Dr. Sorena Sattari, the Vice President of Iran for Science and Technology, gave a speech at the closing ceremony of the IOI 2017.

Here is Dr. Sattari’s speech:

Dear Contestants, team leaders, guests, and organizers of IOI:

I hope you have enjoyed your visit to Iran. It has been a great honor for us to host you in our country.

Computer Science and Engineering has changed the face of our world, mostly for the better, by facilitating communication and exchange of ideas among individuals, crossing the boundaries between different cultures, businesses, and scientific domains.

Our young talents in Iran has made a great progress in Computer Science and Information Technology. We have many IT startupsand companies in Iran who are actively working in various fields of information technology such as big data, cloud computing, artificial intelligence, and internet of things. On the scientific part, our country has greatly advanced over the past decades, and it is now one of the most influential countries in the region.

We believe that the IOI community is a central hub in discovering and educating young talent in the field of Computer Science and Information Technology. Our country’s education system has benefited greatly from scientific Olympiads, and hosting IOI is our way of giving back to this community.

Many of you, young IOI contestants, are at the dawn of your remarkable careers in science and technology. It is my wish that you use your talent not only to advance science and technology but also to contribute to a more peaceful tomorrow for the humankind.

I wish you all the best and hope that you leave Iran with pleasant memories.