IOI Regulations - Explications

  • Return to IOI 1996 Regulations

    Sections

    1. Preamble
    2. Definitions
    3. Objectives and Means
    4. Office Bearers and Tasks
    5. Host Nomination and Selection
    6. Responsibilities of Present Host
    7. Competition, Judging and Awarding (MISSING)
    8. Revisions of the Regulations (MISSING)

    Section 1: Preamble

    E1.1

    The IOI Regulations have two purposes: (1) a formal description of the IOI, and (2) information about the IOI.
    1. All statements which are placed in the Statutes, the Explications and the Appendices, as well as the statements in the Organizing Rules which are drawn up by the Host of IOI'n, are meant to regulate the formal communication between the participants. When the Regulations do not give explicit guidance, the participants are asked to act in the general spirit of the Regulations.
    2. But the Regulations are also meant to be more than just procedures. The other purpose is that the IOI Regulations give:
      • new participating and observing Countries a quick overall idea of what the IOI is and how it works;
      • information about what steps should be made to become a Host and to organize an IOI in a certain year.

    E1.4

    This statement does justice to countries with a different name for the same domain. This statement also sets some boundary conditions to domains which are not appropriate for the IOI.

    E1.5

    The term General Assembly replaces the term International Jury that has been used at past IOIs. This was done to avoid confusion between judges (members of the Evaluating Committee, better called Evaluators) and Delegation Leaders (gathered in the GA).

    Section 2: Definitions

    E2.1

    The original idea of initiating the IOI was proposed to the 24th general conference of UNESCO by the Bulgarian delegate Professor Sendov in October 1987. This plan was included into the fifth main program of UNESCO for the biennium 1988-1989. In May 1989, UNESCO initiated and sponsored the first IOI, which was held in Pravetz, Bulgaria.

    E2.5

    The Observer-status is introduced as a possibility to see the IOI in practice before participating in the IOI. But the more functional reason is that by introducing the Observer-status, the number of Participating Countries is regulated. Before a Country can participate with Contestants it should be present with one or two Observers and announce its participation for the coming year(s). This has the advantage that the IOI and the Future Hosts are not surprised by an unforeseen amount of complete Delegations in the next year(s).

    Each Country has the right to be invited as an Observer.

    If a Host Country wants to invite more or fewer then four Contestants, it's advisable to announce this in the General Assembly beforehand.

    E2.7

    A representative of UNESCO is always invited to the Olympiads. UNESCO is a link to the other Science Olympiads as well, and distributes information around the world about the IOI and the other Olympiads.

    Section 3: Objectives and Means

    E3.3

    Informatics is a relatively young scientific and engineering discipline of growing importance in society. Currently it is underrepresented in secondary education throughout the world.

    E3.4

    It is firmly recommended that Contestants participated in a local, regional or national informatics competition in their Country as a pre-selection for the IOI, and that they belong to the winners of that competition.

    E3.5

    It is firmly recommended that Countries reasonably circulate the yearly issues of the IOI among each other. To spread the average costs for travel it is also recommended that Countries sufficiently keep to geographical staggering.

    Section 4: Office Bearers and Tasks

    E4.1

    The International Committee is established by the General Assembly of the IOI in order to prepare revisions of the Regulations and to elaborate decisions and recommendations of the GA.

    The IC should include Countries that represent all geographical regions of the world. It should be encouraged that all IC members actively participate in the IC and that there are no vacant positions in the IC.

    E4.2

    The Secretary-General of the IOI is a continuing position which is taken up by a member of the Host Team of IOI'n after the Closing Ceremony of IOI'n. The Secretary-General of the IOI holds this position in the full period up to the Closing Ceremony of IOI'n+1.

    E4.4

    The level of support which the IC and the GA can give to the International Secretariat of the IOI is not yet arranged. After the needed support has been specified, and the IC and GA have taken their decisions, the 'provisional' character of the IS might change to 'permanent'.

