Students from International Academy - Central (Bloomfield Hills, Michigan) Rise to the Euro Challenge

Five High School Teams Receive Dollars for Euro Knowledge

WASHINGTON, April 27, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- At the final round of this year's Euro Challenge competition, held today at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, five teams emerged as the winners. Students from International Academy – Central in Michigan (1st place), Montclair High School in New Jersey (2nd place), Rumson-Fair Haven High School in New Jersey (3rd place), Westfield High School in New Jersey (4th place), and Collegiate School in Virginia (5th place) beat the top teams from 25 high schools on the final day of intense competition.  Now in its sixth year, the Euro Challenge is an academic contest that provides a unique and exciting educational opportunity for high school students from across the United States to learn about the European Union – the largest economic partner of the US – and the economies that share its single currency, the euro. Participants showcase their knowledge of everything from ballooning government deficits to rising unemployment, and make policy recommendations to solve these and other challenges confronting countries.

The winning teams will receive monetary awards provided by the Moody's Foundation, along with a trip to Washington, D.C. for the top two teams.

"It was truly impressive to watch today's competition and see how engaged and knowledgeable these students are," said Ambassador Joao Vale de Almeida, Head of the European Union Delegation to the United States, at the award ceremony. "Over the past six years, the Euro Challenge has reached thousands of American high-school students, teaching them valuable lessons about the European Union and why strong transatlantic relations are so crucial. The competition brings the EU to life, better than any text book or website, and it fosters a life-long interest in economics and the EU-US partnership."

The Euro Challenge was launched in 2006 with 10 schools participating from New York and New Jersey. This year, 79 high school teams from 15 states (Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Virginia, and Wisconsin) have participated in the contest.

The contest is supported by the Delegation of the European Union to the United States. The national coordinator of the competition is w!se (Working in Support of Education).

Other partner organizations include:

• The Moody's Foundation;
• Credit Suisse;
• The Federal Reserve Banks of New York, Chicago, Boston, Atlanta (Miami branch) and Cleveland (Pittsburgh branch);
• European Union Centers of Excellence at Florida International University/University of Miami, the University of North Carolina, University of Michigan, and the University of Pittsburgh;
• The European Union Centers at the University of Illinois, University of Wisconsin and University of Indiana;
• The European Union Studies Center at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York.

For further information, please visit: www.euro-challenge.org

SOURCE Delegation of the European Union to the United States