Schools and students: the essay-writing contest De la banca escolar a la banca central is open
Banco de la República (the Central Bank of Colombia) has opened the registration and digital reception of essays for the 11th national essay-writing contest De la banca escolar a la banca central, aimed at students of grades 10, 11, and 12 from educational institutions throughout the country.
This contest is part of the Economic Education program “Banrep Educa”, and intends to motivate students to gain a deeper understanding of how the Central Bank works and the rationale behind its decisions.
In this version of the contest, participants must take into account, among others, analogies, metaphors, real-life cases, and/or representations of events that have occurred in different regions of the country to answer the following question: How does the Central Bank’s monetary policy affect my decisions?
Students, teachers, and/or educational institutions who are interested in participating and winning the Bank's awards must abide by the following dates, conditions, and recommendations:
New Calendar for 2020-2021
- Digital reception of essays: Tuesday, 10 November 2020*
- Publication of semi-finalists: Monday, 1 March 2021
- Publication of finalists: Monday, 5 April 2021
- Dissertation and awarding ceremony (virtual or face-to-face): May 2021
*Students who are currently enrolled in 11th or 12th grades and who will graduate in the first semester of 2020, must submit the essay before their graduation date.
New Rules and Conditions
Who can participate?
Student teams of 3 to 5 members from grades 10, 11, and 12 from the same educational institution, with a single advising teacher.
Every advising teacher may guide one or more teams from any school-hours shift, from the same or from a different educational institution.
Please note that the grade-levels to which students may belong vary according to the academic calendar:
If you are currently a calendar A student, you may participate if:
- As of November 2020 you are enrolled in 10th, 11th, or 12th grade.
If you are currently a calendar B student, you may participate if:
- In the first semester of 2020 you are enrolled in 11th or 12th grade.*
- As of November 2020 you are enrolled in 10th, 11th, or 12th grade.
*Students who are currently in 11th or 12th grade who will graduate in the first semester of 2020 must submit their essay before their graduation date.
*For both calendars A and B, the dissertation in May 2021 can be done even if the students have already graduated from high school
Can I participate in more than one group?
[Students] No: you must belong to only one team.
[Teacher] Yes, a teacher may guide one or more teams from any school-hours shift and from one or more educational institutions in which s/he works.
Who is the team leader?
A person on the team (student or teacher) responsible for being in touch with Banco de la República. S/he will need to provide a personal email and a telephone land line or mobile phone number on the essay cover sheet.
How should the essay be presented?
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Formato
Word file (PDF will not be accepted) -
No. of Pages:
Minimum 4 and maximum 6 pages of content, 1 cover sheet, and 1 for bibliographic references; with 2 cm top, bottom, left, and right margins. -
Font:
Times New Roman, size 12, line spacing 1.5, with no initial indent. -
References:
All references and bibliographic citations should be indicated explicitly and completely.
How to turn in the essay?
The new terms of the competition establish that the essay can only be sent digitally (via email)..
| Channel: | |
| Address: | concursobanca@banrep.gov.co |
| Subject: | Essay Contest “Banca Escolar” |
| Format |
E-mails must be sent exclusively from the team leader's mail, in Word format. Please include the team leader’s data (name and cell phone number) |
| Reception | Every group will receive a notification of receipt of their essay by e-mail |
| Clarifications | Should you need to clarify the terms and conditions of the contest, please email us at concursobanca@banrep.gov.co with the subject: Questions on Essay Contest “Banca Escolar” |
What should the essay's cover sheet include?
- Title of the essay
- First and last names of students (as they appear on their IDs)
- Current Grade (10th, 11th, or 12th)
- Full details of the Advising Teacher:
- First and last names of the teacher (as they appear on his/her ID)
- Teacher's e-mail
- Teacher's cell phone number
- Full details of the team leader:
- First and last names (as they appear on his/her ID)
- Team Leader's e-mail
- Team leader's cell phone number
- Details of the Educational Institution:
- Name of the educational institution
- Nature (whether official or private, and whether all-female, all-male or coed).
- E-mail of the educational institution
- Telephone number of the educational institution
- Address of the educational institution
- City where the educational institution is located
- Department where the educational institution is located
Important Notice: The contest De la banca escolar a la banca central abides by the general policies or guidelines for personal data.
Awards
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First place:
COP $5,000,000 for the student team
COP $3,000,000 for the advising teacher
COP $10,000,000 in educational material for the school.
*Additionally, Universidad del Rosario grants a scholarship at the Faculty of Economics, according to its conditions of admission.
-
Second place:
COP $3,000,000 for the student team
COP $2,000,000 for the advising teacher
COP $5,000,000 in educational material for the school.
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Third place:
COP $2,000,000 for the student team
COP $1,000,000 for the advising teacher
COP $3,000,000 in educational material for the school..
Additional Information:
- Prizes will be awarded in the first semester of 2021.
- Banco de la República will assume travel and lodging expenses in Bogotá for the finalist teams from outside the capital. This applies in case the final dissertation is face-to-face.
- The contest De la banca escolar a la banca central is part of the Central Bank’s Economic Education program “Banrep Educa”, the aim of which is to awaken in school and university students their interest on the economic issues and the tasks of the Central Bank.
Contacto
Should you need to clarify the terms and conditions of the contest, please email us at concursobanca@banrep.gov.co with the subject: Questions on Essay Contest “Banca Escolar”.
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