InternationalCommittee

MinutesoftheMeetingsheldinTaipei, Taiwan13–20July, 2014

Present:RichardForster President forster@olympiad.org.uk GreatBritain 2011–2014

GregLee Host2014 leeg@csie.ntnu.edu.tw Taiwan 2010–2015BakhytMatkarimov Host2015 bakhyt.matkarimov@gmail.com Kazakhstan 2011–2016VladimirKiryukhin Host2016 vkiryukhin@nmg.ru Russia 2012–2017MohammadAliAbam Host2017 abam@sharif.edu Iran 2013–2018

KresimirMalnar Elected malnar@hsin.hr Croatia 2011–2014ValentinaDagienė Elected valentina.dagiene@mii.vu.lt Lithuania 2012–2015MārtiņšOpmanis Elected Martins.Opmanis@lumii.lv Latvia 2012–2015RicardoAnido Elected ranido@ic.unicamp.br Brazil 2013–2016EslamWageed Elected eslamwageed@gmail.com Egypt 2013–2016

MadhavanMukund§ ExecutiveDirector madhavan@cmi.ac.in India 2011-2014§Non-voting

1. Welcome

• RichardForsterwelcomedthecommitteetothemeeting.

• GregLeewelcomedthecommitteetoTaiwan.

2. Apologies

• PeterTaylorcouldnotattendthemeetingsduetoillhealth.

• FuadHajiyevcouldnotattendthemeetingsbecausehewasinvolvedwithoverseeingtheInternationalPhysicsOlympiad(IPhO),whichwasbeingorganizedconcurrentlyinKazakhstan. Inhisplace, BakhytMatkarimovfilledtheroleofthehostrepresentativefromIOI-2015atthissetofmeetings.

3. UrgentdecisionsregardingIOI-2014

• Atthelastminute, theVenezuelanteamannouncedthatitwouldbesendingasinglestudentwithoutaLeader. TheMexicandelegationhadagreedtotakecareofthestudent. Thiswasinformedtothehostsafterthestudenthadalreadyboardedhisflight. Venezuelahadoriginallyregisteredafulldelegation.Thislastminutechangewasduetofundingthatwaspromisedtotheteamnotcomingthrough.

InconsultationwiththePresidentandtheExecutiveDirector, theChairoftheHostCommitteeagreedtopermitthestudenttoparticipate.

Itwaspointedoutthatsuchasituationwasnotdesirable, becausethehostscouldnotassumeresponsibilityforstudentswhocomewithoutaLeaderincircumstancessuchasmedicalemergenciesrequiringhospitalization.

TherewasadiscussiononwhethertheIOI regulationsneedtobestrengthenedtoruleoutsuchasituationinthefuture. ItwaspointedoutthatthedefinitionofadelegationrequiresaLeader, sotheregulationsareclearthatanydelegationmusthaveaLeader. Thiscouldbedeemedtobeanexceptionalsituationwherethecompositionofthedelegationwaschangedattheverylastminute, afterthestudentwasalreadyonhisway. Undernormalcircumstances, thecurrentregulationswouldnotpermitadelegationtoberegisteredwithoutaLeader.

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4. ConfirmationofMinutes(IC meeting21—23February, 2014)

TheminutesofthepreviousIC meetingwereapprovedunanimously. Asusual, adraftversionoftheseminuteshadbeenpostedon http://ioinformatics.org aftertheinitialroundofemaildiscussionsandrevisionswithintheIC,andhavebeenpubliclyavailableforsomemonths.

5. Mattersarising

• TworeportspromisedbytheISC haveyettoreachtheIC.TheseconcernthedemarcationofresponsibilitiesbetweentheISC andHSC andaninternalreportonthetechnicalproblemsthataroseduringIOI-2013. ThesewouldbetakenupduringthepresentationoftheISC report.

• TheISC wasdiscussingaproposaltoexpanditsmembershipandscope. TheISC wereyettofinalizetheproposal. DetailswouldbepresentedduringtheISC reporttotheIC.

• TherewasasuggestiontorenewthepracticeofformallydesignatingamemberoftheIC asanofficialliaisonwiththeISC toensurethattheIC waskeptawareofnewproposalsbeingdiscussedwithintheISC.ItwasagreedthatthiswouldbetakenupafterthenewIC memberswereelected.

• A replicaoftheIOI trophyusedforthetopstudentawardandtheDistinguishedServiceAwardhadbeencommissionedinTaiwan. Thereplicawasexaminedanddeemedtobeofgoodquality. ThecostofproductionwasaroundUS$ 315, whichwasconsiderablylessthanthecostoftheprevioussetoftrophies(US$ 450each). Thecostwasexpectedtoreducefurtherforadditionalcopies.

• TheISC hadindicatedthattheywouldliketoproposeacandidatefortheDistinguishedServiceAward.Thiswouldbetakenupduringthecurrentsetofmeetings.

