22nd July 2018 Congress Center of the WTC, Moscow, Russia.
““It is a special day because we are in Russia and you’re here; we’re all together here with our children”.”
On 22nd July 2018, 17 countries (Bangladesh, China, Croatia, Ecuador, Germany, India, Ireland, Malaysia, Mexico, Nepal, Panama, Philippines, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Sweden, and Uzbekistan) participated in the competition and celebrated with us the 25th anniversary of ALOHA at Moscow’s World Trade Centre (WTC).
We are delighted to have received a congratulation note from the Administration of President Putin. The competition was also supported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia, the Ministry of Education of Russia, the Federal Agency for Tourism of Russia. In addition, the event was graced by the presence of Ambassadors and representatives from various embassies, including the Embassy of Bangladesh, the Embassy of Ecuador, the Embassy of Panama, the Embassy of Portugal, the Embassy of the Philippines, and the Embassy of Uzbekistan. In the host city of the 2018 FIFA World Cup, ALOHA children were also invited to attend a football masterclass with Juventus F.C. Academy Moscow during their stay in Moscow.
In the morning of the event day, nearly 1,500 parents and 600 children gathered at the Congress Center of the WTC, greeted by ALOHA International and ALOHA Russia team members, and entered the hall decorated with hand-painted wallpaper featuring Moscow scenic skyline. Before the competition began, overseas delegates entered the hall as flag bearers, carrying their respective national flag, whereas children, the national representatives waved their national flags. Participants also observed the Ceremony for Signing the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between ALOHA International and Mr. Deepak Joshi from Nepal.
The competition started at 10:30am. All children were required to complete 70 calculations in 5 minutes. Parents were invited to witness the competition through livestream on our YouTube channel. At the end of the 5 minutes, the second bell rings signalled the end of the competition. The competition is followed by a press conference attended by ALOHA delegates from participating countries as well as ALOHA students from three ALOHA generations.
Parents and children returned to the Congress Center at 2pm. The prize-giving ceremony began with the ‘Colours of the World’ concert, where children from various countries performed and demonstrated their national culture to the audiences. It was echoed with rounds of applauses. The concert was preceded by a keynote speech by Mr. Loh Mun Sung, the Founder President of ALOHA Mental Arithmetic, and Dr. Janna Khegai, the Director of ALOHA Russia. Winners received the symbolic 25th Anniversary ALOHA-going-global trophies from VIP guests when names are announced. The event came to an end with the vote of thanks to all parties contributed to make the event a huge success.
Children spent the rest of their stay visiting Moscow and St. Petersburg with their families and other ALOHA children from the rest of the world.
We will continue to, quoting Mr. Loh’s keynote speech, “do the best for our children” in the coming years. We look forward to seeing you again next year!
(Article From https://alohama.com/international-competition-2018-moscow-russia/)