Learning European Capitals through Programming

The 5 th Pancyprian INFORMATIC BEBRAS Challenge for Primary School Students (Grades 4,5 and 6) is announced, which is organized by the Cyprus Computer Society (CCS - www.ccs.org.cy) and the Association of Computer Science Teachers (SY.KA.P - www.sykapcy.com). The competition has been approved by the Ministry of Education, Sports and Youth.

The competition is organised based on the regulations of the international BEBRAS Challenge (www.bebras.org) in which the Cyprus Computer Society participates as the official representative of Cyprus.

The objectives of the event are to develop students' skills such as problem solving, analytical, computational & algorithmic thinking, collaboration and the identification of talented children who could be involved and participate in computer academies and other local and international IT competitions. 

The Cyprus Computer Society (CCS), in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, Sports, and Youth, is organizing the Cyprus National Olympiad in Informatics 2024-25 for secondary school students.

The first round of the student programming competition will take place online from December 23, 2024, to January 7, 2025. Participants must have proficiency in using a computer and knowledge of the programming languages C++ or Python.

For more information, participation terms, preliminary problems, and registration, please visit the event website: https://www.coinformatics.org by Thursday, December 19, 2024.

The aim of the competition is to select the official Cypriot delegations for international events such as the International Olympiad in Informatics (IOI) and the Balkan Olympiad in Informatics (BOI). Cyprus has consistently performed well in these events, earning significant international distinctions and medals. In 2024, Cyprus achieved a landmark year at international Informatics Olympiads, winning 7 medals (5 bronze, 2 silver) and 3 honorable mentions. A notable achievement was the outstanding performance of Mariza Paspalli, a secondary school student, who excelled in all the events she participated in.

Mariza’s success serves as an inspiration for more girls to engage in the field of Informatics. One of CCS's strategic goals is to increase the participation of girls in Informatics competitions. Our aim is to empower female participation in technology fields, both now and in the future.

The Cyprus National Olympiad in Informatics 2024-25 is supported by XM, Oracle Academy, and ICDL. Free preparatory courses are offered in each district, taught by secondary education teachers.

For more information about the Olympiad, visit www.coinformatics.org and for details on all student competitions organized by CCS, visit www.ccs.org.cy. For clarifications, please contact us at phone number 22460680 or email info@ccs.org.cy.

The aim of this activity is for students to get familiar with some of the monuments of Cyprus and, with the use the map of our island, give instructions (in written and oral form) to the ProBot to reach the specific destinations.