• Atthelastmeeting, itwasproposedtocompiledataaboutparticipationofcountriesacrossIOIstohelptrackthestatusofinvitedobserversandidentifycountriesthathadmissedmultipleIOIs. ThisdatahasbeencompiledbytheExecutiveDirectorfortheperiod2010–2013andsharedwiththeIC.Henceforththetableshouldbeupdatedeachyearwiththeregistrationdataforthatyear.

6. ReportbyPresident

RichardForsterreportedonhisactivitiessinceFebruary2014.

• ThePresidentinformedtheIC thathisfocushadbeenonstreamliningtheprocessesunderlyingtheorganizationofIOI toensuresmoothfunctioningintheyearstocome.

• OneitemthathasnotbeenaddressedadequatelyistomaintaineffectivecommunicationwiththeGAbetweenIOIs.

• Asusual, thePresidenthasbeeninvolvedinresolvingandclarifyingissuesraisedbythehostorganizers.

7. ReportbyExecutiveDirector

MadhavanMukundreportedonhisactivitiessinceFebruary2014.

• Dataoncountry-wiseparticipationinIOIshasbeencompiledfrom2010to2013, byrequestingtheorganizersofeachyearforregistrationdata. Registrationinformationpriorto2009appearstobeunavailable.

Thedataindicatesthatalmostallcountriesareparticipatingregularlyandallinvitedobserversinrecentyears, otherthanUzbekistan, havereportedwithregularteamsafterbeinginvitedasobservers.

FollowupactionneedstobeinitiatedwithUzbekistantoreviewtheirstatusandverifyiftheyshouldbeinvitedautomaticallytoIOI-2015.

• SeveralenquirieshavebeenreceivedfromnewcountriesinterestedinjoiningIOI.Detailsarediscussedundertheagendaitem 16.

• TherehasbeencorrespondencewithpotentialhostsofIOI.Detailsarediscussedundertheagendaitem 17.

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• LikethePresident, theExecutiveDirectorhasbeenactivelyinvolvedinresolvingandclarifyingissuesraisedbythehostorganizers.

8. ISC andITWG Report

MartinMareš, ITWG Chair, couldnotattendIOI-2014duetoillhealth. FredrikNiemelä, ISC Chair, reportedonboththeactivitiesoftheISC andtheITWG.

• AtsuggestionoftheISC,thisreportwasscheduledmidwaythroughtheweek, betweenthecompetitiondays, ratherthanattheendoftheweek, sothatanycorrectiveactionneededcouldbediscussedpriortothesecondday’scompetition.

• TheISC Chairreportedthatthefirstcompetitiondayhadgonesmoothly. Therewasaminorglitchduringthe“ResultsandAnalysis”periodafterthecompetitionwhenthecompetitiontestdatawasnotavailableontheserver. Thiswasduetoamisunderstandingandwasfixedaftersomedelay.

• TherewasaquestionconcerningthedocumentdemarcatingISC andHSC responsibility. Apparentlythisdocumenthadbeenreadyforsometime, buthadnotreachedtheIC duetosomeemailgoingastray. TheISC ChairsentthedocumenttotheExecutiveDirectorafterthemeetingandithasbeensharedwithallIC members.

TherewasadiscussionaboutthecoordinationbetweentheISC andHSC andwhethertherewasanygapincommunication. TheISC chairclarifiedthattheHSC isalwaysreceptivetosuggestions, buttheISC’sroleisadvisory. TheISC isstronglyinvolvedinproblemselectionbutallotheraspectsofthecompetitionarehandledbytheHSC.IftheISC wererequiredtomonitorandsuperviseeveryaspect,thiswouldbeamajorbottleneckingettingthingsdoneeffectively.

• TheISC ChairnotedthattheISC spendsalotoftimeonthetasksbutrelativelylittleattentionispaidtothetechnicalarrangements. Mostoftheoperationalhitchesthathavebeenencounteredinrecentyearsduringthecontesthavebeenduetotechnicallapsesratherthanlacunaeintheproblemsandtestdata.

TheISC stronglyfeltthattheITWG shouldbestrengthenedtoplayaroleparalleltotheISC inoverseeingthetechnicalaspectsofthecompetition. ThesuggestionwastoexpandtheITWG toafull-fledgedcommitteecalledtheInternationalTechnicalCommittee(ITC).TheChairoftheITC couldbeanelectedmember, replacingthecurrentpositionofITWG Chair. Thereshouldberepresentativesfrompast, presentandfuturehosts, mirroringthecompositionoftheISC.TheadditionalmembersoftheITC couldbeadjunctsappointedbytheISC.

TheIC approved, inprinciple, tosuchanexpansion. Acceptingthisproposalinfullwouldrequiremodifyingtheregulations. ItwasinitiallydecidedtoproposesucharegulationchangetotheGA laterintheweek. However, subsequentlyitwasfeltthattoomanychangeswererequiredanddraftingthechangesinthelimitedtimeavailablewouldnotbefeasible. ItwasagreedtorequesttheGA topermitanITC tobesetuponanadhocbasisforIOI-2015andevaluatethisexperimentbeforerecommendinganypermanentchange.

