HSBC Malta Foundation has collaborated on a financial literacy programme aimed at young children attending several Skolasajf centres this summer.
Central to this partnership with Ġemma Know, Plan, and Act within the Ministry for the Family, Children’s Rights and Social Solidarity, is a workshop entitled Fact or Fake which takes the form of a game. This workshop was initially developed for year five and year six students and focuses on the development of skills necessary for making responsible purchase judgements when influenced by media advertising. The workshop aims to engage students in discussing the effects of misleading advertisements, thus enabling them to distinguish genuine from deceptive commercials. The workshop will also provide students with the opportunity of designing their own adverts to share with their peers.
David Spiteri-Gingell, team leader of the Ġemma ‒ Know, Plan and Act, said: “Our children should save money for things that they need and for things that are financially worth it. We must give prime importance to financial capability across the board so that kids grow up understanding that one should be aware of price tricks and false advertising.”
Children should save money for things they need
Maths Support Team members and coordinators of the workshop Amanda Cilia and Analisa Magro agree that children must be aware of price tricks, as it is essential to save money and use it wisely.
Dermot Galea, CEO of the Foundation for Educational Services which manages Skolasajf, praised the annual partnership with HSBC and added: “The introduction of the financial literacy topic in the Skolasajf programme was definitely a step in the right direction, helping children to make informed financial choices.”
Glenn Bugeja, manager corporate sustainability at HSBC Malta, added: “HSBC Malta Foundation is highly committed to nurturing the ability in young students to understand and properly apply financial management knowledge and skills by providing learners with opportunities to learn effective financial planning, proper budgeting techniques, prioritising saving and making rational purchasing decisions. That is why we are more than happy to collaborate with and support Ġemma and the Foundation for Educational Services on this important project.”
This project is one of many which HSBC Foundation and Ġemma are running in collaboration to enhance financial literacy among schoolchildren and is scheduled run until the end of August.
For more information about digital financial literacy programmes, visit https://gemma.gov.mt/.