What is the Euro Challenge?*

The Euro Challenge is an exciting educational opportunity for high school students to learn about the European Union (EU) and the euro. Student teams of three to five students are asked to make presentations answering specific questions about the European economy and the single currency, the euro. They are also asked to pick one member country of the "euro area" (the 17 EU member countries that have adopted the euro so far), to examine an economic problem at the country level, and to identify policies for responding to that problem.

In 2012, its seventh year, the Euro Challenge will continue to expand nationally, with up to 100 teams from various regions in the United States expected to compete for monetary awards generously provided by The Moody's Foundation.

The Competition Task*

The Euro Challenge competition for high school students tests their knowledge and understanding of the European economy and the euro, the currency shared by many of the 27 countries of the European Union (EU). For the 2011 Euro Challenge competition, which took place in the spring of 2011, student teams were asked to make a 15-minute presentation in which they were required to:

1. Describe the current economic situation in the euro area (the economic region consisting of the 17 EU member countries who have adopted the euro).
2. Select one economic-related challenge confronting the euro area as a whole (see list below), and pick one of the 17 member countries of the euro area to illustrate that challenge.
3. 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:

• Slow growth
• High unemployment
• Inflation
• Adapting to technological change (raising productivity)
• Globalization (including immigration)
• Aging (including health care)
• Living with a single monetary policy
• Sustaining the social system (welfare state)
• Coping with a housing market slowdown
• High government deficits and debt

Presentations in semifinal and final rounds are followed by 10 minutes of questioning by a panel of judges who are educators or experts in European economic affairs.

Prizes*

In 2011, 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 2011. 

Euro Challenge Goals*

• Increase students' knowledge and understanding of the European Union and the euro
• Promote an understanding of economic challenges facing European Union member states
• Support local learning standards related to global studies and economics
• Foster economic and financial literacy and understanding of economic policy issues
• Develop communication, critical thinking and cooperative skills.

Euro Challenge at VHS