the digital financial inclusion as one of the main priorities in its financial inclusion action plan stressing financial education and consumer protection complemented with regulation as key factors in protecting and empowering the most vulnerable groups. therefore, we are very grateful that the infe oecd and the ministry of finance of the netherlands accepted our request for workshop on digital financial services and financial education. bearing in mind the importance of financial education in a dynamic and innovative financial 2 / 3 bis central bankers'speeches system, there is unquestioned need for an innovative and systemic approach based on our strategy for financial education and financial inclusion. in general, the central banks together with other financial regulatory authorities play the leading role. the last survey on financial literacy of adults in south east europe done by oecd ( 2020 ) revealed that the national bank of the republic of north macedonia is the most trusted among central banks in the region as provider of financial education. however, the active participation of other stakeholders from the private and civil sector is more that welcome to achieve this mission. last but not least, as socially responsible institutions, we have a mutual obligation to work together closely and constructively and to exploit available synergies for the benefits of the overall population and society. in this view, the adoption of the code of good practices was among the first activities envisaged in the strategy that provides a framework for implementing financial education activities by all stakeholders and effective cooperation between the regulators, private and civil entities, with the final aim of better using available resources and providing efficient educational programs. the financial education in general, especially educating young people, is a worthy investment that will help in building the country ’ s future and it is just another pillar of the financial stability. therefore, i wish all public and private stakeholders fruitful cooperation in the financial education process, which i believe is a guarantee for successful achievements of our mutual mission – higher financial literacy for higher prosperity. thank you for your attention! 3 / 3 bis central bankers'speeches

anita angelovska bezhoska : the national strategy for financial education and financial inclusion in north macedonia address by ms anita angelovska bezhoska, governor of the national bank of the republic of north macedonia, at the workshop “ the national strategy for financial education and financial inclusion in north macedonia : coordinated efforts for enhancing financial literacy in north macedonia ”, video conference, 16 september 2021. * * * dear deputy minister of finance, dear representatives of financial regulators, dear representatives of the dutch ministry of finance and the oecd, representatives of the international fora in the country, colleagues from the private and non - government sector, it is my great pleasure to address you at this virtual event devoted to financial literacy and education. first, let me use this opportunity to express our deepest gratitude to the dutch ministry of finance and the international network on financial education at the oecd for their support and high - level expertise provided within the regional technical assistance project on financial education. at this very point, i have no doubt that we all profoundly understand the concept of financially literate and financially included citizens, and its importance for the overall prosperity of our societies. as a central bank, highly aware of the former, we have imprinted financial education and inclusion as a separate strategic goal, and along with other financial regulators, we have streamlined joint vision and efforts in the recently adopted first national strategy on financial education. i do believe that the roadmap that we paved will lift financial skills of the citizens and the level of their inclusion, making them cognizant of all the possibilities, but of the potential threats as well. the importance of financial literacy does have enduring origins, yet it gained prominence after the global financial crisis. unfortunately, it was a bitter way of learning how low level of financial literacy and risk awareness can contribute to a large - scale financial crisis. of course, there is no single cause or a single player in conceiving a crisis. so was the case with this one as well. but in this crisis episode, the illiteracy played an important role. in the united states, “ the development of a speculative bubble and its burst was also due to the reckless financial behaviours of households, including the most vulnerable ones who contracted mortgages they should not have subscribed considering their financial situation. actually, individuals were often not aware of the risks they were exposed to ”. it collapsed the u. s. financial system, and given the tight financial linkages