. it is heartening to note that the symposium has attracted 42 paper submissions, with 10 papers shortlisted through a rigorous evaluation process to be presented at this symposium. i trust that these research presentations will offer fresh ideas and innovative solutions that can bridge the gap between theory and practice, to promote better financial education outcomes. i am confident that all your excellent work will inspire many others to contribute highquality research to advance academic literature in the area of financial literacy. with continued participation and support from the academic community, it is my wish to see the national financial literacy symposium become a strong catalyst for advancing 2 / 3 bis - central bankers'speeches research on financial literacy and well - being, both domestically but also at the global stage. perhaps, one day, the symposium itself could be the breeding ground for quality research that earns a nobel prize in economic sciences! before i conclude, allow me to reiterate that advancing financial education and literacy has never been more urgent in today's rapidly evolving economic and technological landscape. this dynamic environment demands greater agility in our approaches to empower consumers to navigate financial challenges and uncertainties effectively. as we gather over the next two days, we are engaging in a mission to drive positive change. i urge each one of us here to actively participate in the symposium, by contributing to the conversations and exchanging ideas that will sharpen our ability to realise our shared goal of empowering communities for sustainable well - being. with that, i wish you all a productive symposium ahead. thank you. 3 / 3 bis - central bankers'speeches

islamic financial services offers significant potential for islamic finance to more effectively mobilise capital towards building social resilience. provision of funds and financial protection can be made more affordable and accessible to a wider community by integrating social finance instruments such as endowment ( waqf ), donation ( sadaqah ) and alms - giving ( zakat ). countries such as indonesia and turkey have successfully integrated social finance within the broader financial ecosystem. to date, islamic financial institutions in malaysia have raised almost usd9. 72 million ( rm40 million ) through waqf and sadaqah platforms to fund projects related to health care, education and entrepreneurship. social finance initiatives are implemented by leveraging on existing infrastructure, expertise and accountability mechanisms within the islamic financial sector. more than 10 different channels are available to enable collection and distribution of social finance funds including via digital means of payment. most recently, a pilot “ blended financing ” programme has been introduced to enable micro - entrepreneurs in the low income group generate more sustainable income from viable business activities. the provision of zakat funds as initial capital is complemented by affordable microfinancing arrangement for working capital and a customised training programme to enhance business productivity. participants of the programme also receive 12 months of business mentoring with impact - based monitoring implemented to monitor the effectiveness of the programme. the pandemic has been a test of resilience for nations around the world. this test also presents many opportunities for the global islamic finance community to accelerate the progress of sustainable and inclusive finance towards achieving shared prosperity, sustainability and inclusive growth. the launch of the two reports on islamic fintech and islamic finance for financial inclusions should be seen as a call for collective action – each one of us has a part to play in 3 / 4 bis central bankers'speeches creating a more sustainable and equitable financial system. i look forward to the discussion on this important topic over the course of today. on this note, i wish to thank the world bank group for this invitation and i wish all of you a productive week. 1 john hopkins university of medicine, coronavirus resource center ( data as at 29 september 2020 ). 2 the 2017 global findex database is the world ’ s most comprehensive data set on how adults in more than 140 economies access accounts, make payments, save, borrow and manage risks. 3 the global gap between richer and poorer account ownership has not narrowed since 2014. the simulations suggest conditions today would correspond to a steep and unprecedented decline in human development. with