100 Young People Are Vying for the Title of World’s Best German Language Student · Global Voices
Anne Hemeda

Logo of the International German Olympiad, used with permission.
Young German Olympiad competitors from all over the world arrived at Frankfurt airport on 3 August 2014. They had made their way from Afghanistan, New Zealand, Cameroon, China, Romania, Iran and many other countries in order to put their German knowledge to the test over the following two weeks in the Goethe-Institut's German Olympiad.
It's the world's largest German-language competition which takes place this year from 3-16 August in Frankfurt am Main under the slogan “German opens new doors”. The approximately 100 students from 49 countries on all five continents are aged between 14 and 19. They are the winners of national preliminary rounds held by the local Goethe-Instituts and are now representing their countries in the competition in Germany. They're accompanied by their German teachers.
The competition's tasks are to create and illustrate a wall newspaper and to give a presentation. As well as their knowledge of the language, an international jury also judges the participants’ intercultural competence and ability to work in a team.
The programme also includes walks around the city, trips to museums, days out and sports activities, as well as a Jahrmarkt der Kulturen, or Culture Fair. By taking part in games nights and attending parties and concerts – including one by the band Revolverheld – they're not only deepening their knowledge of the German language, but also making new friends.
The Goethe-Institut posted on YouTube the following video of the preliminary rounds in Romania: