Masters of the Digital Future – Banka Slovenije's Debate Project in 2023/2024

In the school year 2023/24, Banka Slovenije organized a debate project Masters of the Digital Future under the patronage of the President of the Republic of Slovenia, Nataša Pirc Musar, and the Governor of Banka Slovenije, Boštjan Vasle. The project was carried out in cooperation with the Slovenian debate organisation Pro et Contra, Institut for culture of dialogue.

As part of this project, primary and secondary school students reflected on and discussed the meaning of digitalisation for the banking system, contemporary payment methods and current economic trends, as well as the impact of digital advances on artificial intelligence, and the rights and responsibilities of individuals associated with AI.

Project programme

Tuesday, 29 August 2023, Banka Slovenije: debate seminar for mentors of the project – presentation of the topics related to finance and debate

Wednesday, 4 October 2023: open doors day and launch of the debate project: an interesting programme for primary and secondary school students

From October to February: workshops on finance and debate in primary and secondary schools

27 January and 3 February 2024: debate tournaments in Osnovna šola Domžale and Gimnazija Ormož

11 May 2024: debate finals and project conclusion – selecting the project winners, with active participation by the Slovenian President and the Banka Slovenije Governor

Prize for the winners: a trip to Frankfurt with a tour of the European Central Bank and a welcome reception at the Presidential Palace.

Debate Finals and project closure

The Masters of the Digital Future Debate Project came to a close with the Debate Finals on Saturday 11 May 2024 at the Union Hotel. The final debate took place between the primary and secondary school finalists of the experienced category, with the active participation of the President of the Republic of Slovenia, Nataša Pirc Musar, and the Governor of Banka Slovenije, Boštjan Vasle.

The title of Masters of the Digital Future was earned by the teams Hitri lenivci from Osnovna šola Domžale, Argumasters from Osnovna šola Venclja Perka, Amethyst from Gimnazija Bežigard and Ledina Malina from Gimnazija Ledina. Prizes were also awarded to the best speakers in both tournaments, with Žan Skube from Osnovna šola Domžale receiving the prize in the primary school tournament and Lara Livaković Kočevar from Gimnazija Kranj receiving the prize in the secondary school tournament. The DGM Ekonomisti team from the II. Gimnazija Maribor received the award for the team that achieved a remarkable breakthrough in the secondary school tournament.

Selection tournament for primary school students

On 27 January 2024, a debate selection tournament was carried out in Osnovna šola Domžale, which brought together 130 students from 20 primary schools. The students, divided into two categories – inexperienced and experienced debaters – competed in a debate on the following topics: 'We should ban the development of artificial intelligence' and 'Financial education should be a compulsory part of the primary school curriculum'.

 In the category of the inexperienced debaters, the Argumasters team from Osnovna šola Venclja Perka won. In the experienced debaters category, the teams Hitri lenivci from Osnovna šola Domžale and Mariposas from the same primary school qualified for the final tournament.

Meet Banka Slovenije – open doors day and launch of a debate project

At Meet Banka Slovenije, students and mentors were addressed by the President of the Republic of Slovenia, Nataša Pirc Musar, and the Governor of Banka Slovenije, Boštjan Vasle. In his address, the Governor expressed his great pleasure that the President had joined our project, talked about the advantages and potential pitfalls of digitalization and concluded by adding:

 It is true that the world has been developing at great speed over the last century thanks to digitalisation, but it is still true that progress and development are not achieved through digitalisation alone. They are achieved above all through dialogue. You know - the best ideas always come from conversation, from presenting different points of view and experiences."

 In continuation, the participants - we hosted more than 200 of them - took part in workshops and work points to learn in an engaging way the basic concepts of financial literacy, such as inflation, credit and interest, savings, payment methods, how to identify counterfeit money; and learned more about the tasks of Banka Slovenije at the Banka Slovenije Museum.

Debate seminar for new and experienced debate mentors

At the Masters of the Digital Future Debate Seminar, debate mentors could participate in a lecture on the role and functioning of Banka Slovenije, which was followed by lectures on payments and payment systems and price stability. In the afternoon, debate experts from Pro et Contra, Institute for culture of dialogue, also delivered a lecture and workshops on debate theory and methodology, giving participants an insight into the skills of argumentation that they will be able to pass on to their students during the course of the project.