TEMPO.CO, Magelang - Education and Culture Minister Anies Baswedan said astronomy is not a new thing for Indonesia because Borobudur Temple was also build using principles of astronomy centuries ago.
“That why I chose Borobudur Temple as the location for the International Olympiad on Astronomy and Astrophysics (IOAA),” said Anies on Monday during his speech before opening the IOAA at Borobudur Temple.
“Our challenge is to inspire the young generation in astronomy because it is beneficial for our life, as we can see in microwave,” said Anies.
Anies said 41 countries participate in the olympic, with Indonesia sending 10 participants who had been trained for the olympic.
Anies hoped the Indonesian delegation won the olympic. “We’re optimistic that we can become the champion,” said Anies.
Anies said there are some heavy competitors, such as Romania and South Korea. In this olympic, observation will be conducted at Borobudur Temple while the theory competition will be held at Taruna Nusantara High School, Magelang.
ANTARA