The flower of the mind mapping in bloom 9466 km away in France

In December 2018, the final of the 10th World Mind Mapping Championships and Speed Reading Championships in Guangzhou, China, embraced more than 20 special guests.

They came from France, a country that is 9466 km away and famous for its romance and passion.

Polite and gentle, they have a tall figure exclusive to Europeans.

It occurred to no one that there would be such a group of enthusiasts for mind mapping thousands of kilometers away!

They were dressed in eye-catching uniforms. The logo “FRENCH TEAM”highlighted their capability, discipline, as well as the team spirit.

Surprisingly, they embodied their excellent and professional mind mapping skills in the competition. Their amazing concentration impressed everyone.

The passion for mind mapping has gone beyond the boundary of skin color, race, and language.

The flower of mind mapping blooms not only in China, but also across the world as a whole.

In the two-day competition, 20 French contestants won a number of medals with the convincing performance, fully showcasing the solid strength of the French team.

The two contestants, Jerome Hoarau and Cyril Maitre, tied for the second place in the final of 10thWorld Mind Mapping Championships, despite the fact that this was their debut in this competition.

Another contestant Philippe Robichon also made his debut by winning the second place in the 10th World Speed Reading Championships.

For the French people known for their relentless love for life, it was an unforgettable experience, and more of a great adventure to participate in this event and achieve good results.

French Mind Mapping and Speed Reading Championships

The mind mapping has long been chased after by people in France, thus many fans are attracted to participate in the competition alike.Three months before the World Championships, a group of mind mapping enthusiasts also attended the French Mind Mapping Championships and contentedly experienced a journey of mind mapping.

On August 10th, 2018, supported by Professor Tony Buzan, France held the French Mind Mapping and Speed Reading Championships with 40 contestants coming to the stage.

Professor Tony Buzan, the inventor of mind mapping, Mr. Phil Chambers, the chief arbitrator of the world mind mapping championships, and Elaine Colliar, the five-time world champion holder of mind mapping were invited to the scene.

The French Mind Mapping Championships consisted of two sessions, namely, listening and recording, and reading analysis.

In the listening and recording session, the contestants needed to draw a mind map based on the lecture given by Tony Buzan at the scene; for the reading analysis, the contestants were required to read a magazine and draw a mind map according to its content.

The champion of the mind mapping session, Cyril Maitre, also won the gold medal of listening and recording, the silver medal of reading analysis, and was the runner-up in the 10th World Mind Mapping Championships and Speed Reading Championships.

Magali Rozo won the championship for the fast reading session. She read a novel of over 425 pages in less than 2 hours, an outstanding performance that made her stand out!

Steve Abd Alkarim— Pioneer of the French Memory Sports

In the world championship last year, the French team consisting of 20 contestants came to a foreign country. They overcame every obstacle with their passion for mind mapping and scored amazing results!

This might not happen without a core person—Steve Abd Alkarim, the leader of the French team.

Steve Abd Alkarim has been paying attention to the development of memory sports. He is also closely involved in memory sports and mind mapping competitions.

In 2017,Steve Abd AlKarim, once a participant in the World Mind Mapping and Speed Reading Championships,paid a special visit to Shenzhen, China to watch the 26th World Memory Championships. In 2018, he led 20 team members to China to attend the Final of 10th World Mind Mapping Championships and Speed Reading Championships. Steve himself was also involved as an arbitrator.

Steve has also been vigorously promoting the memory sports and mind mapping in France through organizing courses, giving lectures many times and attending TV and radio shows to make more people know them. Step by step, a large number of memory sports and mind mapping enthusiasts came to join him.

At the closing ceremony of the 10th World Mind Mapping Championships and Speed Reading Championships last year, the French team won several awards. Yet, a more impressive scene was that they also applauded and cheered for other winners to show their heartfelt congratulations and support. Everyone present was moved by their openness and enthusiasm.

The championships help more people know that there are as many mind mapping enthusiasts in France as in China. Despite the different languages, we can understand each other’s mind map and foster valuable friendship!

In the future, we expect to meet mind mapping enthusiasts from all over the world, and to see a more splendid blossom of the mind mapping!