Twenty-two secondary school teams from across Trinidad and Tobago are preparing to put their financial knowledge, research skills and debating abilities to the test in a new national competition focused on investing.
The Trinidad and Tobago Securities and Exchange Commission, TTSEC, has launched its National Investing Debate Competition as an investor education initiative aimed at strengthening financial literacy, critical thinking and investment awareness among secondary school students.
Teams will represent schools from the North Eastern, Port of Spain and Environs, St. George East, Victoria, Caroni and St. Patrick Education Districts, as well as Tobago.
Students will be challenged to research, debate and critically examine topics involving investing, investor protection, financial literacy and the wider financial sector.
The competition will unfold across three rounds, beginning with the preliminaries on September 28.
All 22 teams will compete during the opening round, with six advancing to the semi-finals on October 16. From there, two teams will earn places in the final, which will be held alongside the prize-giving ceremony on October 30.
TTSEC said the initiative is intended to make investor education more engaging and accessible to young people while helping students develop research, critical-thinking, public-speaking and informed decision-making skills.
The Commission also views early financial education as an important part of investor protection.
By reaching students before they enter the workforce and begin making major financial decisions, TTSEC hopes they will be better equipped to assess financial information, understand investment risks and make informed decisions.
The debates will be judged by experienced professionals from finance, investment, education and related fields. Teams will be assessed on the quality of their arguments, research and evidence, rebuttals, presentation and overall debating performance.
Finalists will have an opportunity to secure prizes including book vouchers and internship opportunities with the Central Bank of Trinidad and Tobago and the Inter-American Development Bank.
The competition is also supported by several organisations across the country’s financial and educational sectors.
Members of the public will be able to follow the competition, with TTSEC planning to livestream the debates on its Facebook and YouTube pages.
