The Malta Bankers’ Association (MBA) organised a series of events and activities in conjunction with European Money Week (EMW) and Global Money Week, which this year was held between March 22 and 26.
The EMW 2021 events included also a first ‒ a local competition among eligible students aimed at selecting participants representing Malta for the European Banking Federation (EBF)’s European Money Quiz, which will be held in April.
This was the seventh year that EMW was held in Malta, although last year, almost all events had to be cancelled due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
EMW is characterised by a series of financial education events organised by national banking associations across Europe, under the coordination of the EBF of which the MBA is a member.
“This annual initiative, which is aligned with the OECD’s Global Money Week, sees the involvement of young people in more than 32 European countries. However, this year, most of the activities were held virtually and ranged from competitive sessions to webinars. The aim is to continue to sensitise educators and students to the benefits of better financial education as a means of improving financial literacy. The EMW is thus a crucial part of EBF’s mission to promote financial literacy in Europe through events, publications and partnerships,” Karol Gabarretta, secretary general of the MBA, said.
The MBA’s programme of events was organised in conjunction with the Home Economics Seminar Centre (HESC) within the Department for Curriculum, Lifelong Learning & Employability, Ministry for Education and in collaboration with ĠEMMA, Junior Achievement Young Enterprise Malta Foundation (JAYE), the Central Bank of Malta (CBM) and the Malta Insurance Association (MIA).
Most of the activities were held virtually
This year’s programme departed from the format utilised in previous editions of EMW, which had focused almost exclusively on the utilisation of banking products to foster financial literacy. Instead, the MBA and its partners collaborated to encompass interventions with a more comprehensive financial significance, and for a wider audience.
EMW 2021’s week-long programme was officially inaugurated on March 22, with a virtual address from the Minister for Education Justyne Caruana and kicked off with the announcement of the winning students who competed in the Financial Literacy Challenge for Year 4 to Year 11 students, aged eight to 16 years.
The students from the participating primary and secondary schools, planned and implemented an activity with the theme ‘Take care of yourself, take care of your money’, aimed at promoting awareness related to financial literacy, education and inclusion. Vouchers for €250 and €150 were awarded by the MBA to the first- and second-placed students respectively from both primary and secondary schools.
A train-the-trainer event namely, a professional development training session for educators with the theme ‘Financial literacy ‒ a lifelong experience’, was held on March 23. Speakers from the CBM, the MIA, ĠEMMA and JAYE, developed themes connected with the wider definition and concept of financial literacy.
EMW 2021 in Malta will, however, be primarily remembered as being the first time that a local competition was held among eligible students to select participants for the EBF’s European Money Quiz. The local event, held on March 24, resulted in the selection of two students who will now compete in the grand final of the European Money Quiz scheduled to be held virtually on April 20. The MBA awarded vouchers to the two finalists.
On March 25, speakers from JAYE Malta Foundation organised a webinar with the theme ‘Europe my business’, as an interactive programme to explore the relationship between the natural, human and capital resources found in different countries.
EMW 2021 concluded on March 26 with an initiative which was also successfully held in previous editions of the Money Week, namely the ‘Be Wise – Pay Smart’ programme. This event showcased a number of educational videos written, acted and directed by staff from the HESC and commissioned and funded by the MBA for use in schools. The participants comprised Year 10 students aged 14 to 15 years following the Core Curriculum Programme and Year 9, 10 and 11 students aged 13 to 16 years following the PTI Achieve Programme. Teachers from the HESC together with representatives of the MBA’s members, namely BOV and HSBC, acted as facilitators during this event.