GeoDictation blitz contests go on: CARTOGRAPHY AND COMPUTER SCIENCE

Geodetic sign in the Crimea. Photo: Daniil Prokopov, participant of the Russian Geographical Society contest "The Most Beautiful Country"

The third blitz contest is held on March 6-12

The Russian Geographical Society invites you to take part in a series of short thematic competitions, thanks to which everyone can submit their ideas for the questions of the Geographical Dictation – 2023. Let's briefly repeat the general concept:

  • Seven blitz contests "Write your question for the Geographical Dictation" are dedicated to the Year of the Teacher and Mentor.
  • Two competitions are opened weekly on a specific theme, inspired by anniversaries and related to school courses.
  • Facts and questions sent to each of the blitz contests should be focused on the geography of Russia in conjunction with the proposed topic.
  • Students compete in most interesting facts that they learned thanks to their teachers; Mentors share the most unusual questions their students have asked.
  • From February 13 to May 17, 2023, the international competition "Write your question for Geographical Dictation – 2023" is held, for which no more than three original questions can be submitted. Participation in both the blitz series and the international competition is welcome, but the submission of the same question is not allowed.

The theme of the third week of blitz contests when Russia celebrates the Day of Geodesy and Cartography Workers (second Sunday of March) is "Cartography and Informatics". We are waiting for the brightest and most entertaining facts from the world of geoinformatics that impressed the Students, and non-standard questions on geoinformatics that the Mentors heard from their pupils and students.

Ideas submitted to a pair of blitz contests under this topic should be about cartography and geoinformatics. Questions and facts may relate to:

  • geographical names on the map of Russia, the history of the discovery and research of geographical objects on the territory of Russia;
  • history of development and modern achievements of domestic cartographic science and activities of Russian cartographers in the study of the Earth's surface;
  • mapping Russia by foreign cartographers;
  • specifics and dynamics of the display of geographical objects located on the territory of Russia, which have a remarkable display on a map or satellite image.

Questions and facts about objects and concepts from the area of cartography and geoinformatics, tools and methods used in these fields of knowledge are also welcome.

In order for your idea to be accepted for the competition and, in case of victory, to form the basis of one of the tasks of the main version of the Geographical Dictation 2023, the submitted fact or question must meet a number of criteria:

1. Question types. The competition accepts questions of an exclusively closed type, with multiple answers. Important: there can only be one correct answer per question and, similarly, only one unquestionable interpretation is possible for a fact. Requirements for questions and examples of their presentation are fixed in Appendix No. 1 to the Regulations on the competition (in Russian).

2. Originality. The competition accepts questions and facts that do not repeat the content of the tasks of the Geographical Dictation of previous years. You can see all the variants for past seasons of the Geographical Dictation here (and test your knowledge as well).

3. Amount of submitted questions. There is a strict limit here – one person can submit no more than three questions to the blitz contest.

Let us briefly recall the procedure for holding a series of short thematic competitions:

  • Questions and facts are checked by experts who determine the best ideas, on the basis of which the tasks of the main variant of the Geographical Dictation will be formulated.
  • Two Winners of each topic – the Mentor and the Student – will receive Contest certificates and a gift certificate that allows to pay for a tourist trip "with an open date" along one of the routes recommended by the Russian Geographical Society.
  • The list of Winners will appear on the website of the Russian Geographical Society no later than May 17, 2023.
  • By decision of the Competition Commission, a group of Finalists can also be determined, from which no more than four Prize-winners can be selected within each topic.

PARTICIPATE IN THE COMPETITION

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Plan of the capital city of Moscow, 1859. Geoportal of the Russian Geographical Society.