National Olympiad on Foreign Policy and International Relations

The first National Olympiad on Foreign Policy and International Relations was held on Saturday February 7th 2026 at the Institute for Political and International Studies of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The first National Olympiad on Foreign Policy and International Relations was held on Saturday, February 7th, 2026, at the Institute for Political and International Studies of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The first student Olympiad on Foreign Policy and International Relations was held on February 7th, 2026, with the participation of 67 contestants and 14 judges at the Institute for Political and International Studies. The event was conducted simultaneously in two formats:

·         Individual competition (18 individual contests focused on public speaking skills on the international stage, with the theme: The Importance of BRICS as a New Window of Foreign Policy),

·         Group competition (49 participants organized into 18 university teams, focusing on drafting policy briefs with the theme: Providing Practical Solutions within the Framework of South–South Cooperation among
BRICS Members).

It is planned that in the second stage of this Olympiad, a third contest in the form of a simulation will be held on the sidelines of the Tehran International Dialogue Forum in April–May 2026. The distinguished panel of judges consisted of faculty members from the Universities of Tehran, Shahid Beheshti, Allameh Tabataba’i, Tarbiat Modares, Kharazmi, the Faculty of World Studies, the School of International Relations, as well as
representatives from the BRICS Office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The judges evaluated participants based on criteria such as delivery, body language, mastery of the subject, persuasive ability, practicality, quality, content and innovation in discussions.

In the individual category, Ms. Raheleh Toosi from the School of International Relations was selected as first place; Mr. Arian Khanqahi Rezaei from Kharazmi University as second place; and Mr. Sina Veisi Zadeh from Islamic Azad University as third place. In the team category, the first-place team was Bu-Ali Sina University of Hamedan, consisting of Mr. Mohammad Salimi and Ms. Faizeh Jahanara; the second-place team was the
Faculty of World Studies, University of Tehran, consisting of Ms. Fereshteh Abniki, Mr. Seyed Amir Bahador Hashemi, and Ms. Mina Otadi; and the third-place team was Kharazmi University, consisting of Mr. Mehdi Ejraei Toosi, Mr. Mohammad Nasirzadeh, and Ms. Fatemeh Zahra Khosh-Akhlagh. A relative consensus among the judges regarding the selected winners was evident and noteworthy.

This event represents the first initiative to organize a specialized Olympiad in the field of foreign policy. It was held with the support of the respected President of the Institute for Political and International Studies, the esteemed Research and Executive Deputies and in cooperation with the School of International Relations, particularly the Deputy for International Cooperation and Applied Specialized Training. The approach of this Olympiad was to bridge theory and practice and to strengthen links between academia and the executive and decision-making spheres of foreign policy. It is hoped that the submitted works, after incorporating the
judges’ feedback, will be forwarded to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for practical use and published as a special issue in the journal Perspectives and Analyses.

Second, the wide geographical distribution and enthusiastic participation of individuals and teams from universities in various provinces (Arak, Hamedan, Mashhad, Yasuj, Sistan and Baluchestan, Yazd, Shahrekord,
Mazandaran, Kerman, Ahvaz, Shiraz, Qom, and Karaj) competing alongside teams from universities based in Tehran was remarkable. This decentralized atmosphere, combined with creative ideas and thematic diversity, generated an indescribable level of excitement throughout the Olympiad.

Third, these two engaging and dynamic contests created a positive and energizing atmosphere among students and faculty members. This Olympiad fostered a sense of identity, usefulness, effectiveness and visibility for students of political science and international relations, while also providing a space for intergenerational transfer of valuable academic experience from professors to students. It is hoped that with the continuation of this competition, we will witness the persistence of this vibrant spirit, along with improvements in the quality of discussions and an increase in the number of participants in the coming year.