• TherewasaquestionabouttheinternalreportonthetechnicalshortcomingsinIOI-2013, whichwastobesharedwiththeIC.Suchareportisready, buttheISC doesnotintendtoshareitinitspresentform.TheISC ChairwilldiscusstheissuewiththeISC andrevertbacktotheIC aboutpreparingaversionthatcanbeshared.

• TherewasadiscussiononinvitingtheISC andITC afewdaysbeforeIOI togivethemmoretimetoexamineandcommentonthecompetitionarrangements. Whilethiswouldbeverydesirable, oneofthemajorbottlenecksisthattheactualcompetitionfloorwouldnotbeavailabletillthelastminute.Settingupthecompetitionhallafewdaysinadvancewouldincursignificantadditionalcostsforthehosts. Giventhislimitation, theutilityoftheISC andITC arrivingearlywouldbeseverelydiminished.

• TherewasadiscussiononthemailinglistsetupbytheISC tomatchtrainerstocountriesrequestingtraining. SomemembersoftheGA hadobjectedtotheISC undertakingthisactivity. TheobjectionsseemtostemfromamisunderstandingoftheISC’sroleinthisactivity. TheISC wasnotdirectlyinvolvedintraininganycontestants, onlyinprovidingaservicetomatchupthoseavailabletoprovidetrainingwiththoseinneedoftraining.

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• TheISC requestedaregulationchangerelaxingthestipulationofhavingnocontactwithcontestantsafterseeingtheproblems. Detailsarediscussedundertheagendaitem 19.

• AsfarastheITWG isconcerned, thingsaregoingsmoothly.

– TheproposaltoincludeJavaasanofficiallanguagehasbeeninvestigatedandithasbeenfoundtobetechnicallyfeasibletodosowithoutseparatetimelimits. Memorylimitsarehardertoenforce,sotasksetterswillhavetokeepthisinmind. A detailedreportwouldbepresentedtotheGA.

– TheIOI surveyliststhelanguagesofchoice, inorderofpopularity, asC/C++, Pascal, Java, andthenPython. ThesupportforPythonissignificantlylessthanforJava. Pythonwouldbemuchhardertosupportasanofficiallanguagewithouttinkeringwithtimelimitsbecausethereisbigmismatchinexecutiontimes.

– Workiscontinuingonacommonformatforpackagingtasks. Thiswouldalsobeacrucialsteptowardsdevelopinganautomatedtooltoverifyintegrityoftasks, includingcomplianceoftestdatawithconstraintsintaskdescriptions.

9. Reporton OlympiadsinInformatics andtheIOI Conference

ValentinaDagienė reportedontheIOI Conferenceandthelatestvolumeof OlympiadsinInformatics.

• Progresswasreportedwithregisteringthejournalinscientificdatabases. RegistrationwithScopushasbeeninitiated, butthefinaldecisionisstillawaited.

• Thisyear19papersweresubmittedtotheIOI Conference, ofwhich11havebeenaccepted. Inaddition, thereare2invitedpapersand3countryreports.

• InresponsetosuggestionsfromtheGA,contributedpresentationswouldberestrictedtoasingledayduringIOI.Onthesecondcompetitionday, therewouldbeaninvitedtalkbyProfMikko-JussiLaaksofromTurkuUniversity, Finland.

10. AwardsandTrophies

• FredrikNiemeläproposedMichalForišekfortheDistinguishedServiceawardforhiscontributionstotheISC.Theproposalwasacceptedunanimously.

• TherewasadiscussionaboutshiftingtheproductionoftrophiestoTaiwan, basedonthesampleproducedthisyearatasignificantlylowercostthanthepreviousyear. TheIC feltitwouldbegoodtoaskTaiwantocontinuetoproducethesetrophiesandGregLeeagreedtooverseethis. ItwasagreedthateachyeartrophiesforthebeststudentandtheDSA,alongwithonespare, shouldbeproducedandshippedtothecurrenthosts.

11. FinancesandBudget

KimSchrijverspresenteddetailsoftheIOI financesandbudget.

• Manyexpenseswerebelowbudgetedvalues. ThebiggestunderspendwastheIOI workshop, whichwasnotheld.

• Ashasbeenthepractice, themoneyallocatedbutnotspentbytheISC andITWG wasaccountedforasbeingspentandindirectlysponsoredbythehostinstitutionsofISC andITWG members.

• ThetravelsupportfortheinvitedspeakerattheIOI-2014conferencewillappearintheaccountsfor2015becausetheexpensewasincurredaftertheendofthefinancialyearbeingreported.

• ThetravelbudgetforthePresidentandExecutiveDirectorhasbeenincreased, takingintoaccountthelocationsofthenewindividualstakingoverthesepositions.

• ThebudgetforCommunicationshasbeenincreasedto e 3000.

