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Why a competition on natural and technological hazards in 2024?

Natural hazards and technological accidents can cause much harm to victims and great economic losses. If prevention is not possible for many types of hazards, we can try to reduce vulnerability to disasters by providing, in particular to teachers and school students, accurate information on hazards, disasters and how to mitigate the consequences.

In order to promote knowledge on natural and technological hazards, vulnerability-related topics and the associated preventive measures among secondary school students, an Olympiad will be organized on 23 February 2024 under the auspices of the European and Mediterranean Major Hazards Agreement (EUR-OPA) of the Council of Europe, a platform for co-operation between countries in Europe and the South of the Mediterranean in the field of disaster prevention and preparedness since 1987.

The 2024 Olympiad structure

The Olympiad will consist of an online competition (for a more detailed description of the competition, please consult the rules). It will be open primarily to all secondary school classes of the member States of the Agreement. The quiz will be based on the content of www.BeSafeNet.net, a web-portal on risk awareness promoted by the EUR-OPA Agreement and developed in collaboration with the Cyprus Civil Defence. Based on information mostly provided by the EUR-OPA specialised centres’ in their respective fields of expertise (earthquakes, landslides, floods, nuclear accidents, etc.), BeSafeNet provides trusted educational material about hazards, risks and preparedness.

The five subjects of the 2024 Olympiad are:

  1. Climate Crisis
  2. Cultural Heritage
  3. Pandemics
  4. Dam failures
  5. Landslides

To have an idea of the kind of questions included in the Quiz, schools can look at the Knowledge Tests section for some examples.

How to participate to the Olympiad?

NEW MEMBERS

If you have not participated in any of our previous competitions simply follow these quick and easy steps:

1. Register a new membership

An endorsing teacher can create an account by clicking on the REGISTER button and provide all the necessary details.

2. Activate your account

An activation email will be sent to the contact email of your account. Click on the link included in the email to activate the account.

3. Register your team and specify your team’s members

Once signed in, fill in your team’s name and add members. Your team is automatically created.

4. Select competition

Click on the COMPETITIONS button from the top menu of the web page and click on JOIN THE COMPETITION button next to the available contest to participate.

5. Submit optional essay

Click on SUBMIT OPTIONAL ESSAY to upload your essay. The essay is optional and it will count only in case of a tie.

6. Take part to the competition

On the competition day and hour, sign into your team’s account and click on the START button when available.


EXISTING MEMBERS (Olympiad 2019-2021)

Existing accounts are valid. Due to security reasons, all the passwords have been reset on the new website. Simply follow these quick and easy steps:

1. Sign in

- Click “Sign in”
- Click on “I forgot my password”
- Fill in your account email
- Follow the instructions on the email received to set a new password. (Do not forget to check your Junk/Spam email if you do not receive the reset email)

2. Register a new team

Click on the REGISTER button, fill in your team’s name and add the members. Your team is automatically created.

3. Select competition

Click on the COMPETITIONS button from the top menu of the web page and click on JOIN THE COMPETITION button to participate.

4. Submit optional essay

Click on SUBMIT OPTIONAL ESSAY to upload your essay. The essay is optional and it will only count if there is a tie.

5. Take part to the competition

On the date and hour of the competition, sign into your team’s account and click on the START button when it becomes available.


EXISTING MEMBERS (Olympiad 2022-2023)

Existing accounts created/competed for Olympiad 2022-2023 are working normally. Simply follow these quick and easy steps:

1. Sign in
2. Register a new team

Click on the REGISTER button, fill in your team’s name and add the members. Your team is automatically created.

3. Select competition

Click on the COMPETITIONS button from the top menu of the web page and click on JOIN THE COMPETITION button to participate.

4. Submit optional essay

Click on SUBMIT OPTIONAL ESSAY to upload your essay. The essay is optional and it will only count if there is a tie.

5. Take part to the competition

On the date and hour of the competition, sign into your team’s account and click on the START button when it becomes available.


Olympiad FAQ

How many members can my team consist of?

Your team can consist of a minimum of three and a maximum of four members.

Can I register the same team more than once?

The team’s name has to be unique for each competition. The same team members can participate in more than one contest but not in different teams during the same contest. Also note that the same student cannot win the first three prices in more than one competition.

Can I modify the team’s details?

You can modify the details of the team and members at any time before the contest except in the following situations:

- the contest is no longer valid;
- your team already submitted their answers;
- the team withdrew from the contest.

Any changes can be made in the TEAM PROFILE section once the user is signed in.

Can I modify my email address?

Your e-mail address cannot be changed. An administrator of the competition can amend it. Please send your request to [email protected].

For more information regarding the Rules of the competition click here.


The awards

The three best teams will be awarded respectively the following gifts:

  • A Gold certificate for the winning team, as well as a range of attractive prizes for the teacher and students;
  • A Silver certificate for the team in second place, as well as a range of attractive prizes for the teacher and students;
  • A Bronze certificate for the team in third place, as well as a range of attractive prizes for the teacher and students.

Depending on the sanitary situation, the teachers and the students from the top three teams will be invited to attend an award ceremony at the Council of Europe in Strasbourg. In this case, no cash prizes will be awarded to the school.

Note that the same student cannot win the first three prices in more than one competition.

The teams ranked fourth to tenth will receive consolation prizes and printed certificates of participation.

All other participating teams wcan generate a digital certificate of participation, after the results, from their team profile.

Download Olympiad's Poster here