The Deputy Minister of Research, Innovation & Digital Policy, Nicodemos Damianou, said investing in digital skills is essential and decisive, after he addressed the closing ceremony of the Junior Balkan Olympiad in Informatics 2025 (jBOI 2025), which this year was hosted in Cyprus with the participation of students from nine Balkan countries.
“Congratulations to the organisers, the winners, and all the students who took part!” Damianou said in a social media post. “Participation in such competitions helps build the foundation for developing skills, creativity, and innovation, while strengthening young people’s ability to tackle complex problems with critical thinking and practical approaches.”
He added, “Because investing in digital skills is essential and decisive — not only for a successful digital transition, but also for the equal and active participation of everyone in the digital economy and society”.
The Cyprus Computer Society (CCS), in collaboration with the Education Ministry, hosted jBOI 2025 at the Tassos Mitsopoulos Lyceum in Aradippou.
The jBOI is an annual programming competition that gathers talented secondary school pupils from Balkan countries.
Each participating country is represented by a team of exceptional young programmers, aged 10 to 15, who compete in solving demanding algorithmic problems, following the rules of the International Olympiad in Informatics (IOI).
During the closing ceremony on 29 October, Damianou spoke about the importance of fostering programming skills, which can be a valuable asset for the young participants, regardless of their future career path.
He also stated that he himself began his career as a computer programmer.
Greetings were also extended by the Deputy Mayor of Larnaca, Iasonas Iasonidis, and the Inspector of Informatics for Secondary Education, Michalis Farazis.
The President of the Cyprus Computer Society, Andreas Loutsios, thanked everyone who contributed to Cyprus’ successful hosting of nine countries for a week of inspiration, learning, healthy competition, and cross-cultural exchange.
This was followed by the awards ceremony for the contestants, where the young Balkan students distinguished themselves, with the Cypriot delegation achieving excellent performances.
The Minister of Education, Sport and Youth congratulated the participating delegations, with her speech being delivered by the Inspector of Informatics for Secondary Education, Michalis Farazis, while the Mayor of Aradippou, Christodoulos Partou, had also extended a greeting.
During the week, in addition to the competitive section, the participants had the opportunity to tour the historical centre of Larnaca. They also visited Lefkara.
The students took part in interactive activities organised by JetBrains.
The young programmers also had the opportunity to experience the rich history, natural beauty, and gastronomic traditions of Cyprus.
The Pancyprian Informatics Olympiad 2025-26 is organised by the CCS in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, Sport and Youth, with support from ECCOMMBX, XM, Oracle, and ICDL.