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• A budgetof e 2000hasbeensanctionedtomakethelivebroadcastmoreprofessional. Thiswillprimarilybeusedtodesignabetterscoreboard.

Therewasasuggestiontoshowthecontestfloorinthebackgroundduringthelivebroadcast. Itwasnotedthatthiscouldbeachievedusingagreenscreen. Thecostofthegreenscreenwouldbeaboute 1000, butitwouldalsoinvolvecarryingmoreequipmenttoIOI forthebroadcast, sothefeasibilitywouldhavetobeevaluated.

ThereisalsoahiddencostofaboutUS$ 500forthecommunicationchargestohostthelivestream.ThesearecurrentlybeingbornebytheIOI hostsandshouldbemadeexplicitinthebudgetinthefuture.

Thecameraandotherequipmentusedforthebroadcastisbeingcurrentlyprovidedgratisbyindividuals. Itwassuggestedthatthisshouldberecordedasanindirectsponsorship, liketheunutilizedISC andITWG funds.

• Theworkshopbudgetwascarriedforwardtothenextyear. MileJovanovfromMacedoniahaspromisedtoorganizeaworkshop. (Seeagendaitem 18.)

• Thebudgetwasapprovedunanimously.

12. ReportonIOI-2014

GregLeepresentedareportonIOI-2014.

• IOI-2014had81officialteamsand2invitedobservers. Therewere311officialcontestantsand158LeadersandDeputyLeaders.

83countrieshadregistered. AlbaniaandKuwaitwithdrewverylate. Venezuelasentadelegationconsistingofonlyonestudent, withoutaLeader. AlbaniaandVenezuelacitedfinancialdifficulties.

Overall, therewere75teamswith4contestants, 4with3contestants, 1with2contestantsand1with1contestant.

• Otherattendeesinclude10IC members, 7ISC members, theExecutiveDirector, 75Guestsand3InvitedGuests.

• 115highschoolvolunteerswereinvolved, alongwithover75facultyfromtheuniversityandseveralfull-timeandpart-timeuniversitystaff.

• TheselectionprocessforvolunteerstookplacebetweenOctober, 2013andFebruary, 2014. 917studentsand67teachersapplied, outofwhom100studentsand18teacherswereselected. Allvolunteersunderwenta3daytrainingprogrammefromJuly10–12, 2014.

• Themainactivitiesplannedduringtheweekwentoffsmoothly. Thisincludedtheopeningandclosingceremonies, twocompetitiondays, twoexcursiondaysandtheIOI Conference.

• ThemainsponsorsandhostsofIOI-2014weretheMinistryofEducationandtheMinistryofScienceandTechnology. Theeventwasco-hostedbytheTaipeiCityGovernment. ThemainorganizationinchargeoftheeventwastheNationalTaiwanNormalUniversity(NTNU).

PrivatesponsorsincludedAcer(contestserversandlaptops), ChunghwaTelecom(wifi, cloudservice,volunteerexpenses), CiscoTaiwan(networkequipment, VIP dinner), IntelTaiwan(IOI conference,teacherconference), SchneiderElectric(UPS) andEasyCardCorporation(TaipeiMRT Card).

Someoftheprivatesponsorshipwasorganizedintheformofdirectfundingforexcursionsanddinnerstoreducebureaucracy.

• Someminorincidentsandspecialsituationswerereported.

– Onestudentwitharespiratorrequiredasingleroomandwasprovidedaseparateroom.

– Somestudentswereallergictospecificfoods.

– Thereweresomeminorillnessesreportedamongststudents.

– Onecontestantaccidentallydamagedthefalseceilinginhishotelroom. Thedelegationwasinformedandtheyagreedtopayforthedamages.

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– ThestudenthotelreportedanalarminglyhighrateoflostkeycardsandstartedchargingUS$ 10perkeyforreplacements.

• Someaspectsoftheorganizationthatworkedwellincluded:

– TheuseoftabletsandtheIOI appfortranslationofclarificationrequests.

– TheuseofRFID tagstokeeptrackofparticipantsonthedifferentbuses.

– Havingthevenueinthecitycentre.

– Adheringtoscheduleforallevents.

• Someareaswherethingscouldhavebeenbetterincluded:

– Arrangementsforlandingvisas.

– Glitcheswiththetranslationsystem.

– Betterutilizationofthetablet.

13. ReportonIOI-2015

BakhytMatkarimovpresentedareportonIOI-2015, tobeheldinKazakhstan.

• ThevenuehasbeenchangedfromAstanatoAlmaty. ThenewvenuewillbetheKazakhNationalUniversity.

AlmatyisthelargestcityinKazakhstan. Itistheformercapital, locatedinanattractivemountainarea.ComparedtoAstana, ithasalargerlocalpoolofhumanresources(intermsofEnglishspeakingvolunteersetc)andisbetterconnectedbyair, internationally.

