EPS statement on the International Physics Olympiad 2022

Statement by the Executive Committee of the European Physical Society

2 April 2022

The European Physical Society (EPS) supports the International Physics Olympiad. It is a wonderful opportunity for young physicists from around the world to gather to solve problems and discuss physics in a peaceful, collaborative atmosphere. The EPS very strongly urges the organisers of the International Physics Olympiad 2022 to reconsider the location of the event, which is scheduled to take place in Belarus. The EPS believes that the conjunction of the political situation in Belarus and the manner in which the Belarus government has compromised itself in the unprovoked aggression against a sovereign democratic country does not provide for the serenity required for an event such as the International Physics Olympiad. To organise and to participate in the International Physics Olympiad in Belarus would be to condone the Belarus' government actions. Therefore, the EPS cannot support the International Physics Olympiad if it is held in Belarus.

On behalf of the Executive Committee of the European Physical Society,

Luc Bergé,
President