The 32nd International Philosophy Olympiad (IPO) took place in Helsinki, Finland, from 16 to 19 May 2024, with students and teachers from more than 50 countries, including Slovakia.

The IPO is an annual philosophical competition for high school students, in which the winners of national competitions take part to compete in the skill of writing philosophical essays on specific topics.

The aim of the event is to promote philosophical education at the high school level, to increase interest in philosophy among young people and to cultivate the ability to think critically and creatively about the problems of the modern world. During the event, students have opportunities for personal contacts with young people from different countries and for mutual cultural and intellectual enrichment. 

The first two students from the Slovak round of the Philosophy Olympiad, Marina Rembovská and Miroslava Baricova from the Gymnasium Jura Hronec in Bratislava, have advanced to this year's event. On behalf of the teachers, the country was represented by Ján Hrkút and Ivan Koniar from the Department of Philosophy of the Faculty of Arts and Letters, Catholic University in Ružomberok, who also participated in the evaluation of the works as members of the international committee of teachers.

The participants had the opportunity to respond with their essay to one of the quotes by Moses Maimonides, Francisco de Vitoria, Seila Benhabib and Kate Crawford. The traditionally rich accompanying program consisted of lectures, workshops and the choosing of a new logo for the International Philosophy Olympiad.

According to the jury's evaluation, the two best papers were written by students from China and Germany. The essay by the Slovak student Miroslava Baricova was awarded an Honorary Mention. Congratulations to Miroslava and a big thank you goes to both students for representing Slovakia.

Slovak participation at the event was a part of the project #101127675 European Perspectives on Climate, Conflict and Migration (EUPECCOM) realized within the framework of Erasmus+ Jean Monnet Actions in the field of Higher Education: Modules. http://eupeccom.ku.sk. Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the EACEA. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.