This year's European Money Week, now in its third year, was officially launched by the Minister for Education and Employment, Evarist Bartolo, on Monday, 27 March at St. Nicholas College, Dingli Senior School.
The European Money Week is a Europe-wide initiative of the European Banking Federation, aimed at promoting financial literacy and financial education amongst students and youths. A programme of events and activities for this purpose was organised by the Malta Bankers' Association in collaboration with the Department of Curriculum Management's Home Economics Seminar Centre, the Malta Financial Services Authority, the Central Bank of Malta, the Malta Stock Exchange and the Institute of Financial Services.
Speaking during the inauguration, Minister Bartolo said that "financial literacy education is an important tool to improve the financial capabilities of our students and communities in order to help develop a culture that shapes their habits and skills".
In his address, the Secretary General of the Malta Bankers' Association, James Bonello, said that "it is essential to promote financial education amongst students and youths from an early age, as the knowledge and skills acquired by them at that stage will serve them in good stead as they progress through life".
Mr Bonello added that two new initiatives were included in this year's Money Week programme. One was the 'Financial Literacy Challenge' for Year 7 and Year 8 students aged 11 to 13 years. The participating school teams had to plan and implement an activity aimed at promoting awareness related to financial literacy, education and inclusion. Cash prizes awarded by the Malta Bankers' Association to the winning and second-placed participating schools are to be used to fund initiatives related to financial literacy.
The other novel event focused on teacher professional development training. Home Economics teachers were invited to participate in a seminar entitled 'Innovations in Financial Literacy Education'. This was aimed at equipping participants with knowledge, skills and competencies to address innovations in financial literacy-related topics within the Home Economics syllabus.
Other activities forming part of the Money Week included an interactive 'Money Matters' programme for Year 6 students (age 10 to 11 years), and the 'Be Wise - Pay Smart' programme, which provides hands-on training on the use of ATMs and EPOS terminals for students undergoing the Core Curriculum Programme in Years 10 and 11 (age 14 to 16 years). Arrangements were also made for visits by Year 10 students to the Central Bank of Malta and the Malta Financial Services Centre.
Mr Bonello thanked the Department of Curriculum Management, the Malta Financial Services Authority, the Central Bank of Malta and the Institute of Financial Services for their valued support and cooperation in organising these events.