Greeting the sunrise: Visiting Tibetan monks perform morning meditation at Borobudur Temple, East Java. (JP/Tarko Sudiarno)

Borobudur Temple will play host to the annual International Olympiad of Astronomy and Astrophysics (IOAA) and the event was officially opened on Monday by the Culture and Elementary and Secondary Education Minister Anies Baswedan.

Up to 317 participants from 41 countries attended the opening ceremony in addition to IOAA president Chatief Kunjaya and government officials from the Central Java province and Magelang regency.

According to Anies, the field of astronomy is not a new thing for Indonesia since Borobudur Temple was built centuries ago by following scientific principles.

'€œOur challenge is to arouse the interest of the younger generation in the field of astronomy because it is an important thing in our lives,'€ he said as quoted by antaranews.com.

Ten Indonesian participants who have undergone intensive preparation training will compete with delegations from other countries in a series of competitions consisting of a theory test, an observation test, a data management contest, and a team competition.

Joined by high school students and observers, the competition will be held at the Borobudur Temple, Taruna Nusantara high school in Magelang, and the Prambanan Temple in Yogyakarta.

Among other delegations, Romania and South Korea are thought to be the toughest rivals facing Indonesia in the competition.

"We are optimistic that we can win the grand champion title," said Anies. (nov/kes)

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