• KazakhNationalUniversityistheoldestuniversityinKazakhstanandisnamedaftertherenownedmedievalscientistandphilosopheral-Farabi. Foundedin1934, itislocatedona100hectarecampuswith20,000students, 3000staff, 14facultiesand2nationallevellaboratories.

• TheproposeddatesareJuly19–26, 2015. Thescheduleofactivitiesfortheweekwillbealongconventionallines, asinpreviousIOIs. RegardingotherOlympiads, IMO-2015endsonJuly15, sothereisnoclash, atleastwithIMO.

TheproposeddatesfallafterthemonthofRamadan. However, itwasnotedthatthearrivaldateisonlyacoupleofdaysafterthetraditionalfeasttomarktheendofRamadanfasting.

KazakhNationalUniversitywouldprefertohavetheeventinJulyratherthanAugust, sotheremaynotbemuchflexibilityinmovingthedates.

• ContestantswillbehousedonthecampusofKazakhNationalUniversityinanewbuildingthathasbeencompletedbutwillbeopenedforuseonlyin2015. Leaders, observersandguestswillbeaccommodatedinahotelclosetothecampus. TheLeaders’hotelisashortwalkfromthecampus. AshuttlebusservicewillbeorganizedtotransportLeadersbetweenthehotelandthevenuesoncampus.

• Thecontestvenuewillbeeithertheal-FarabiLibraryortheInternetCentre. Bothlocationshaveadvantagesanddisadvantages. Amongtheimportantconsiderationsaretheavailabilityofemergencypowerbackupforsystemsandeffectiveair-conditioning.

• GA meetingswillbeheldattheal-Farabilibrary. MeetingroomsfortheIC andISC willalsobearrangedattheal-Farabilibrary. TheIOI conferencewillbeheldintheLeaders’hotel.

• TheopeningandclosingceremonieswillbeheldintheDzholdasbekovPalaceofStudentswithinKazakhNationalUniversity.

• TheexcursionsduringIOI areplannedtothemountainsaroundAlmaty. Transportationwillbebybus.

• TheoverallorganizationremainsundertheMinistryofEducationandScience. Operationally, theeventwillbejointlycoordinatedbytheDarynCentre, astateenterprisewithconsiderableexperienceinconductingnationalandinternationalolympiads, andthehostinstitution, KazakhNationalUniversity.

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• A ScientificandTechnicalCommittee(STC) willbesetupforIOI.ItisproposedtoinvitespecialistsfromoutsideKazakhstantojointhenationalSTC andsharetheirexpertise.

• Overall, thereisalotofexperienceinKazakhstanwithhostingOlympiadsindifferentsubjects. Ininformatics, KazakhstanhashostedtheannualEurasianOlympiadinInformaticsandtheInternationalZhautykovOlympiadinInformatics(IZhO).Thisyear, theAsia-PacificInternationalOlympiad(APIO-2014)washostedbyKazakhstan.

• TheIC emphasizedtheimportanceofallocatingclearresponsibilitiesforvarioustechnicalroles, suchasproblemsettingandorganizingthehardware.

Also, thereshouldbeasecretariatinplacetorespondreliablyandpromptlytoemailenquiriesaboutarrangements, registration, visasetc.

• ItisplannedtointroduceJavaasanofficiallanguageatIOI-2015. ThishasbeendiscussedbytheISCandshowntobefeasible. TheISC wouldpresentthisproposaldirectlytotheGA.

Thereisalsoaproposaltoeliminateallprintingduringthecontest. Themainconcerniswithdeliveringaprintouttothewrongcontestantduringthecontest.

• ThemainfundingforIOI-2015isthroughtheMinistryofEducationandScience. Thisfundinghasbeenapprovedinprinciple, buttheexactamountwillbeconfirmedonlyinDecember.

Effortsarealsounderwaytoobtainprivatesponsorship.

• TendersforcomputersandotherequipmenttobeusedinIOI-2015willbeissuedinJanuary, 2015.Governmentregulationsdonotpermitthisprocesstostartbeforethat. TheIC pointedoutthatthiswouldbeaverylargetenderandtheremaybeoperationaldifficultiesincompletingtheprocessintime. Theresponsewasthatthebackupplanistoborrowexistingequipmentfromtheuniversity.

• TheguestratewillbeUS$1500, likethisyear.

TheorganizerswererequestedtoinvestigatethepossibilityofspecialguestratesforparticipantswhomaycomefortheIOI ConferenceandwishtospendonlypartoftheweekatIOI.

• TheIC remindedtheorganizerstomakesuitableprovisionsfordelegationsthatmayarriveearlyorleavelate.

• Overall, theIC expressedconcernthatmanydetailsaboutthearrangementsforIOI-2015arestillunclearwithlessthanayeartogobeforetheevent. TheorganizersofIOI-2015wererequestedtoprovideamonthlyprogressreporttotheIC.

