Brief Overview of the Summit Program

Detailed Summit Rules and Instructions for Students.

Many students say that the Summit is one of their best experiences in high school. In addition to being a great educational experience, it is fun, competitive and energizing. You and your fellow team members will serve as virtual “Economic Advisors” to your assigned countries. Some of the activities you will participate in include:

• Country Research
  You will explore economic, political, and social conditions. You will define your country's strengths and weaknesses.

• Strategic Improvement Plan
  You will create a strategic improvement plan for the your country based on your research findings. You will propose and submit an import plan prior to the culminating day-long Summit event.

• Economic Proposal
  You will also submit an “Economic Proposal” for debate at the Summit and you will vote for other countries’ proposal that you think make sense.

• The Summit Event
  You will attend the culminating Summit competition and participate in the day's exciting activities.

Brief Overview of the Summit Program
The following is a brief overview of the Summit program including Pre-Summit preparation and the Summit Event. For detailed Summit rules, schedules and procedures see Rules and Instructions for Students, which are available to all students who are registered for a Summit event.

Prior to the Summit Event
Prior to the Summit event, your teacher will assign you to work as part of a team. Each student team consists of five or six students. Each team will submit certain information through this Web site. This includes:

• An Economic Proposal
• A Country Fact Sheet
• A Country Strategic Plan
• A Certification Test

Country Research
You must become acquainted with the challenges that their country faces. To do this, you and your team will research your country and some of its key statistics. Areas of research include:

• Country Classification
• Exports and Imports
• Currency
• Foreign Aid

Country Classification
Each country is classified into one of three categories: High Income, Middle Income, and Low Income countries. The criteria for this classification system are based on export totals and gross domestic product (GDP) per capita.

• High Income Countries
  High Income Countries are those that have the highest standard of living. They are sometimes referred to as “industrialized” or “developed” countries. They have the largest number of export coupons, cash endowments, and foreign aid obligations.

• Middle Income Countries
  Middle Income Countries have fewer exports, less cash and a lower GDP than High Income Countries. They may be described as having “developing” or “emerging market”

• Low Income Countries
  Low Income Countries are those with few resource endowments and exports. They have the lowest standard of living out of the three country classifications. “Underdeveloped” is a common term that describes this category of countries. 3rd WCs have the fewest exports and the least amount of cash of any of the three categories. 3rd WCs export foreign aid coupons for cash.

Exports and Imports
You and your team will be asked to complete many objectives regarding exports and imports. In the Summit program there are 13 categories of exports and imports. At the Summit event, the demand for imports will be greater than the supply of exports. The export categories are:

• Unprocessed Food
• Processed Food
• Raw Materials
• Energy
• Consumer Goods
• Capital Goods
• Electronics
• Media
• Tourism
• Offensive Military
• Defensive Military
• Banking
• Science/Technology

Summit Currency
Each country is endowed with one of three currencies: WELCOs, DEVCOs or LESCOs depending on whether they are a High, Middle or Low Income country.

• 1 WELCO = 2 DEVCOs
• 1 DEVCO = 2 LESCOs
• 1 WELCO = 4 LESCOs

Foreign Aid
Foreign aid is a means for more developed countries to offer monetary assistance to less developed countries.

Country Fact Sheet
During the semester you and your team will complete a Country Fact Sheet. This Fact Sheet asks for the country's statistics that reveal information about that country's standard of living.

Strategic Plan
You will create a strategic plan for your country. This includes a specific set of goals to address your country's need for imports and internal improvements.

Internal Improvements
Your team may purchase Internal Improvement coupons in education, health care and infrastructure. One unit of internal improvement costs 5 WELCOs and is purchased from the Summit Bank.

Economic Proposal

• Each team of economic advisors will propose an economic solution to some regional or world problem.

The Summit Event

At the end of the semester, you and other student teams of economic advisors will meet for a one day Summit Event. This event is typically held at a university but can also take place at a high school or even within the classroom. Student teams compete to earn points for their countries. The primary activities of the Summit event include:

• Geography Quiz
• Country Alliance Negotiations
• Economic Proposal Campaign
• Economic Proposal Debate and Voting
• Economics Test
• International Trade Session
• Global Banking Session
• Costume and Table Display Judging
• Team Scoring
• Awards Ceremony

Geography Quiz
You and your team will work together to identify several countries. You will be shown the country location on a world map, the country’s flag, the country GDP and a major export.

Country Alliance Negotiations
During this session, countries form alliances with other countries. These alliances become strategically important during the export/import trading session later in the day. Countries that trade outside their alliance pay tariffs on their imported goods. Countries may also enter into bi-lateral contracts with each other. If one country fails to comply with their contract obligations, other countries may seek penalties for that country.

Economic Proposal Campaign
Each country receives a packet containing either 5 Signature Cards at the beginning of the Summit. These cards are exchanged for a commitment to vote for that country’s Economic Proposal. Countries that gain the most Signature Cards receive the opportunity to present their proposal in the upcoming debate.

Economic Proposal Debate and Voting
Ten countries are allowed to present their proposals to the general assembly. Members of the audience are allowed to ask questions of the presenting countries. At the end of the debate, all countries vote for their choice of the top 3 proposals.

Costume and Table Display Judging
Teams win points for their costumes and table displays. The Summit also recognizes the overall costume and table display winners.

Economics Test
You and your team will work together on the Economics Test. Points are awarded for the number of correct answers a team achieves.

International Trade and Banking Session
During this exciting session, countries sell or trade their export coupons to obtain imports or cash that will help them reach the goals of their strategic plans. They also borrow money and purchase Internal Improvements from the Summit Bank and they either award or receive Foreign Aid.

Team Scoring
During the Summit event, official scorekeepers keep track of points awarded to each country for the various activities of the day. At the end of the Summit the points are tallied and winners determined.

Awards Ceremony
The day closes with the Awards Ceremony. Awards are given in several categories including:

• Summit Grand Champion
• Top High Income Country
• Top Middle Income Country
• Top Low Income Country
• Winning Costume
• Winning Table Display
• 100% Geography Test
• 100% Economics Test