the cbc and external scientific collaborators, all of whom are here with us today. the formulation of the national strategy drew heavily from the results of the cbc survey on financial literacy. a key finding of the survey was that the average financial knowledge score in cyprus is below the minimum level considered by the oecd as sufficient for someone to be counted as financially literate. the results of the survey also indicate specific population groups, which are in greater need for financial education such as the young, the unemployed, women, low income and lower 2 / 5 bis - central bankers'speeches education citizens, and individuals who did not take economics courses during secondary education. they also indicate specific domains where lack of financial knowledge is evident, namely, interest compounding and diversification. one of the main parameters of the national strategy to promote financial literacy and financial education in cyprus relates to the need of the establishment of a permanent committee, which will be responsible for the national strategy implementation. the ad hoc committee continues to operate for a transitional period until this permanent committee is convened. for the time being, significant preparatory work has been undertaken by the cbc, particularly as regards the designing of the detailed governance structure of the new permanent committee. another piece of preparatory work undertaken since the adoption of the national strategy last june, is the launching of an oecd technical assistance project, in the context of a 250, 000 euro grant from the european commission, in relation to the implementation of specific actions for the promotion of financial literacy in cyprus. the work on the agreed pillars of the project is progressing according to plan, with close collaboration between cbc staff and oecd technocrats. these pillars are, first, the conduct of an updated national survey on financial literacy in cyprus, second, the development of a website and application for smart devices that would provide useful information and financial calculators and tools to the public, and third, the development of a " train the trainers " program for adults, which would focus on strengthening financial education. the abovementioned preparatory work undertaken at the cbc, will be utilised as input by the permanent committee for the implementation of the national strategy in cyprus. in addition to this work, let me also mention a few other areas related to financial literacy where the cbc is currently actively involved. first, since 2022 the cbc has assumed a coordinating role for the global money week in cyprus, a global public - awareness campaign coordinated by the oecd annually, aiming at raising awareness among young people on the

importance of strengthening financial literacy, skills, attitudes and behaviours. in fact, this conference is organised in the context of the global money week in cyprus for 2023. also, the cbc has recently become a full member of the international network on financial education ( infe ) of the oecd, in which it aspires to have an active role in the network's activities. finally, i would like to mention that the cbc continues to devote resources on research of this topic, particularly in examining the link between financial literacy and financial stability. according to preliminary findings from the 4th wave of the household finance and consumption survey in cyprus, financially illiterate individuals are 7 - 11 % more likely to have late loan payments, providing evidence on the negative correlation between the level of financial literacy and financial stability risks. the analysis is still work in progress. more extensive results on the issue are expected from further analysis as well as from the new more elaborate survey on which we are collaborating with the oecd. concluding remarks 3 / 5 bis - central bankers'speeches let me conclude by reiterating that this conference is a milestone event and sets the pace for a new era in cyprus. an era whereby all efforts for the promotion of financial literacy and education in cyprus are coordinated under the national strategy umbrella, so as to enhance the well - being and prosperity of cypriot citizens and to support the financial resilience and sustainable economic growth in the country. as governor of the central bank of cyprus my promise is to assist the new permanent committee's role in implementing the national strategy, as we also ensured that the cbc prioritises and leads this initiative since the very first establishment of the committee in december 2020. in this conference, we brought together a top - notch group of experts from both cyprus and abroad, that can exchange expert views and share with us their knowledge on best practices from other countries'experiences. i would like to mention by [ surname ] alphabetical order, professor panayiotis andreou from the cyprus university of technology, dr sophia anyfantaki from the bank of greece, professor adele atkinson from the university of birmingham, dr maria demertzis from bruegel, professor michael haliassos from goethe university frankfurt, professor alexander michaelides from imperial college london, professor andreas milidonis from the university of cyprus, dr elena miteva from the organisation of economic co - operation and development ( oecd ), professor dennis philip from durham university and dr