The Minister of Education, Noureddine Nouri, stated this Sunday in Hammamet that “Tunisia’s hosting of the second edition of the International Olympiad in Cybersecurity, after organizing the first edition in Singapore, illustrates the country’s commitment to rapid digital transformations and its adherence to the growing international awareness of the importance of cybersecurity.”
In a statement to the Tunis Afrique Presse Agency, on the sidelines of the opening of the event, he added that Tunisia is committed to developing its capabilities in the field of data protection and digital systems, for both individuals and states, thereby realizing the principle of digital sovereignty.
The minister stressed that the participation of competitors from 20 countries represents an important opportunity for young Tunisians to develop their skills and showcase their abilities, especially since they have already achieved remarkable results at several international scientific and technical events.
He also noted that the presence of participants, their mentors and their parents constitutes an opportunity to promote Tunisia’s image as a welcoming country open to the world, as well as to highlight the richness of its cultural and civilizational heritage and to make known its main archaeological and natural sites, through the cultural and entertainment sequences that marked the opening ceremony of the Olympiads.
On her side, the president of the second edition of the International Olympiad in Cybersecurity, Dorsaf Benna, stated that Tunisia hosting this edition, organized from June 27 to July 2 under the slogan “Hack, rise to the challenge, contribute to protecting the world,” constitutes a major scientific event, to the extent that it will help strengthen learning in the field of cybersecurity.
She explained that the competitions will continue for two days, each lasting seven consecutive hours, during which the participants will attempt to penetrate a secure website developed by the Olympiad organizing committee. She added that “the methodology adopted rests on the idea that learning intrusion techniques is a means of learning protection and securitization methods.”
She specified that this edition brings together nearly 150 participants from 20 countries in Asia, Africa, Europe, and the Americas, including 80 competitors who are laureates of national selections, aged 14 to 19.
She added that the emphasis on this age group, comprised of high school students, reflects the will to disseminate cybersecurity culture from a young age and to highlight its importance in the era of artificial intelligence, while developing the skills of young people in this field. The objective is to contribute to training a new generation of specialists and engineers capable of actively participating in the digital protection of their countries and facing the risks related to cyberattacks.
The second edition of the International Olympiad in Cybersecurity is organized under the aegis of the Ministry of Education, in collaboration with the Ministry of Technologies of Communication, the National Institute of Applied Sciences and Technology, the Tunisian Association for Computing, as well as a number of institutions active in the cybersecurity field.
