MONROVIA – The Liberia Intellectual Property Office (LIPO) has awarded Maretha International Preparatory High School US$1,000 for winning the national final of the WIPO-ARIPO Intellectual Property Club Competition and an additional US$700 for winning the regional final in Harare, Zimbabwe.
As the national champion, Maretha represented Liberia against schools from other African countries, including Tanzania, Rwanda, and Ghana, and won the regional championship in the process.
The competition is organized by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and the African Regional Intellectual Property Organization (ARIPO) to promote intellectual property awareness among secondary school students across Africa. Participating students demonstrate their knowledge through quizzes, presentations, role-playing and practical exercises focused on copyright, trademarks, patents, creativity and innovation.
William V.S. Tubman High School and St. Theresa Convent Catholic High School also received monetary awards after finishing as first and second runners-up, respectively, in the national phase. Tubman High received US$700, while St. Theresa Convent received US$500. The total prize money disbursed included US$2,200 from the Government of Liberia and US$700 from WIPO, bringing the overall prize money to US$2,900.
According to the competition assessment data, the second edition of the IP Club program reached 360 students across 18 schools in Nimba, Montserrado and Grand Bassa counties, with female students accounting for 57.7 percent of participants (208 students) and male students accounting for 42.3 percent (152 students).
The data further showed that students aged 13 to 15 constituted the largest participant group, accounting for 48.8 percent (176 students), followed by those aged 16 to 18 at 33.7 percent (121 students) and those aged 0 to 12 at 17.5 percent (63 students). According to the release, the average proportion of students demonstrating an overall understanding of intellectual property rights increased from 22.9 percent (82 students) at baseline to 93.3 percent (336 students) at endline.
“These results show that the second edition of the IP Club Competition, implemented across 18 schools, achieved its overall objective of expanding access to intellectual property education among secondary school students,” LIPO Director General Hon. Garmai Koboi said. “The increase in student understanding confirms that consistent intellectual property education can produce measurable results. It also gives us a strong foundation for expanding the program to more schools and counties.”
Meanwhile, LIPO has announced that the call for applications for the third edition of the IP Club Competition will be issued soon, with the program set to expand to 36 schools across six counties and reach 720 students and 72 teachers, compared with 18 schools, 360 students and 36 teachers during the second edition.