• TherewasadiscussionaboutthedatesfortheIC andISC meetingsinearly2015. TheproposedrangeofdateswasfromlateFebruarytoearlyMarch. A jointIC-ISC meetingwasstronglyrecommended. ItwasfinallydecidedtoholdthemeetingsfromFriday, February 27toSunday, March 1, 2015. ThearrivaldateinKazakhstanwouldbeThursday, February 26, 2015andthedeparturedatewouldbeMonday,March 2, 2015.

14. ReportonIOI-2016

VladimirKiryukhinpresentedareportonIOI-2016, tobeheldinRussia.

• IOI-2016willbeheldinInnopolis, anewIT hubbeingbuiltnearKazan. Innopolisisabout30–40minutesbyroadfromKazan. KazanhasinternationalflightsfromEuropeandAsiaaswellasseveralconnectingflightsviaMoscowandothermajorcitiesinRussia.

• ConstructionofthebuildingsinInnopolisisproceedingonscheduleandallfacilitiesareexpectedtobereadywellintimeforIOI-2016.

• TheRussianGovernmenthasissuedaDirectiveinApril, 2014, signedbythePrimeMinisterofRussia,formallyrecognizingthatIOI-2016willbehostedbyKazanFederalUniversityandassuringfinancialandadministrativesupportfromthefederalgovernmentfortheevent.

• FundingofUS$ 1millioneachwillbeprovidedbytheRussiangovernmentandtheRepublicofTatarstan. Inaddition, somefundingisalsoexpectedfromKazanFederalUniversity.

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• AccordingtotheGovernmentDirective, theOrganizingCommitteewillbeconstitutedbyAugust,2014. Thiswilltypicallyconsistofheadsoffederalandregionalexecutiveagenciesaswellasrectorsofparticipatinguniversities.

TheOrganizingCommitteewillthensetupworkinggroupsforvariousactivitiesassociatedwithIOI-2016, suchasadministration. Olympiadpreparations, programmecommittee, technicalsupport,outofcompetitionactivities, assistancefortheIC andrecruitmentandtrainingofvolunteers.

15. ReportonIOI-2017

MohammadAliAbampresentedareportonIOI-2017, tobeheldinIran.

• AtthelastIC meetinginFebruary, 2014, thefollowingitemshadbeencompleted.

– A budgetofapproximatelyUS$ 1millionhadbeensanctionedbythegovernment.

– CMS wasbeingusedinthetrainingcampfortheIranianIOI team.

– Thedomain www.ioi2017.org hadbeenregistered.

• Sincethen, thefollowingprogresshasbeenmade.

– TheSteeringCommitteeisnowofficialandhashelditsfirstmeeting. TheSteeringCommitteeincludesthefollowingmembers.

* 4deputyministers: theprimedeputyministerandthefinance, securityandlogisticsdeputies.* Dr. HosseinShojaei, chairmanofSAMPAD,anorganizationintheministryofeducationfordevelopmentofexceptionaltalents.

* Mr. HasanSaeiDehghan, chairmanofYSC,anorganizationinSAMPAD runningnationalolympiads. Mr. DehghanwasalsoamemberoftheexecutivecommitteeofIPhO-2007thatwasheldinIran.

* Mr. HosseinMirzaei, formerchairmanofYSC andamemberoftheexecutivecommitteeofIPhO-2007.

* Dr. MohammadGhodsi, chairmanofINOI NationalCommittee(INOI-NC) from1991to2010, chairmanoftheACM-ICPC Tehransitefrom1999tothepresent, teamleaderofIranatIOI 10times, andaformermemberoftheISC andIC.

* Dr. GhasemJaberipour, memberofINOI-NC andIranteamleaderordeputyleaderatIOI 9times.

* Dr. HamidZarrabizadeh: memberofINOI-NC,IranteamleaderatIOI once, andtheexecutivedirectoroftheACM-ICPC Tehransitein2012and2013.

* Dr. MohammadAliAbam, chairmanofINOI-NC from2011tothepresent, IranteamleaderatIOI twice, andchairmanofthescientificcommitteeoftheACM-ICPC Tehransitein2012and2013.

* Mr. AliSharifiZarchi, memberofINOI-NC andmemberofISC.

– ThefollowingdecisionsweremadeatthefirstmeetingoftheSteeringCommittee.

* YSC shouldprepareageneralplantoattractsponsorshipbytheendofthesummer.* YSC shouldprepareareportoncandidatelocationsforaccommodatingcontestantsandleadersbeforeIOI-2015.

* Thecompetitiondateshavetobefixed. ThisrequiresnegotiationwiththeministryofinternalaffairsbecausepresidentialelectionsarescheduledtobeheldinIranin2017.

– Developmenthasstartedonawebsite wiki.inoi.ir toarchivenationalexamsandrunonlinecontests.

– A delegatefromYSC isinTaipeitoprepareavideooftheeventsduringIOI-2014.

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16. Newcountries

• Twonewcountries, theDominicanRepublicandthePhilippines, havebeeninvitedasObserverstoIOI-2014.

