How to Participate in the International Philosophy Olympiad (IPO)

The International Philosophy Olympiad (IPO) is open to high school students from any country. To participate, students must be enrolled in high school at the time of the competition, or, in countries where the school year ends in December, in the year prior. Even if a student is currently enrolled in university, they may still participate if they meet this requirement. The maximum age limit for participants is 20 years.

IPO is an International Organisation that is based on the participation of national delegations, which are composed of up to 2  winner-pupils in nationwide competitions in philosophical essay writing, and by up to 2  accompanying philosophy teachers as well. Each country may send one or two students to the IPO, with the exception of the host country, which is allowed to send up to 10 students.

To qualify for the IPO, students must first take part in a national-level competition, organized either by a national philosophical society affiliated with the Fédération Internationale des Sociétés de Philosophie (FISP), if such a society exists, or by a philosophical organization linked to the high school philosophy curriculum. In exceptional cases, alternative selection methods may be used with approval from the IPO Executive Board. If no national philosophical society exists in a country, or if the existing society does not organize a national Olympiad, other approved procedures can be followed.

Steps to Participate:

1. Check for a National IPO Delegation:
   First, verify if your country has a national IPO delegation. If it does, contact the delegation leader directly. If you are unable to reach the national delegation leader, you should reach out to the IPO Executive Board via email for assistance: board.ipo@gmail.com

1. What to do if your country does not have an existing national IPO delegation? Contact IPO Executive Board for assistance (board.ipo@gmail.com) – they can  support the creation of a new delegation if needed. To create national delegation and national competition / selection process, the following elements are important to consider:

   1. qualified philosophy teachers with the existing philosophy curriculum at the high school level

   2. connection to the FISP related local or national philosophical society

   3. open access to all high school students in the country

If there is such an educational basis, the local philosophical Society, or a new Initiative of teachers could organize the national selection and register for future Olympiads.

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