3,500 competitors from 36 countries of the world in Crete for the 3rd Robotics Olympiad with the support of the Region of Crete

3,500 competitors from 36 countries of the world will be in Crete and Heraklion from April 26 to 29, 2024 in order to compete in the indoor gym “Herakleion Arena – 2 Aorakia”, in the 3rd MRC GLOBAL OLYMPIAD (Minoan Robotsports Competition Global Olympiad) .

The “Minoan Robotics Olympiad” is organized by the Hellenic Educational Robotics Organization (Hellenic Educational Robotics Organization), in collaboration with the Region of Crete, the Ministry of Rural Development and Food, the Development Authority of Heraklion.

As part of the event, a press conference was held today in the meeting room of the Region of Crete, where the program of the event, the details of the participations and the parallel events that will be held to promote and promote Crete were presented.

“As the Region of Crete, we place particular emphasis on successfully dealing with the challenges of the digital age and the 4th Industrial Revolution”, said the Regional Governor of Crete Stavros Arnautakis, noting that in this context “the Region supports educational structures, of all levels of education and of course, strengthens the work of research communities, in the direction of promoting innovation”.

Stavros Arnautakis noted that the Region of Crete invests in the cultivation of digital and life skills, “because we envision a society that focuses on the transmission of knowledge and at the same time equips our children with 21st century skills”.

At the same time, he expressed the certainty that “in the coming days, from Heraklion and the 3rd Educational Robotics Olympiad, the contestants will be able to prove that new technologies, artificial intelligence and its applications, can enrich students’ knowledge, develop new tools and methods, which will prove useful in their path as tomorrow’s scientists”.

Opening ceremony

The official program of the event begins on Friday, April 26 at 7 pm with the Opening Ceremony of the Olympiad, which will include a parade of the national teams, speeches and music and dance events.

The President of the Hellenic Educational Robotics Organization HERO Emmanuel Velidakis pointed out that the Organization “is ready to welcome together with our co-organizers and the Region of Crete the 3,500 competitors from the 36 countries of the world! The “wisdom” of the Olympic spirit will hopefully emerge through the young people’s efforts to overcome the difficulties of the human movement of an athlete with their robotic “weapons”! In the unstable global landscape we hope that this event will be a window of hope as the future will emerge these days here in our Greece, in our Crete, in the Herakleion Arena!”.

Opening of Exhibitions

On Friday, April 26 at 6 pm – shortly before the official opening ceremony of the Olympiad – the opening of the technology-innovation exhibition as well as the exhibition “Crete: Culture and Homework” will take place.

As pointed out by Eva Katsaraki, representative of Development Heraklion, the company participates as a co-organizer in the 3rd Robotics Olympiad and, with the support of the Ministry of Rural Development and Food, organizes an exhibition to promote the CLLD LEADER Local Programs of the four Development companies of Crete (Development of Heraklion, Development of Lassithi, AKOMM – Psiloritis and Development Organization of Crete) and parallel workshops on the agricultural sector, women’s entrepreneurship in the countryside and their connection with new technologies and Robotics. “Our aim is, through the cooperation with the local agencies, to highlight to the visitor of the organization Crete inland and its comparative advantages in the field of alternative tourism as well as the value of its local products. In this context, we are organizing an event entitled “Eat Locally” in the context of which visitors will have the opportunity to taste authentic local products”, he said.

The Robotics Olympiad is also supported by the Hellenic Federation of Electronic Sports, the Regional Union of Municipalities of Crete, the Municipality of Heraklion and the Municipality of Malevizio.

The full program of the event is attached as well as the parallel program of exhibitions and events.