• ApplicationsfromLebanonandPanamaforInvitedObserverstatusatIOI-2014weredeferredto2015becausetheyhavenotyetconductednationalcompetitions. Allotheraspectsoftheirapplicationsareinplaceandtheymaybeinvitedin2015iftheyshowevidenceofanationalcompetitionhavingtakenplace.

• PuertoRicohadappliedforObserverstatusin2013. TheIC haddeterminedthatPuertoRicedoesnotqualifytoparticipateasaseparatecountryatIOI accordingtotheguidelineslaidoutinS2.1oftheIOIregulations. ThiswascommunicatedtotherepresentativefromPuertoRico. A requestforreconsiderationwasreceived, citingPuertoRico’sparticipationinIMO andotherinternationalevents.NotwithstandingtheseprecedentscitedbyPuertoRice, theIC feltthattheguidelinesinS2.1shouldberespected, andhencePuertoRico’sapplicationcannotbeacceptedunderthecurrentcircumstances.

17. FutureHosts, CandidateHostsandPotentialHosts

• AzerbaijanhadlostouttoIranlastyearinthebidtohostIOI in2017. Atthetime, Azerbaijanhadindicatedthattheirbidshouldbecarriedforwardto2018. However, afewweeksbeforeIOI-2014,AzerbaijanwithdrewtheirbidforIOI-2018.

• TheotherbidreceivedforIOI-2018wasfromJapan. TheJapanesedelegationmadeapresentationtotheIC abouttheirplanstohostIOI-2018, includingdetailsaboutthevenue, infrastructureandorganizationsinvolved. Therewasadiscussionaboutfinances, committees, datesandguestfees. TheIC agreedunanimouslytoacceptthebidandtoappointJapanastheCandidateHostfor2018.

• SingaporehasindicatedaninterestinbiddingforIOI-2019.

• CroatiaisinterestedinbiddingforIOI-2020orIOI-2021. ThehotelwhereCroatiaproposestohostIOIwouldlikeaconfirmation5yearsinadvance. However, theIC confirmsCandidateHostsonly4yearsinadvance. CroatiawereadvisedtowaitforIC approvalbeforemakinganybookings. ItwaspointedoutthatitwouldbeunfairtoothercountriesthatmaybeplanningbidstoanomalouslyannounceaCandidateHost5yearsinadvance.

• TwoothercountriesthathaveexpressedaninterestinhostingIOI inthenearfutureareBoliviaandJordan.

18. IOI Workshop

• MileJovanovfromMacedoniahasvolunteeredtohostaworkshopin2014–2015. Heindicatedthathecouldtakeresponsibilityforthelocalarrangements, buthewouldneedassistancefromothermemberstofixtheacademicprogramme. AnannouncementwouldbemadeintheGA regardingthis, seekingvolunteerstoframetheacademicprogrammeoftheworkshop.

19. Regulationchanges

• TheregulationchangesapprovedbytheGA duringIOI-2013hadbeenwrittenoutindetailandcirculatedinadvanceofIOI-2014. ThesewerevotedonandapprovedinthefirstmeetingoftheGA.

• TheISC requestedarelaxationofthethirdpointunderAppendixA3.13intheIOI regulationsforbiddinganycontactbetweenISC membersandcontestantsafterseeingthetasks. TheISC arguedthatthiswasunrealisticandalsologisticallyimpossibletoenforce. Theproposalwastoreplacethisbyaweakerconstraintforbiddinganyformoftrainingafterseeingthetasks. A revisedregulationtothiseffectwasdraftedandpresentedtotheGA foravote.

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• TherewasadiscussionaboutthedefinitionofaContestantinS2.5. SomeIC membersfeltthatthefirstclauseaboutbeing“…enrolledataschoolforsecondaryeducation, intheCountrytheyarerepresenting, …”wascontradictedbythefinalsentence“StudentswhoarestudyingabroadmayrepresenttheCountryoftheirnationality.” Intheend, itwasagreedthattheintentionwasclearandthatchangingthewordingwouldonlycauseconfusion. Hence, nochangewasrecommended.

20. Israelproposaltoallowofficialoff-siteparticipationinIOI

• InthefinalGA meetingatIOI-2013, Israelhadproposedthecreationofanofficialmechanismforcountriestoparticipateoff-siteinIOI iftheywerenotabletoattendinpersonduetocircumstancesbeyondtheircontrol, suchasdiplomaticdifficultieswiththehostcountry. ItwasagreedthattheISCandIC wouldevaluatethisproposalandreportbacktotheGA duringIOI-2014.

• TheISC reportedtotheIC thatithadexaminedthisproposalandwasconfidentthatatechnicalsolutioncouldbeworkedoutforsuchascenario. Amongotherthings, thiswouldrequiretheISC toappointatechnicalobservertooverseethecontestattheremotelocation, sosucharequestmustbemadeseveralmonthsahead.

• TheIC discussedtherequestandconsideredvariousaspects.

