Economic Guru 2010 selected
Association of History and Civics Teachers
Bank of Finland
Federation of Finnish Financial Services
The winner of the Economic Guru competition designed for high school students has been selected. The winner of the title Economic Guru 2010 is Lauri Mikkola from Helsingin Suomalainen yhteiskoulu school, Helsinki. Exceptionally this year, all of the top three are from the same school. Daniel Sazonov came in second and Karoliina Skyttä third.
The written challenge of the two-day final competition held in Helsinki asked the competitors to consider Greece’s fiscal policy in the 21st century. In the oral challenge, the competitors debating skills were put to test in a debate on Finland's indebtedness, instant credit and other topics of current interest.
The Economic Guru competition was organised for the 13th time. A total of 108 senior high schools enrolled in the preliminary nationwide competition on 14 January 2010. A jury, appointed by the Association of History and Civics Teachers, selected 10 school finalists from among the strongest competitors.
The finalists, in alphabetical order:
1. Saara Harju, Mäkelänrinteen lukio school, HELSINKI
2. Markus Janhunen, Kouvolan yhteiskoulun lukio school, KOUVOLA
3. Lauri Jauhiainen, Helsingin Normaalilyseo school, HELSINKI
4. Lauri Mikkola, Helsingin Suomalainen yhteiskoulu school, HELSINKI
5. Laura Palosaari, Kastellin lukio school, OULU
6. Sakari Rokkanen, Tikkurilan lukio school, VANTAA
7. Daniel Sazonov, Helsingin Suomalainen yhteiskoulu school, HELSINKI
8. Karoliina Skyttä, Helsingin Suomalainen yhteiskoulu school, HELSINKI
9. Ronny Sundfors, Pedersöre Gymnasium school, PEDERSÖRE
10. Hermanni Vanha-Jaakkola, Tampereen lyseon lukio school, TAMPERE
The Economic Guru competition is organised jointly by the Association of History and Civics Teachers, the Bank of Finland and the Federatino of Finnish Financial Services. Also lending support to the competition is the Financial Journalists’ Association.
Knowledge of economic affairs and management of own funds are important skills for everyone. It is important that schools educate students in the understanding of basic economic principles and financial risks. The organisers of this competition want to support achievement of these goals and encourage high school students to study economics in a pleasurable and challenging manner.
Further information, please contact:
Iina Lario, Communications Officer, Bank of Finland, tel. +358 10 831 2689
Kristiina Siikala, Communications Manager, Federation of Finnish Financial Services, tel. +358 20 793 4273