Global week of financial education

03/06/2023 / Press release

Each year at the end of March financial institutions mark Global Money Week, or the worldwide week of financial education, as we call it in Slovenia. This year the week will be marked from 20 to 26 March 2023 under the aegis of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) on the topic of Plan your money, plant your future. Banka Slovenije will be offering its own programmes as part of this important educational week for the third year running. This year once again we have prepared a range of activities for children, young people and adults, since we are striving to boost the financial education of all age groups.

As part of Global Money Week, therefore, on Monday, 20 March 2023, in cooperation with the Slovenian Board of Education, we will be hosting a conference for educators and professionals in the education system. During the conference, various institutions that design financial education programmes will be able to present the importance of financial literacy and their work in this field. At the end of the conference we will also announce the winners of the school student competition Generation €uro (Generacija €vro), which also represents one of the important ways to encourage young people to think about financial topics. This competition, which is held under the auspices of the European Central Bank, challenges secondary school students each year to set the ECB interest rate in view of current economic conditions, and requires an in-depth understanding of this field.

As in previous years, we will also offer school students the option of taking short education sessions remotely. For secondary school students on Tuesday, 21 March 2023 there will be a learning bank block lesson from 10.30 to 12.00, in which they will learn more about the work of the central bank, personal finance and modern payment methods, and we will also present some other financial education programmes that they can join, while for third triad students of primary schools we will offer on Wednesday, 22 March 2023, between 10:00 and 10:45 a learning bank lesson, as part of which they will learn about the work of Banka Slovenije and the security elements of cash. Both events will take place via the online platform Webex, and is open to registration from entire classes and also individual students and teachers up until Friday, 17 March 2023 (for the bank lesson for secondary schools)or until Monday, 20 March 2023 (for the bank lesson for primary schools) at the email address izobrazevalnidan@bsi.si. Those registered for the event will receive detailed information on participation by email.

During Global Money Week, from 20 to 26 March 2023 on our social networks there will also be a quiz on general knowledge of finance, with an emphasis on saving, and at the end we will post the name of the winner.

The Banka Slovenije Museum is intended to a great extent for boosting the financial literacy of all age and interest groups, so the museum will also be designing some specific content for Global Money Week. On Tuesday, 21 March 2023, and on Thursday, 23 March 2023, organised school groups of the first and second triads of primary school will be offered workshops at 10 and 11 am, and adults will be able to join our guided tour of the museum on both days at 5 pm. Those wishing to take part in the workshops or tour should register at muzej@bsi.si by Friday, 17 March 2023. Banka Slovenije Museum tours are free on all dates, and you can find more information about them on our website.

For the third year running our website will publish a noteworthy and well received art competition for kindergarten and primary school children. This time children will create artwork on the topic of Stone by Stone a Palace, with which in April 2023 we will mark the 100th anniversary of the completion of the bank palace on Slovenska Street. We will invite young artists to turn themselves into architects or planners for a short time, and in whatever technique they like, to create a piece of art that will show their concept of a building that could house the central bank. The wording of the competition and all relevant details will be published on our website during Global Money Week. Individuals or groups with mentors can register for the competition up until the end of April 2023. We will gather the art entries up until the end of the school year, and will publish the winners in the autumn.

At Banka Slovenije we are aware of the importance of access to financial education, so for all interested groups, especially young people, we organise free education days throughout the year, where they can learn about the work of the central bank and find out more about specific topics such as cash, payments, inflation and price stability, monetary policy, bank supervision, rescuing banks in difficulties and the central credit register. We organise these education sessions for different levels of complexity, and also adapt the content to visitors’ wishes. We invite you to register groups for our in-person or remote education day. You can find the registration form and other information on our website (the posted dates are just for information purposes, and other dates can also be arranged).

You are kindly invited to join us on any of our education days, to visit the Banka Slovenije Museum or take part in our activities and events that will take place during Global Money Week.