The Association of Social and Economic Solidarity with Pacific Countries' (PASİAD) Indonesia chapter organized the ISPO competition in Jakarta, which is also supported by the Indonesian Ministry of National Education, the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB) and the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), which is affiliated with the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TÜBİTAK).The ISPO is the first event of its kind in Indonesia and therefore attracted a good deal of attention. The approach of the event, running from March 11-13, was followed closely by the national media, as a number of national figures are official representatives of the competition.
Students from 33 nations are competing in the olympiad. Of these students' projects, 150 will make it to the final round. Young Indonesians have enthusiastically engaged their creativity and critical thinking skills, executing projects that were judged by experts in their respective fields of science. Five gold medals, eight silver medals and eight bronze medals will be awarded to the students with the top projects.
A statement from the ISPO committee reads: "The Ministry of National Education has taken a special interest in this PASİAD event, and we certainly plan to hold events of this kind in future years due to the great interest that has been shown [in ISPO]."
All students who submitted projects to ISPO were invited to a special dinner given by the head of Indonesia's People's Representative Council (DPR), Agung Laksono. In a speech he gave at the event, Laksono said: "ISPO provides these young scientists with the opportunity to better utilize and develop their capabilities. I believe that this event will ensure the continuation of positive contributions to Indonesia's scientific and technological development." Following his address Laksono presented PASİAD Indonesia head Demir Timurtaş with a plaque to express his gratitude.
