The Institute of Financial Services – Malta recently organised a national seminar on ‘The need for Financial Education at Secondary School Level’. The seminar took place as part of the dissemination activities of the European Financial Education Partnership – an EU lifelong learning programme project in collaboration with the Education, Audio-Visual and Cultural Executive Agency.
IFS Malta is an associate partner of this project through its membership of the European Banking and Financial Services Training Association.
Following an introductory address from IFS Malta vice-president Peter Calleya, the seminar was addressed by two guest speakers who participated in the EFEP project.
Prof. Mario Spatafora, EBTN vice-president, gave a presentation about the current situation and prospects of financial literacy, where he focused on the key findings and challenges of the EFEP project.
This was followed by a well received presentation from Valerie Bauckham from the Chartered Institute of Bankers in Scotland, who spoke about the practical considerations of implementing a financial education programme in secondary schools based on her many years of first-hand experience in delivering the programme in Scotland.
Prof. Spatafora concluded the session by speaking about the outcomes of the recent OECD financial education conference in Madrid.
The seminar continued with a panel discussion to consider and assess the necessity of financial education at secondary school level in Malta.
The panel was chaired by training consultant Victor Rizzo Giusti from VRG Consult and included Geoffrey Bezzina, director consumer affairs of the MFSA; Suzanne Piscopo, nutrition, family and consumer specialist, University of Malta; Leonid MacKay, head of the community outreach unit, Caritas; and Josephine Vassallo, assistant director, curriculum, Education Directorate.
Similar dissemination seminars are being held in several countries across Europe and the final summative conference of the EFEP project is taking place in Brussels in September.