On Thursday, February 19, 2026, the final round of the "Howland" Oratory Competition for High School Grade 3 and IB DP Year 2 students at Psychico College was held at the Psychico College Theater.

The winner of the "HOWLAND" Award for the 2025-2026 academic year was announced as student Tsilika Argyro.

This year's finalists delivered speeches on the topic:

"The river of Artificial Intelligence, barring any unforeseen circumstances, will not turn back. But that is not the real question. The real question is: who will hold the helm? Will we leave it to anonymous algorithms, or will it remain in the hands of the person who thinks, creates, doubts, judges, and confirms? Will we allow responsibility, authenticity, and truth to fade, or will we defend the people who create culture?"

C. Dardanos, Will Artificial Intelligence tear apart the world of Literature?

Within this framework, the educational community is called upon to creatively exploit the challenges posed by Artificial Intelligence.

Based on the above data:

How can students act as "co-creators" rather than mere users of Artificial Intelligence?

What role is the teacher called upon to play in today's reality? Could the teacher ever be replaced by a digital tool in the future?

The panel of judges consisted of (in alphabetical order): Ms. Eva Lianou, General Manager at the John S. Latsis Public Benefit Foundation; Ms. Vana Papaevangelou, Professor of Pediatric Infectious Diseases at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens; and Ms. Fotini Tsalikoglou, Professor Emerita of Psychology at Panteion University.

The students who qualified for the final round were:

1. Dambassina Marina

2. Dimtsa Eleni-Anna

3. Kyriakopoulos Labros-Nektarios

4. Saranti Lydia-Ioanna

5. Tsilika Argyro

The following students also qualified for the semifinal round:

1. Chrysou Lydia

2. Karyatis Vasileios

3. Paschali Lydia-Maria

4. Terzaki Eygenia

5. Tzortzi Eirini-Eftychia

Congratulations to all students who participated in both the final and semifinal rounds of the competition.