the largest metropolitan city in West Java, Indonesia – will be the first in-person International Geography Olympiad since 2019.

The 2022 International Geography Olympiad saw teams from fifty-four countries take part online, and Jasmine says that she can’t wait to meet other students from all around the world.

“It’s an incredible opportunity to learn about other countries and cultures and connect with like-minded young people who are also passionate about this subject,” said Jasmine.

Jasmine will be travelling just before her final Year 12 exams and the intensive preparation for the Olympiad competition typically equates to a first-year university-level subject, but she’s not deterred. “It’s a fantastic opportunity to learn about things that won’t be covered in the classroom.”

She says that geography blends scientific enquiry and sociology and has taught her to better understand and appreciate the world around her.

“I’m passionate about issues such as climate change, inequality and poverty; geography gives me practical skills and tools to make sense of our increasingly complex global society and the interactions between the smaller communities existing within it,” said Jasmine.

“I’m proud to be representing my country at an international level and will try my hardest to achieve the best results I possibly can.”

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