– Makingsuchanexceptiononcecouldleadtomorerequests. Thereareseveralreasonswhycountriesmaynotbeabletoparticipate, includingfinances, visaissues, worriesabouttravellingtocertainpartsoftheworld…. Itwouldbedifficulttodrawthelinebetweenwhatisacceptableandwhatisnot.

– GatheringtogetherisanimportantpartofIOI.ThefactthatIOI hasaspecialstatus, inthatthecompetitionallowsatechnologicalsolutionforremoteparticipation, shouldnotcreateasituationwherethesocialaspectofIOI iscompromised.

– Evenifthecompetitionisconductedsynchronouslyattheremotesite, itisdifficulttoensurethatcontestantstakepartonanequalfooting. Forinstance, remoteparticipantswouldnothaveundergonethestressoftravellingtoanewcountryandbeingimmersedinanewcultureshortlybeforethecontest.

Attheendofthediscussion, theIC stronglyrecommendedagainstallowingformallyallowingremoteparticipationinIOI.(Therewere8votesinfavourofthisdecision, 1againstand1abstention.)

21. CollectionandmanagementofIOI-relateddata

• AtthelastIC meeting, itwasagreedthatthecompetitiondatamadeavailablebythehostsshouldresidejointlywiththeOfficeoftheExecutiveDirectorandwiththeISC.

• Sincethisdatawaslikelytobevoluminous, asuitabletechnicalsolutionshouldbefoundtostorethedata.

• Itwasalsoimportanttoensurethatthedatashouldbeinaformatthatwouldalloweasyretrievalatalaterdate.

22. Otherbusiness

• Therewasadiscussiononwhethertomakesecondteamfromthehostcountryanofficialpartofthecompetition.

– Oneopinionwasthatbymakingthesecondteamofficial, thepossibilitiesformedalsforthehostcountryimprove, whichmightbeusefultoconvincelocalandgovernmentbodiestosupporttheevent.However, itwaspointedoutthattheeffectmaybetheopposite. Ifthehostcountry’sperformanceispoorevenwithadditionalparticipants, itcouldhaveanegativeimpact.

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– Therewassomediscussionaboutgivingmedalstothesecondteam, butdeclaringthatthesewere“unofficial”. Itwasfeltthatthiscouldcreateconfusionatalaterstageabouttheauthenticityofamedal.

– A compromisesolutionwouldbetoallowthesecondteamtoreceivespecialmedalsattheclosingceremony, organizedbythehostcountry.ThiswouldconsistentwiththedecisiontakenintheIC meetinginFebruary2013todisallowthepresentationofexternalawardsduringtheclosingceremony, butallowthehostcountrytoproposeandpresentspecialawardsrelatedtothecompetition.A votewastakenonthisproposalandwaspassedbyasimplemajority(5for, 2against, 1abstention).

• MadhavanMukundhascompleted3yearsasExecutiveDirectorandhasindicatedthathewishestostepdown. MargotPhillippsfromNewZealandhasexpressedawillingnesstotakeonthisresponsibility. ShehasbeenattendingIOI since2006andhasadministrativeexperienceinotherprofessionalorganizations. TheIC unanimouslyapprovedtheappointmentofMargotPhillippsasExecutiveDirectorfortheperiod2014–2017. TheIC alsoapprovedanincreaseinthetravelbudgetfortheExecutiveDirectorgiventheextracostoftravellingfromNewZealand.

• EslamWageedhadrequestedaprivateURL totestoutanimproveddesignfortheIOI website. ThereappearedsomeconfusionbetweenMartinMareš, whomaintainstheIOI nameserver, andMārtiņšOpmanis, whomaintainsthecurrentIOI website, aboutwhatneedstobedonetosetupsuchaprivateURL.TheIC stronglyrecommendedthatthisshouldberesolvedattheearliestthroughdiscussions.

• TherewasasuggestionthattheworkdonebyIC membersshouldbepresentedmorevisiblytotheGAsothatIC memberscouldbeheldaccountableto, andclaimcreditfrom, thebodythatelectedthem. Itwasagreed, however, thattheIC wasacommitteeandthatanyactivityoftheIC shouldbereportedasacollectiveactivity.

ItwasdecidedthatinfutureGA meetings, thereportpresentedbytheExecutiveDirectorwouldberenamedthe“IC Report”andwouldreflecttheworkdonebytheIC,ratherthanjustbytheExecutiveDirector.

• TherewasasuggestiontosetupaYouTubechannelforIOI withtrainingvideos, curatedbytheISC.TheIC feltthatthiswouldbeausefulactivity, butmorediscussionwasneededonhowtoimplementit.

• A newPresidentandanewExecutiveDirectorwilltakechargeafterIOI-2014. Therewassomeconcernabouteffectingasmoothhandoverofdocumentsandinformationtothenewofficebearers.ThecurrentPresidentandExecutiveDirectorassuredtheIC thattheywouldcoordinatewiththeincomingmemberstoensureasmoothtransferofresponsibilities.

Version3, August20, 2014, 16:49 IST (GMT+05:30)

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