Gent Sejko: Bank of Albania's engagement in financial education
Address by Mr Gent Sejko, Governor of the Bank of Albania, at the opening ceremony of the
Money Week 12-18 March 2018, Tirana, 12 March 2018.
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Dear Mr Pedrazzi,
Dear students, teachers and friends of the Global Week,
Like in previous years, I have the pleasure to welcome you today to our central building, and
thank you for your participation in the Money Week 2018.
This is a special year as it marks a decade of Bank of Albania's engagement in financial
education, which meaningfully started with a Memorandum of Cooperation signed with the
Ministry of Education.
Over these years, financial education and financial inclusion have increasingly held a significant
place in our work, in designing and implementing numerous educational projects.
They are dedicated to different age groups, and consist of a variety of initiatives ranging from
training and brochures to the high school elective module "Personal Finance in Your Hands", the
educational package for the elementary schools and the Albanian Money app.
Moreover, the Museum of the Bank of Albania, our utmost effort in this regard, offers/provides a
multifunctional space, where visitors may not only learn more about the monetary history in
Albania and the central bank, but also deepen their financial literacy and expand their financial
awareness.
As a result of all these valuable experiences, we have been able to participate with dignity in the
Money Week, which, in 2018, is celebrated in more than 135 countries.
The week of 12-18 March 2018 is internationally known as the Money Week. Initiated by Child
and Youth Finance International, with the support of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation
and Development (OECD), and adopted by more than 23.000 organisations across the globe,
the Money Week is an annual financial awareness campaign built to inspire children and young
people to learn about money matters, livelihoods and entrepreneurship.
The celebration of this Week aims at raising the awareness of the younger generation to be
responsible future citizens and capable of making well-informed financial decisions
Following the tradition from the previous years, the Bank of Albania, in cooperation with the
Albanian Association of Banks, with the support of the Ministry of Education, Sports, and Youth,
like many other institutions worldwide, will organize various activities to involve children and
young people, teaching them how to manage money, to save money, to think financially, to
understand the changes in the economic systems where they live, to earn income through
entrepreneurship, and set the foundations for their future through financial literacy. In the light of
these objectives, during the Week, a number of activities will be organised such as lectures,
contests, and visits to commercial banks and the Museum, aimed at including as many students
as possible.
This year's motto "Money: You reap what you sow" highlights the importance of money matters
as a necessary means to achieve and maintain welfare. The activities that will take place during
this Week seek to draw the attention of the children and young people to the significance of
personal finance and the impact of well-informed decisions on the personal success of each one
of us individually, and of the whole society.
Like in any other educational activity of the Bank of Albania, beyond the message that we want to
convey, we consider that the inspiration, originality and pro-active thinking are determinant
elements for an effective comprehension of a complex, at the same time practical, topic such as
finances.
We may proudly say that all the submissions for the contests are characterised by these
elements, thus demonstrating that, though challenging, the financial education of children and
young people may be and is possible. Moreover, their work and commitment is an incentive to us
to introduce more ambitious projects and expand this activity, geographically, each year.
The contests for students from nine-year schools and high schools have been welcomed and
the number of participants has been higher each year. This year, around 55 nine-year schools,
14 high schools, 8 universities and over 1000 pupils and students in 14 cities were involved. This
success is also owed to the teachers and professors, whose passion has contributed to
materialising all these efforts.
Concluding, I would like to thank you all for the insofar cooperation and avail myself of the
opportunity to invite all the participating institutions to continue and intensify the cooperation in the
future, in the commitment to contribute to the future generations and the Albanian society.