The National Euro Challenge Competition
The Competition Task:
The Euro Challenge competition for 9th and 10th grade students tests their knowledge and understanding of the European economy and the euro, the currency shared by many of the 28 countries of the European Union (EU). Student teams will be challenged to make 15-minute presentations in which they are required to:
- Describe the current economic situation in the euro area (the economic region consisting of the 19 EU member countries who have adopted the euro).
- Select one economic-related challenge confronting the euro area as a whole (see list below), and pick one of the 19 member countries of the euro area to illustrate that challenge.
- Recommend a policy or policies for addressing the challenge you identified in the country you selected. Be sure to include in your recommendation a discussion of how having a single currency may or may not affect the policy choices for addressing the challenge.
Teams can choose one of the following economic-related challenges:
- Promoting Investment and Innovation
- Demographics and an Aging Workforce
- Banking Union and Financial Stability
- Globalization and Migration
- What Role Does Fiscal Policy Play in Promoting Growth?
- Tackling High Unemployment
- Living with a Single Monetary Policy
- How to Overcome Slow Growth?
- Inequality and Social Spending
Depending on which Euro Challenge Region you are a member of, presentations can be made either in person during the preliminary round of the competition or remotely via video conferencing. The video conferencing presentations will be made on the same day as the on-site competition for regions conducting a Hybrid Competition. For regions conducting a Virtual Competition, a competition date will be decided where all video conferencing will take place. In all rounds, following their presentations, teams must participate in a 10 minute question and answer session conducted by a panel of judges who are educators or experts in European economic affairs.
Schools that participate in the Euro Challenge will be provided with professional development, information resources, and coaching to provide guidance and assistance.
Timeline:
- Register your team (up to 5 members and 5 alternates)
- Northwest Preliminary Round: Tuesday, March 27, (held online)
- Finalists will travel to New York City for the National Euro Challenge Competition April 26, 2018
*Euro Challenge contributes 1500 euro towards airfare for finalists and their faculty advisers to travel to New York, as well as pays for 2 nights stay in NYC
Prizes:
In 2017, the top five winning teams received monetary awards generously provided by The Moody’s Foundation. The awards were $1,250 for each member of the first-place team, $1,000 each for second place, $750 each for third place, $500 each for fourth place, and $250 each for fifth place. The Moody’s Foundation also sponsored a trip to Washington, D.C. for the two top teams of 2017. We anticipate similar prize levels for 2018.
Eligibility Requirements:
- 9th and 10th grade students from high schools from all over the Unites States are eligible to participate in the Euro Challenge.
- One faculty advisor for the school team. Advisors will be invited to attend online or in-person orientations, and are required to attend the Euro Challenge competition rounds with their student team.
For more information, please email tosterhaug@world-affairs.org or check out the Euro Challenge website at: www.euro-challenge.org