Ethics Olympiad Hosting Licence


(Click the link at the bottom of this page to apply for a licence)


Introduction

The Ethics Olympiad is a unique and popular program for developing skills and fostering an interest in ethical understandings in young people. Unlike a debate an Ethics Olympiad encourages students to build arguments with friends and strangers, to build a civil response to a problem collaboratively. Each Olympiad provides students with an opportunity to grow and develop as they work with their coaches and other team members in preparation and then during the event as they work with other teams from the same class group or from around the world.


Over a short time and despite the impact of Covid19 restrictions the Ethics Olympiad has continued to grow throughout Australasia. During the past three years it has grown to include Junior Schools, Middle Schools and Senior Schools in Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Singapore and more recently in India. It has also grown in popularity within the public-school sector and the private-school sector. This initiative has been run alongside the Ethics “Bowl” movement in the US, China and the Ethics Cup in the UK.


From 2022 we have decided to offer a unique opportunity to assist young people in the pursuit of an ethical understanding by offering licensees to organisations/people to run their own Ethics Olympiads. With this licence we are providing resources, technologies, training and support that will allow you to host your own Ethics Olympiads. The licence will provide educators with a wonderful opportunity to enhance their offering and skills base. We intend to offer five licences only in 2022.







Why purchase a hosting licence?

This will interest various institutions and individuals such as....

Schools- Class groups can use the Ethics Olympiad format. Any and all teachers at your school will have the program available online using your schools password-protected link. We can train a key person at your school so they can in-service other teachers to run an in-class Ethics Olympiad (rather than class debates). Cases are also provided, although these can be replaced by subject-specific cases. i.e. Ethics in Science, Ethics in Technology, Ethics in the media or Ethics in Sport. Schools can run their own internal scored Ethics Olympiads. They might use this program as part of a school philosophy club to prepare for the regional or international Ethics Olympiads. You could also use the program in your school “House” system in the same way some schools already run House Debating competitions internally.


Education Offices- Public school education offices or denominational Education Offices could run their own Ethics Olympiads. eg the NSW Education Department might offer a free Ethics Olympiad online for regional NSW state schools. The Catholic Education office in Tasmania might offer an Ethics Olympiad to Tasmanian Catholic Schools.

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Individuals – If you are passionate about promoting Ethical Understanding you can run your own Ethics Olympiad and market this as your own enterprise. e.g The Margaret Brown Ethics Olympiad for Junior School students.


Universities- Tertiary institutions can run an Ethics Olympiad for their undergraduate students or local High School students. Or they can use it as part of an outreach program for high school students. They can utilize their faculty as judges. e.g. The Adelaide University Ethics Olympiad. These can be run online or in a hall.


Other Organisations – Your organisation might be keen to find ways to demonstrate and promote impact in the community. You could run an annual Ethics Olympiad. e.g The NSW Primary School Ethics Olympiad.



Aliesha Simmons -Selwyn School - Auckland - New Zealand - Following the Senior Ethics Olympiads in May 2021



"Many of our students have said the Ethics Olympiad is the most meaningful extracurricular learning experience they have had. It was incredible to watch the students develop their ethical understanding and critical thinking skills - the cases and questions were all fantastic. I cannot recommend the Olympiad enough!!"


Background

Prior to the arrival of Covid 19 we ran these popular events face to face at a central school in each capital city. We would set a convenient date and send out invitations to schools. Once registered we would send coaches eight Ethical cases and an invoice. We also provided Information Kits for the teachers/coaches and for the eth-letes/students. We would normally have between 12 and 30 teams register for each event.

On the day of the Olympiad the host would arrive and run the event throughout the day starting at 9 am and finishing at 3 pm. The program involved a series of three Ethics Olympiad heats and a final in the afternoon. Coaches would be assigned to act as judges during the morning heats and in the afternoon two or three tertiary based philosophers would act as judges. Gold, Silver and Bronze medals were awarded in an award ceremony late in the afternoon all in keeping with the Olympics theme.

As a result of Covid restrictions we moved the event online utilizing Zoom and changed the structure slightly to accommodate the online format. We developed a new application for judges to use in Zoom breakout rooms. Instead of three heats and a final on the day we ran four heats during the day and the first was a practice heat (unscored). The new format provided a great deal of flexibility including access to judges around the world. All they needed was a Zoom link. Over the past few years we have built a pool of judges that access the applications and score sheets on the day and run the heats themselves. The host simply manages the event, setting up the teams and ensuring the day runs smoothly. We will be training hosts so they can run the event face to face or online.







Bridget Forster Strathcona Girls Grammar -Melbourne-Victoria-Australia



Our students are so very fortunate to have this opportunity to stretch their thinking and to engage with ‘real’ philosophers. We participate in a few external enrichment activities and competitions and I feel that the Ethics Olympiads are the most worthwhile"


Cost of a Hosting Licence

We are offering a licence to host Ethics Olympiads either face to face or online. We will provide you with the training, facilities and support necessary to enable you to host the event. The training sessions will be conducted online via two training sessions. Your hosting licence will allow your institution to host and name an Ethics Olympiads for two years. e.g The University of Wollongong Ethics Olympiads or the Academy Conference Ethics Olympiads. After two years you have the option to renew your licence at a reduced rate.


During the period of your licence, we will provide resource kits, cases, (Please note you are free to use other cases, of your choice, but we will provide you with possible cases) and the online Ethics Olympiad Online Application (EO Application). The Application can be used with a face-to-face Olympiad or online Ethics Olympiads. It includes the coin toss, timers, cases etc.


Beyond the training and licence fee the event is cost neutral. You can charge an entrance fee $40-$50 (AUD) per team member. Each team consists of 5 team members. The entrance fee for each team is $200-250 (AUD). This income can cover all costs.


Licence Cost- The licence fee includes training sessions, resources, access to the online Olympiad application and updates for two years- Fee= $1400 AUD (roughly $1000 US). This fee is paid prior to the training. There might be a team of people involved in the training from your institution (Up to 5 people) or an individual.


Your licence will enable you and anyone at your institution to run Ethics Olympiads over two years. After two years you would have the option to renew your licence. ($890 AUD) for a further two years. During the period of your licence we would support you with resource kits, cases, and the online software package to use at your Ethics Olympiad which includes the coin toss, timers etc. This also includes any updates to the program and ongoing support.


Other possible costs- You can supply your own judging panel or we can provide judges. Medals = Roughly $12-$13 per medal = Fifteen medals- $195 AUD per Olympiad. If you are running the event online you will need to have a Zoom account that will allow you to conduct a 4-6 hour Zoom event. (the free account gives you 40 minutes FOC)


If you are running the event ‘Face to Face’ there will be other costs involved. e.g. Hall hire costs. If you are providing food for coaches and morning tea you will need to add this cost to your registration fee. Previously we have run these events with coaches as judges but we invited tertiary judges in after lunch for the finals. Note the cost of running this event is minimal if you are running the program at your school, as you can draw on your own school hall and colleagues to act as judges. Likewise if you are running the event for other schools and charging an entry fee this will cover your costs.