Students from West Carleton Secondary School Win 2024 Euro Challenge Canada
Five High School Teams Receive Awards for Their Knowledge of the European Union
Students from West Carleton Secondary School (Team 2) in Ottawa won the final round of this year's Euro Challenge Canada competition – an academic contest for 9th and 10th grade high school students to showcase their knowledge of economics and policy-making from a European Union perspective. Runners-up were Earl of March (Team 1) (2nd place), Merivale High School (3rd place), Sir Robert Borden High School (4th place), and West Carleton Secondary School (Team 4) (5th place).
“I still remember when I held my first euro coins in my hand. It was a big moment for European integration.” said Deputy Ambassador of the European Union to Canada, Christian Burgsmueller, who welcomed the five finalist teams at the Ambassador’s residence for this special occasion.
Mr. Burgsmueller congratulated the five best teams and all Euro Challenge participants for their excellent presentations. Students showed remarkable knowledge and put forward creative policy recommendations on a range of topics appropriate to a euro zone member state of their choice. “It’s great that you participated in this competition. We hope you learned a lot about the European Union and economics.” remarked Burgsmueller.
Organized by the Delegation of the European Union to Canada and implemented by U.S.-based, not-for-profit organization, W!se (Working in Support of Education), the 2024 contest marked the 3rd edition of the Euro Challenge. This annual competition provides high school students in Ontario and Toronto an exciting opportunity to learn about the EU and its member states from an economic perspective. Students learn about the most important economic indicators as well as current political and socio-economic issues in the euro zone. Teams assume the role of policymakers and present their solutions.
From 2-3 May, 9 teams gathered at Carleton University in Ottawa. “We are so excited to have this opportunity. We’ve never done anything like this before and we’re so grateful for getting first place.”, reflected a member of the winning team from West Carleton Secondary School. They delivered an impressive presentation on social mobility, inequality and the gender gap in Spain and aced the judges’ challenging questions.
The panel of expert judges comprised Crina Viju-Miljusevic (EURUS Director, Carleton University), Maxime Ramon (Counselor, Belgian Embassy in Canada), Stefanie Rosskopf (Policy Officer, Trade and Economic Section, Delegation of the EU to Canada), Klaus Schindel (Counsellor, Head of Science, Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany), Patrick Leblond (International Affairs Professor, University of Ottawa), Luis Romero (Chief Statistician, W!se), Achim Hurrelmann (Professor, Carleton University), Costanza Conti (Office of the Scientific Attaché, Italian Embassy), and Raul Razo-Garcia (Professor at Carleton University).
The Euro Challenge promotes economic literacy, introduces students to the European Union and underscores the importance of transatlantic ties. Since its inception in the United States in 2006, thousands of U.S. students have benefited from participating in the event. The Canadian edition of the Challenge started in 2022. Euro Challenge partner BNP Paribus, Montreal, offer a mentoring opportunity to teams preparing for the competition.
For photos of the competition, please see: @eurochallenge.ca #EuroChallenge
***
Delegation of the European Union to Canada
150 Metcalfe St, Ottawa, ON K2P 1P1
www.eeas.europa.eu/delegations/canada @EuinCanada