Banka Slovenije has been strengthening its efforts to improve the financial literacy of children and young people. One such example is the Bodi FIN project, which we organised this school year in cooperation with the Ministry of Finance, with approximately 3,000 students from 85 different primary schools across Slovenia taking part. The project ran throughout the school year, and concluded with a ceremony where the attendees heard speeches by Finance Minister Klemen Boštjančič and Acting Governor Primož Dolenc. Both remarked that the students showed good knowledge of financial issues, and that projects of this kind help to increase the inclusion of this type of content in the education process.
Banka Slovenije organises a number of activities with the aim of strengthening its efforts to improve the financial literacy of children and young people. A new highlight of this school year is the Bodi FIN project (be a financial whizzkid). The project was launched in cooperation with the Ministry of Finance, and was aimed at students in the fourth to ninth grades of primary school. Around 3,000 students from 85 different primary schools across Slovenia took part. Mentors were sent exercises to prepare their students for the competition, with extra help from workshops delivered at school by Banka Slovenije staff. A nationwide schools competition was held during Global Money Week, with 92 of the competition participants receiving gold awards. The aim of the project is to take a step forward in educating young people about financial issues, while emphasising the importance of including financial knowledge in the education process.
The project concluded with a ceremony where the attendees heard speeches by Finance Minister Klemen Boštjančič and Acting Governor Primož Dolenc. In his opening remarks the minister said: “Today’s event is not merely the end of a project; it’s the beginning of knowledge that will serve you for the rest of your life. Financial literacy is not just knowing how to handle money. It’s so much more. It’s knowing how to understand the world around us, how to make smart decisions, how to plan for the future, and how to be responsible, whether to ourselves or to others. In recent months you’ve learned about how banks function, why it’s good to save, how to budget, and also what’s meant by security when using the internet. All of this falls under financial literacy too. And all of this makes you more independent, confident, and ready for the future.”
The Acting Governor highlighted the large number of students participating in the project: “The high level of participation is testimony to the fact that as adults we often think, quite incorrectly, young people are not interested in their finances, or simply find it boring. But this is not the case, as all of you gathered here today prove. You show that young people are interested in a variety of subjects that need not always be casual or fleeting, but rather are of great importance when it comes to your futures. Certainly, one of the main challenges of adulthood is acting responsibly when it comes to personal finances, which can cause trouble for many a grown adult. So we should be aware that only a financially educated individual can manage their personal finances carefully and responsibly, and evidently you too are well aware of this.”
