The Heydar Aliyev Center held a solemn opening ceremony of the 47th International Chemistry Olympiad. At the beginning of the event, the teams participating in the 47th International Chemistry Olympiad were presented. Then a video dedicated to the Olympic Games was demonstrated.
The director of the 47th International Chemistry Olympiad, the rector of the Baku branch of Moscow State Lomonosov University, corresponding member of the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences, Nargiz Pashayeva, welcomed the participants of the Olympics, scientists and guests at the opening.
"I'm glad and proud to be the president of this important and joyous event! The main source of inspiration for my joy and pride is young people – the participants of the Olympiad. Dear children, in accordance with the terms of the Olympiad, you will have a contest, real competitions and of course, hours and moments full of excitement. I have no doubt that you are youth who already have a knowledge of chemistry, and are ready for healthy competition, a real challenge. Dear friends, you should not doubt that Azerbaijan, Baku and our university will turn into your home during the period of staying in our country. I hope that every moment of staying with us, you will feel the hospitality, kindness and goodwill of this home," Nargiz Pashayeva said.
The president of the Olympiad noted that the organizers have made every effort to ensure that the competition will be objective, grandiose, and to provide the right place with relevant conditions.
"Since your desires, hopes and demands are inseparable from our desires, hopes and demands, they constitute a unity. You, future chemists, should always want to learn, to discover, should have a passion and burning desire to invent. This desire, this flame must never wane and fade. Humanity has always sought, tried and will try to explore, to explain the existing world, the nature, the universe incrementally, step by step," Nargiz Pashayeva said.
She stressed that a successful future depends on people with pure souls and bright minds – the army of scientists.
"You should not doubt that the unknown, the issues that are currently a mystery for science, are waiting for you. Dear friends, today we all understand that our planet is not so big. That's why we have chosen the motto of the Baku Olympiad as 'Life is like a huge chemistry laboratory'. The major part of this laboratory consists of wildlife, which has created us and gives us life. Protecting nature means protecting beauty, saving beauty means protecting the truth, protecting the truth means saving spirituality and saving spirituality means protecting humanity. You have to bear these values. Because without these values, knowledge will be meaningless, science will be limited and helpless, and sometimes dangerous. A generous, kind, broad, humane heart and a brave, bright, talented mind is the ideal!
Goethe said that science belongs to all people, and it has no nationality. Today there are 75 teams representing 75 countries in this hall. The members of each team are different inwardly and outwardly, they speak different languages and represent different traditions. At the same time, an indispensable factor that brought us together today and made us a team is obvious. This factor makes us citizens of one country, a state without borders, a common country. This country is science, education and culture. It is an invincible state. Its flag is light – that is, the sun – its anthem is the singing of birds, nightingales, and its symbol is life itself and existence," the president of the Olympiad said.
"Once again I welcome you with love in my heart, I wish the young participants success, interesting moments, good mood, eagerness, patience and inner faith! Thus, I declare the 47th International Chemistry Olympiad open!" Nargiz Pashayeva said.
Around 300 young chemists, 250 observers and heads of groups from almost 80 countries, Azerbaijani state and government officials, diplomats, well-known scientists and intellectuals attended the opening ceremony of the Olympiad organized by the Baku branch of Moscow State University named after Mikhail Lomonosov.
The schoolchildren will test their theoretical and practical knowledge in the Baku branch of Moscow State University at the 47th International Chemistry Olympiad, which will last till July 29. This university, which has recently strengthened its scientific and educational base, created chemical laboratories provided with the latest equipment. Currently, the chemical faculty of the Baku branch of Moscow State University is one of the leading educational centers in the country in this sphere.
The decision to hold the 47th International Chemistry Olympiad in Azerbaijan, at the Baku branch of Moscow State University, was made by the International Jury of the 44th International Chemistry Olympiad, which was held in 2012 in Washington. At the closing ceremony of the 46th International Chemistry Olympiad in the capital of Vietnam, Hanoi, in 2014, the Chemistry Olympiad flag was handed over to the organizer of the 47th Olympiad, the Baku branch of Moscow State University. Azerbaijan is the second country in the CIS after Russia to host the International Chemistry Olympiad.
Azerbaijan’s team participating in the 47th Olympiad includes Dilgam Ahmadli, who graduated from the Istek Lycee in 2015, Sergey Stepin, a graduate of the Lycee named after academician Zarifa Aliyeva, and also Huseyn Babayev and Ruslan Mammadov, who finished the 10th grade of the Istek Lycee and classical grammar school No.160 in 2015. The team is led by the researcher of the Organic Chemistry Laboratory of Kavkaz University, Mehman Bunyadov, who won a bronze medal at the 41st International Chemistry Olympiad in 2009 in the UK.
The 47th Chemistry Olympiad is held with the support of the Azerbaijani Education Ministry, the Ministry of Youth and Sports, the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) and the Heydar Aliyev Center.
A web page was created dedicated to the Olympiad in the English and Azerbaijani languages. In addition, the Katalayzer daily will be published during the contest in Baku.