    In the process of organizing IOIs since 1989 all kind of materials about past IOIs are collected. This material forms the basis of the IS.

    E4.5

    As an organization the IOI lacks sustained influence from universities, research, commerce and industry. A permanent Board of Patrons, consisting of a group of well-known, respected, male and female members of information technology and business from different regions of the world, can have the necessary profile and influence.

    The BP can promote the IOI, can provide advice to the IOI, and can act as intermediaries between the IOI and others who can support the development of the IOI (e.g. with extending the scope of the IOI, with organizing the IOI in specific countries, with providing some financial support).

    E4.6

    In the year preceding IOI'n the Host Team of IOI'n functions under the supervision of the IC, whose composition is established during IOI'n-1.

    The IOI Regulations can not and will not prescribe in which way the Host Team of IOI'n is composed and its tasks are performed by the members.

    But in order to prepare IOI'n statements S4.6 and S4.7 require that the Host Team includes as a member:

    • the person who holds the position of the Manager of IOI'n (the Chair of the Host Team);
    • the person who holds the position of the Secretary-General of the IOI (the Chair of the IC) after the Closing Ceremony of IOI'n;
    • the person who holds the position of the President of the GA (the Chair of the GA) of IOI'n;
    • the person who holds the position of the Chair of the SC of IOI'n.
    The main reasons for the distinction between the four main positions are:
    • the President of the GA should be skilled to conduct the GA, which is a large meeting, with lots of obstacles, in a language which is not the mother tongue of most Host participants;
    • the Manager of IOI'n should have the authority on the national level to achieve the task of the Host;
    • the Secretary-General of the IOI should have the authority on the international level to achieve the task of the IC;
    • the Chair of the SC should have the skills to develop Competition Tasks according to the current scientific state of the informatics discipline.
    There is no preference wether the organizing Host of IOI'n combines any of the positions of the Secretary-General of the IOI, the Manager of IOI'n, the President of the GA of IOI'n, and the Chair of the SC of IOI'n in one person, or not.

    If several positions are combined in one person, by default of that person, each position is taken up as indicated for that position in the Statutes.

    It is not recommended that the organizing Host reduces the Host Team to one person.

    E4.8

    Up till now the details of the Judging Procedures are 'provisional'. There are not enough specifications which the SC can use to propose a distribution of medals among the Contestants. Although the GA is the body which awards the Contestants, it is strongly recommended that the procedures to determine this distribution should be better specified and the SC can be given more authority to present a complete awarding proposal to the GA.

    Problems which need to be specified in a more 'permanent' Judging Procedure are such as (for example):

    • the interests of participating Countries to have as much points for their Contestants as possible and the conflicting interest of the SC to have a good distribution of points over the Contestants;
    • the rules to avert the possibility that a too large fraction of the Contestants are proposed for the same medal, leading to a lot of organizing problems and extra costs for the Present Host.

    Section 5: Host Nomination and Selection

    E5.4

    It should always be known which Host Countries will offer the future issues of the IOI in the coming three years (IOI'n+1, IOI'n+2, and IOI'n+3) and have the status of Future Host.

    Section 6: Responsibilities and Organizing Rules of Present Host

    E6.4

    The Guidelines for the organization of IOI'n is a plan which is necessary for the preparation, production, organization, timescales, and distribution of information of IOI'n. The plan should be suited for the local situation in the Country offering IOI'n.

    It is not necessary to make an English version of the Guidelines, although parts, such as Competition Procedures and Judging Procedures, should be in English.

    E6.5

    A discussion of the presentation of the Guidelines does mean that there is an agreement between the IC and the Host Team about the contents of the Guidelines and the way the Host Team prepares IOI'n.
    Created on JUN-01-95, updated on JUN-02-95 by daniel.weiler@ci.educ.lu from CIL
    Updated on JUN-22-95 by Richard Verhoeven
    Updated on FEB-04-96 by Péter Hanák