The Minister of Innovation and Digital Transformation presented the Bulgarian Award at the International Olympiad in Artificial Intelligence in Astana and met the Bulgarian national team
“The last century was shaped by oil, steel, money and geography. Yours will be shaped by minds, because artificial intelligence is a tool that multiplies not our muscles but our intelligence. Whether it becomes one of civilisation’s great achievements will be decided by the people who understand it most deeply, and many of them are in this room,” Minister of Innovation and Digital Transformation Ivan Vasilev said in a speech to more than 460 young talents from over 100 countries at the closing ceremony of the International Olympiad in Artificial Intelligence (IOAI) in Astana, Kazakhstan – the competition Bulgaria created three years ago and which today is the global Olympiad stage for AI.
At the closing ceremony, Minister Vasilev stressed that Bulgaria’s strength lies in the belief that a child’s mind is the most valuable resource a nation can possess – a belief that for decades has placed Bulgarian students among the world’s best in mathematics, computer science and the natural sciences.
Another highlight of the visit to Kazakhstan was the Minister’s meeting with the young talents from Bulgaria’s national team. “I listened to them debate models and the use of data just as my generation debated football. These young people know they can build the future anywhere in the world. Our job as a state is to give them reasons to choose to build it at home,” Vasilev said. He also asked them what they needed – from support from institutions for their preparation and participation in international competitions to opportunities for internships and work on real projects in Bulgaria.
The visit to Kazakhstan also included a series of meetings dedicated to digital transformation, which Bulgaria’s Ambassador Georgi Vodenski also attended. Minister Vasilev met Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development Zhaslan Madiyev, with whom he discussed bilateral cooperation in digital governance and artificial intelligence. Kazakhstan declared 2026 the Year of Digitalization and Artificial Intelligence and aims to become a fully digital state within three years. Minister Vasilev visited the Alem.AI International Center for Artificial Intelligence and held talks with the leadership of Astana Hub – one of the largest technology parks in Central Asia – as well as with the leadership of Qazaq AI Research University (QAIRU) and technology company Qazbot. The talks focused on the exchange of experience in training specialists in the field of artificial intelligence.
The International Olympiad in Artificial Intelligence is held under the patronage of UNESCO. Its third edition in Astana is the largest to date; the first was held in Burgas in 2024 with nearly 200 participants, while the second, held in Beijing in 2025, brought together 310 contestants from 63 countries.