Citi Handlowy Leopold Kronenberg Foundation, a part of Citigroup Foundation together with the National Bank of Poland and the Junior Achievement Foundation launched a nationwide program of economic education "My Finances" at Porczynski Gallery in Warsaw on September 16th. The objective of the programme is to increase financial awareness among young people. By 2007 the programme shall reach 216,000 students and 2400 teachers from about 2000 secondary schools.
Economic education is an excellent mental exercise, especially for young people - claims Leszek Balcerowicz, President of the National Bank of Poland - It is important for at least two crucial reasons: firstly, it makes one immune to demagogy and nonsense, secondly, it can help one to make conscious decisions both personal and professional.
The programme shall be implemented in 3 modules:
1. "To start to like Banks" - answers the questions: what is money, how to choose a bank account, what kinds of deposits are offered on the market, how to get a loan and avoid credit traps.
2. "My Investments" - presents forms of saving and investing, rules of functioning of the capital market with its basic instruments such as shares and bonds.
3. "Investing towards Future" - focuses on the new social security system, its legal bases, pension funds, their performance, strategies of saving towards old age, etc.
Our involvement in "My Finances" comes from many years of experience of the Citi Handlowy Leopold Kronenberg Foundation and Citigroup Foundation in promoting economic education and entrepreneurship. It is my belief that financial awareness may greatly enhance the quality of life of Poles and the country's economic development. Volunteers from Citibank Handlowy shall assist in teaching practical skills in the programme - says Sławomir S. Sikora, President of Citibank Handlowy.
The workshops shall have an interesting form - multimedia teaching materials, including films and games, encouraging young people to take active part in the workshops. Some shall be conducted in the branches of Citibank Handlowy where students shall assume the roles of a customer or a bank clerk. The teachers shall go through special training preparing them to conduct the workshops and shall be provided with the opportunity to consult experts.
"My Finances" is a good idea to complement the secondary school curriculum. It is consistent with the aims of the education reform, as it teaches skills necessary in the market economy. The role of the teacher in the programme is to inspire and motivate the students to acquire, deepen and review their knowledge - believes Włodzimierz Grudziński, Chairman of the Board of the Junior Achievement Foundation, Poland.
Surveys conducted for the programme revealed alarmingly low levels of financial awareness among teenagers who do not know how to invest or how banks and other financial institutions work. "My Finances" programme was designed to change this situation. Young Poles who are just about to enter adult life need to learn how to manage their personal finances and to better understand the rules governing the economy and business. Over the two-year period we plan to teach many teenagers countrywide the basics of personal finances, which shall help them to survive in the market economy.
