Abhinav Menon (17), a class XII student of the Dubai International Academy (DIA, estb. 2005), bagged a silver medal in the 21st International Philosophy Olympiad staged in Odense, Denmark from May 16-19. The Olympiad attracted 90 high school students from 40 countries who wrote essays on philosophical themes during a time window of four hours. Abhinav’s essay on the need for national constitutions to protect minority rights was awarded one of three silver medals.

“I discovered the website of the Olympiad while browsing online. Therefore I reached out to the coincidentally named Abhinav Philosopher, an affiliate organisation of the Abhinav Vidyalay and Junior College, Mumbai,’’  says Abhinav.

Founded in 1993, the International Philosophy Olympiad (IPO) is an international science olympiad supported by Unesco (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation) and run by a group of teachers from several countries working under the aegis of FISP (Federation of International Societies of Philosophy). Kedar Soni, an astronomy postgraduate of Manchester University, UK, promoted Abhinav Philosopher in 2007 and is the Indian coordinator for IPO. Soni is also the founder-director of Abhinav Vidyalay, a state board affiliated K-12 school, where he teaches several subjects including computer science, physics, robotics, astronomy and philosophy to class IX-XII students.

“Most of the preparation for the Olympiad was done online under Prof. Soni’s guidance,” acknowledges Abhinav gratefully. An only child of Suresh Menon, a banker and his wife Lata, who works with a Holland-based food company, Abhinav was born and raised in Dubai.

“DIA has a liberal outlook and encourages co-curricular and extra-curricular education enthusiastically. Therefore I’ve had plenty of opportunities to take on testing challenges,” says Abhinav, who has plans to study a combination of subjects including mathematics, philosophy, economics, ethics and political studies, at a top-ranked US university.

In the longer run, Abhinav intends to return to India and participate in politics. “Contrary to popular perception, politics is a noble profession. At university I intend to develop the skills to persuade people to work in the national interest. It’s easy to be cynical about politics but we need to work for the greater good of the greatest number,” says this philosopher student.

Wind in your sails!

Sunayana Nair (Mumbai)