About us

Baltic iGeo is a regional olympiad in geography for pupils. The olympiad takes place once a year, at the end of June. Baltic iGeo participants are Estonian, Latvian, Lithuanian and Polish (previously Belarusian and Russian) national teams of 4–8 pupils, including members of the International Geography Olympiad (iGeo) in August, as well as pupils of grade 7–10 with potential for the future. The team shall be determined by team leaders of each team.

The Baltic iGeo tasks are composed by a Task Force formed of team leaders and host country teaching staff. Tasks are brought closer to global iGeo standards, including Written Response Test (WRT), Fieldwork Exercise (FE) and Multimedia Test (MMT). During the olympiad, participants can get acquainted with the local area in a form of a guided tour.

Goals of the Baltic iGeo are to prepare the team members for the start at world iGeo, to introduce participants to the standards of international olympiads and to consolidate the participants. At the end of the olympiad, the best participants win medals, depending on the results shown.

History

During 1996–2009 Baltic Geography Olympiads were hold in Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania. The tests were different from iGeo and were translated to respective languages. 

The first Baltic iGeo took place in Valmiera in 2014. National teams of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, in total 21 pupils, participated. The olympiad lasted three days and its tasks focused on the use of English in geography as well as the nature of the tasks of the fieldwork. The olympiad was supported by the municipality of Valmiera and was hosted by Valmiera State Gymnasium. The olympiad was organized by a jury of Vidzeme School of Young Geographers.

The second Baltic iGeo also took place in Valmiera (2015), with the number of participant countries increasing to five (Poland and Russia as newcomers), with the number of participants increasing to 35. Four days of olympiad was supported by the municipality of Valmiera, Valmiera Water, ZAAO, Lode Bricks. The olympiad was hosted by Valmiera State Gymnasium. The olympiad was organized by a jury of Vidzeme School of Young Geographers. The tasks of olympiad were aligned with iGeo.

The third Baltic iGeo took place in Daugavpils (2016), there were 35 participants. The olympiad was supported by Daugavpils city municipality and was hosted by Daugavpils University. The olympiad was organized by a jury of E. Birznieks School of Young Geographers and Vidzeme School of Young Geographers.

The fourth Baltic iGeo was hosted by the Klaipeda Simono Dacho Secondary School (2017), with the first participation of Belarus, with the number of participants reaching 43. For the first time, the olympiad took place for five days. Olympiad was organized by Lithuanian Geography Teachers Office, supported by Amberton Hotel and Kursiu Nerijos National Park. 

The fifth Baltic iGeo was held by Vidzeme University of Applied Sciences in Valmiera in 2018. 45 participants met for four days. The olympiad was supported by the municipality of Valmiera, ZAAO and Jāņa Sēta. The olympiad was organized by a jury of E. Birznieks School of Young Geographers  and Vidzeme School of Young Geographers.

The sixth Baltic iGeo 2019 took place in Kaliningrad and was hosted by Kaliningrad Immanuel Kant University. Total number of participants was 46. The olympiad was organized by Russian Geographical Society supported by Navitel and Education Projects Bureau.

The seventh olympiad was held in Suwalki 2021, delayed by one year because of pandemics. It was hosted by  I Liceum Ogólnokształcące im. Marii Konopnickiej w Suwałkach and organized by Polish Geographical Society. 29 participants from 4 countries took a part on it. 

The eight Baltic iGeo was held in Kaunas, teams from Belarus and Russia weren't invite because of political aspects. The venue of the 8th Baltic iGeo was Hotel Victoria, Olympiad was organized by the Ministry of Education, Science and Sport of the Republic of Lithuania, Lithuanian Centre of Non-Formal Youth Education and Lithuanian geography teachers association. 

The ninth Baltic iGeo started in Valka and was closed in Tartu at 2023. 34 participants from 4 countries took a part on it. The olympiad was organized by a jury of E. Birznieks School of Young Geographers, Vidzeme School of Young Geographers and jury from Tartu University.


*Lithuania and Belarus skipped event because of Covid-19

** Belarus and Russia weren't invite because of political aspects