20 years of linguistics Olympiad with Renate Pajusalu

The Inter national Linguistics Olympiad was inaugurated in 2003. The corresponding Estonian national olympiad was established in the same year thanks to the efforts of Renate Pajusalu who became its chief organiser. The present article looks back on the role played by Professor Pajusalu in the history of the Estonian linguistics olympiad through the eyes of colleagues who have been part of the process. The text recalls the different stages of the contest, as well as various tasks preparing the olympiad such as linguistics retreats, school visits to introduce it, and linguistics seminars. It is clear that the 20 years of the olympiad and events associated with it have served its overall purpose well: thousands of school students have become aware of the diversity of the world's languages and of the science of linguistics.