The Institute of Financial Services – Malta recently organised a national seminar on “The need for Financial Education at Secondary School Level”. The seminar was part of the dissemination activities of the European Financial Education Partnership (EFEP) – an EU Lifelong Learning programme project in collaboration with the Education, Audio-Visual & Cultural Executive Agency (EACEA). IFS Malta is an associate partner of this project through its membership of the European Banking & Financial Services Training Association (EBTN).
Following an introductory address by IFS Malta Vice President Peter Calleya, the seminar was addressed by two guest speakers who actively participated in the EFEP project. Professor Mario Spatafora, EBTN Vice President, gave a presentation about the current situation and future prospects of financial literacy, focusing on the key findings and challenges of the EFEP Project. This was followed by a very interesting and well received presentation by Valerie Bauckham from the Chartered Institute of Bankers in Scotland, who spoke about the practical considerations of implementing a financial education programme in secondary schools based on her many years of first-hand experience of delivering such a programme in Scotland. Professor Spatafora concluded the session by speaking about the outcomes of the recent OECD financial education conference which took place in Madrid, Spain.
The seminar then continued with a panel discussion to consider and assess the necessity of financial education at secondary school level in Malta. The panel was chaired by training consultant Victor Rizzo Giusti from VRG Consult and included Geoffrey Bezzina, Director Consumer Affairs, MFSA; Suzanne Piscopo, Nutrition, Family & Consumer Specialist, University of Malta; Leonid MacKay, Head of Community Outreach Unit, CARITAS; and Josephine Vassallo, Assistant Director, Curriculum, Education Directorate.
All the expert panellists answered questions put by the Chair and gave valid contributions and insights to the resultant discussion on the subject. The topic generated a lot of interest as evidenced by the numerous questions and interventions from the floor. The seminar definitely achieved its main objective of raising awareness on the importance of financial education at secondary school level.
Similar dissemination seminars are being held in a number of countries across Europe and the final summative conference of the EFEP project will take place in Brussels in September.