Financial Literacy Competition

Published: Friday October 23rd, 2020

Financial Literacy Video-Essay Competition

As part of its mandate to promote increased financial literacy and awareness, the Central Bank of The Bahamas, in connection with Get Money Smart Bahamas, is launching an annual video essay competition for Bahamian primary and secondary school students. This competition is integrated with the Bank’s efforts to cultivate healthy, lifelong decision making in personal financial matters. The Bank believes that engendering these traits in the youth will stand them in good stead as they transition to adulthood. Repeated global studies have shown that the earlier positive financial management skills are taught, the more effective and long-standing would be their usage on an ongoing basis.

The video essay competition is to encourage independent research on selected financial topics. Students will be challenged to relate the themes to real life context, drawing on personal or national experiences. Their ability to condense and organize larger volumes of information into coherent, persuasive presentations will also be on display.

Topics for 2020 relate to savings and debt. Students are invited to submit a 3 to 5 minutes video essay on the following theme:

“The ways in which we save are less important than how much we save.”

Submissions should explain whether they agree or disagree with the statement. They should feel free to draw upon practical examples from their own experience or the experience of others to support their views.

Video essays must be produced individually.

The deadline for submission of videos is December 4, 2020, and should conform to the submission guidelines below. Prizes will be awarded in three age categories for students in primary, junior high and senior high school. Winning entries will be featured on the Central Bank’s website, its social media sites and used as educational tools on-going financial literacy campaigns.

Contest Eligibility and Guidelines:

Eligible

Local student(s) currently enrolled in primary, junior or senior high-school.

• Primary School: Grades 4-6
• Junior High School: Grades 7-9
• Senior High School: Grades 10 - 12

Submission Guidelines:

• The videos must be no shorter than 3 minutes and no longer than 5 minutes, not including introductory information or ending credits.
• The essay should be read or presented on camera by the contestants.
• Students are encouraged to wear their school uniform for the video recording.
• The video should display introductory information to identify in writing the names of the contestant, school attended, and grade level.
• The video should conclude with credits that list all sources cited or used in the presentation.
• Videos must not contain any age inappropriate content: images, offensive language, attire or political messaging.
• Videos should be in a format that is uploaded to common social media platforms like Facebook, YouTube and Vimeo. Ideally uploads should be in MP4 or MOV format, filmed in landscaped mode, with a high definitions (HD) resolution of 720p or 1080p.
• Entries should be submitted by completing the online form located at https://bit.ly/35uCqDg.

Prize:

Judging criteria

Videos will be judged mainly on the following criteria:

1. Demonstrated understanding of the topic: Is the presenter able to convey a clear understanding of the topic through definitions, examples or facts used?
2. Quality of background research and preparation: Is the information presented relevant, and sufficiently varied to provide multiple perspectives on the topic?
3. Persuasiveness and organisation of presentation: Does the presentation use facts, examples and clear reasoning to defend the positions put forward? Does the presentation show a logical and clear progression of ideas?
4. Delivery of material: Does the presenter make effective use of oral communication skills to help with the delivery of the material?

Contest Deadline: Friday December 4th, 2020, 11:59pm.

Completed Submissions should be uploaded to the file share site, which the Bank will announce. More information may be obtained by writing as follows:

Governor’s Office:

[email protected]