Who We Are:

New Zealand Geographic Society and the New Zealand Board of Geography Teachers (NZBoGT) are the organisations that support the New Zealand team that travels to the International Geograpy Olympiad.

The NZBoGT's vision is to:

• Support the quality teaching and learning of Geography in New Zealand secondary schools.
• Raise the profile of Geography for students through participation in NZBoGT Competitions and events.
• Promote links between the secondary and tertiary sectors and wider workforce within the geography community.

We advise and consult with the Ministry of Education and New Zealand Qualifications Authority of matters of interest to New Zealand geography teachers and students.

The NZBoGT runs a range of activities for geography teachers and students in New Zealand including national competitions for gifted and talented Geographers.

Objectives:

One of the activities that the NZBoGT does is to select a group of four students to travel to the annual International Geography Olympiad (iGeo). At the iGeo gifted and talented young geographers from New Zealand have the chance to participate compete against students from around the world. The event was set up in 1992 and is organised for the International Geographical Union by the IGEO based in the Netherlands.

The format of the competition is enshrined in the Olympiad statutes; the three formal tests include an extended writing assignment that explores geographical knowledge in depth, and a multimedia examination that requires the use of a wide range of geographical information in creative and innovative ways and field work and cartography activities. Students also participate in a cultural event and geographic poster competition, sharing New Zealand with the rest of the world.

Results:

New Zealand has continued to achieve at the International Geography Olympiad competitions:

• Brisbane – 2006
• Tunisia – 2008 - 1 Silver and 2 Bronze
• Taipei – 2010 - 2 Silver and 1 Bronze
• Cologne – 2012 – 2 Silver and 2 Bronze and ranked 4th team overall
• Kyoto – 2013 – 1 Silver
• Poland – 2014 – 2 silver and 2 bronze
• Russia – 2015 – 1 Gold and 1 Silver
• China – 2016 – 2 Bronze