A Lebanese delegation of about 48 contestants participated in the 19th Pama Global Competition in Thailand, a world intellectual compute competition, and won the Champion of Champions’ Award, where the student Ahmed Chihimi set a new record at winning over his competitors from 23 countries. Lebanon also scored 14 champion prizes, 16 first-place prizes, 9 second-place prizes, and two prizes from the third category.
The 48 Lebanese contestants were qualified and trained by the Genius MAP Foundation for Mental Account headed by Dr. Hadi Hamza. They were accompanied by officials from the Ministry of Education, media advisor Albert Chamoun, and Walid Zain Al-Din. The delegation also included a group of parents, teachers, trainers, and administrators.
The Lebanese consul in Thailand, Henri Istanboulian, attended the competition in his official capacity as well to support the Lebanese team. Dr. Hamzah thanked the consul for his follow-up, encouragement, and interest in the Lebanese mission, and for supporting Lebanese creativity.
Dr. Hamza promised to achieve more for Lebanon and raise its knowledge on all intellectual and creative platforms in the world, especially in light of the current conditions that Lebanon is going through.
From his side, caretaker Education Minister Akram Chehayeb congratulated Dr. Hamza and the delegation. He considered that “this scientific and cultural victory and raising the name of Lebanon in the world revive hope for the Lebanese youth, especially in these harsh conditions we live in. He expressed his pride in “the creative energies that give a whiff of brilliance that befits the Lebanese.”
Genius MAP is a child development program based on the Soroban ancient math calculation, a tool used in Japan and other countries. In 2017, Genius MAP entered the Guinness Book of World Records as the world’s largest competition.