The future of my country is in the hands of people just like me

Economics easily explained. That’s our mantra at EFI. And so what would make more sense than to support 8 of our partners to run an Economics Olympiad for high school students in their countries. The Olympiad is a fast-growing international competition with 80,000 students from 16 countries taking part this year. After multiple in-country rounds, 70 students met at the University of Economics in Bratislava, Slovakia, to compete against each other for the top places.

In preparing for each round, students had access to EFI’s learning resources, including our translated editions of “Common Sense Economics” and the contents of our multimedia library. Teachers set aside time to support their students and our country partners held online and offline summer camps to prepare their national champions for the international round.

How did it turn out? Across EFI’s countries 9,000 students took part in the competition. Of the 40 who made it to the international round, 8 were ranked in the Top 30. But it’s more than a numbers game. Together with our country partners, EFI is changing lives. One of our finalists from Ukraine, unprompted, summed up her experience: “From the initial selection to the finals, my life has changed significantly, without exaggeration. While preparing for the competition and progressing through each stage, Economics transformed from a typical school subject into a key to understanding the sociopolitical and historical events currently unfolding around us. Before the war, I was just a child who found economics excessively complex and politics hopelessly dull. However, now my perspective has done a 180-degree turn, and it's economics that has guided me. During the Olympiad, I learned so much. I believe it has made me a more aware person, giving me an understanding that the future of my country is in the hands of people just like me.”