Students from Greenwich High School in Greenwich, Connecticut, won the final round of this year’s Euro Challenge competition, a high school academic contest where students showcase their financial literacy and specific knowledge of countries in the euro area.
They led a total of five winning teams, including Princeton High School, second place; Eleanor Roosevelt High School, Manhattan, third place; Gulliver Preparatory High Scholl, Pinecrest, Florida, fourth place; and West Windsor-Plainsboro High School North, fifth place.
This year’s contest marked the 15th iteration of the Euro Challenge and was done virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We are pleased that we could hold this unique event for American high school students adjusted to the current distant learning conditions,” European Union Ambassador to the United States Stavros Lambrinidis said in a prepared statement after the finals on May 19. “Congratulations to the winning teams and to all Euro Challenge participants, who showcased impressive knowledge, enthusiasm and creativity in addressing complex economic issues. Given the unprecedented human and policy challenges posed by COVID-19, the competition this year couldn’t be more timely. The Euro Challenge teaches critical skills as students put themselves in the shoes of policymakers and consider new solutions to shared problems in order to build better societies.”
The Euro Challenge promotes financial literacy and teaches high school students about the global economy, how policy-making in the EU works, and EU-U.S. economic relations.
More than 90 teams from across the United States participated from high schools in Connecticut, California, Florida, Washington, Texas, Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, North Carolina, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan, Massachusetts, Indiana, Illinois, Maryland and the District of Columbia.
The five winning teams receive monetary awards generously provided by the Moody’s Foundation. The first- and second-placed teams will additionally receive a free trip to Washington, D.C., also sponsored by the Moody’s Foundation, to present solutions to the embassy of the country they researched.
The Euro Challenge is a program launched and supported by the Delegation of the European Union to the United States, and is managed on the Delegation’s behalf by W!se (Working in Support of Education). The Moody’s Foundation sponsors the monetary awards. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York serves as program advisor.
The Euro Challenge is supported by BNP Paribas, Florida International University, the University of Pittsburgh, the University of Illinois, the University of Texas at Austin, University of Washington, the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago (Detroit Branch), the World Affairs Council of Charlotte, the World Affairs Council of Seattle, and the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta (Miami Branch).
For more information on the competition, visit www.euro-challenge.org
