For the fifth year running, the Malta Bankers’ Association (MBA) is organising a series of events and activities in preparation for the European Money Week, being held between March 25 and 29.
The Money Week is an initiative of the European Banking Federation and is aimed at promoting financial education and financial literacy among students and youths. National banking associations throughout the EU participate in this initiative, which reflects the banking industry’s strategic aim of boosting awareness on the benefits of better financial education among youths and the community at large.
The MBA’s programme of events focuses on this theme and is organised in collaboration with the Home Economics Seminar Centre within the Department for Curriculum, Lifelong Learning and Employability, the Central Bank of Malta, Finance Malta, the Institute of Financial Services and Global Payments Ltd.
This year’s programme includes an innovative event which targets sixth formers. A presentation dealing with cybersecurity and payments will be facilitated to students of those colleges which have accepted the invitation to participate in this event with a view to raising awareness among students as to the cybersecurity issues which may arise when they are effecting online payments.
Two successful events were introduced in past years and have again been included in this year’s programme. One is the ‘Financial Literacy Challenge’ for Year 5 to Year 8 students aged nine to 13 years. The participating school teams have to plan and implement an activity aimed at promoting awareness related to financial literacy, education and inclusion. Cash prizes awarded by the MBA to the winning and second-placed teams are to be used to fund initiatives related to financial literacy.
The other event focuses on teacher professional development training. Home Economics teachers are being invited to participate in a seminar entitled ‘Financial Literacy Education for Educators’. The seminar is aimed at equipping participants with knowledge, skills and competencies to address innovations in financial-literacy related topics.
Other events include a ‘Money Matters’ programme for Year 6 pupils, the ‘Be Wise – Pay Smart’ programme for Year 10 students following the Core Curriculum Programme and Year 9, 10 and 11 students following the Prince’s Trust International Achieve Programme.