In cooperation with the Ministry of Finance, Banka Slovenije held an open day to mark the official launch of its financial literacy projects in the current school year. To open the event, around 400 visiting children listened to speeches by Acting Governor Primož Dolenc and Finance Minister Klemen Boštjančič. They both highlighted the importance of projects of this kind, and drew their young audience’s attention to the benefits and potential pitfalls brought by the modern digital world.
As part of its efforts to improve the financial literacy of children and young people, Banka Slovenije has been pursuing a number of activities. Each year we include extra projects in our programmes, where we also take the opportunity to work with other institutions. In this school year we will therefore once again run the Masters of the Digital Future project under the patronage of President Nataša Pirc Musar, which this year will also have an international element, and the Bodi FIN project, which is being organised in conjunction with the Ministry of Finance, with Finance Minister Klemen Boštjančič at the helm.
To mark the official launch of the two projects, we organised an open day in cooperation with the Ministry of Finance. The visitors of the open day – we hosted over 400 students and teacher – were given a good grounding in a number of financial topics through a programme of education and entertainment. The students and mentors were welcomed with speeches by Acting Governor Primož Dolenc and Finance Minister Klemen Boštjančič.
In his speech Mr Dolenc highlighted the link between financial and digital literacy: “The world is changing, and with it our ways of paying, saving and investing. It’s therefore vital to keep learning for the whole of our life. Knowledge is like a muscle: if we don’t use it and develop it, it weakens. The digital euro, contactless payments, cryptocurrencies, online banking – all of these are concepts that you young people are already familiar with. But digitalisation also brings challenges, and digital literacy will therefore be just as important as financial literacy.”
Mr Boštjančič reminded everyone that Bodi FIN is not just a school activity but is also a project where students gain knowledge that they will use all of their lives: how to think about money, the value of work, and smart decisions. He called on the students to stay curious, to think boldly, and to never stop asking “why”.
“With the knowledge that you acquire today, you can build a future where you’ll know how to act responsibly – with money, with time and with confidence.”
Participants in the Masters of the Digital Future project will deliberate the euro in the digital age. The project will conclude in May with a grand international debate finale, at which other central banks will also actively participate. Participants in the Bodi FIN project will address financial issues related to digital security. The project concludes in March next year with a nationwide schools competition that tests financial knowledge. The aim of both projects is to take a step forward in educating young people on financial issues, and at the same time to emphasise the importance of including finance-related content in the education process.
