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. * * * 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

ardian fullani : responsible finance in albania speech by mr ardian fullani, governor of the bank of albania, at the international conference “ responsible finance in albania ”, jointly organized by the bank of albania, the kreditanstalt fur wiederaufbau ( kfw ) entwicklungsbank and the european fund for southeast europe ( efse ), tirana, 23 march 2010. * * * it is with great pleasure that i open the proceedings of this important forum entitled “ responsible finance ”. this concept is being ever - increasingly mentioned in the discussion topics and macro finance debates, in particular following the 2008 events. participation in this forum pushed me to find an accurate definition for this concept. “ responsible finance ” can be summarized as practices that are designed to create a fair balance of interests between a finance institution and other stakeholders. in fact, my search made me realize that this concept may perhaps best describe in a single designation the wide - ranging efforts of the bank of albania in the last 3 – 4 years with respect to banking and financial supervision, monetary policy and public education. responsible finance is an encompassing topic that affects and should be applied by all financial market players. it implies a phenomenon that goes beyond prudential supervision since it is a necessity to guarantee both the financial and macroeconomic soundness of an economy. this philosophy cannot be reduced merely to the best business principles and practices but it also summarizes the desire and goal to assist the poor groups of the population and remove poverty by providing more affordable borrowing and prudence that guarantees their economic success. responsible finance focuses on guaranteeing the system ’ s customers ’ rights, however the requirements and practices of responsible finance are first and foremost a guarantee for the soundness of financial institutions and therefore of the entire financial system. responsible finance at the bank of albania has focused on three main directions : banking supervision transparency and accountability education first, responsible finance cannot be understood as a phenomenon and responsibility to be left to the market players ’ own initiative. it should be grasped not merely as a right but also as an obligation of all market players. if you agree to this principle, then you should be an advocate and promoter – indeed, this is the position of the bank of albania as far as this is concerned. from a central bank ’ s point of view, responsible finance begins with sound supervision of the banking and financial system. it constitutes an obligation for the central bank to provide the savers with the right of having