The number of countries engaged in this global event and consequently the number of the involved of children and young people has been trended upwards. This year, GMW will take place in around 175 countries and will involve around 40 million children and young people. The global health and economic emergency caused by COVID-19, and its social effects have affected almost all aspects of life to all age groups of the society. We know that different age groups are experiencing these effects in different ways. Hence, related to students and younger people, in addition to health aspect, the pandemic has posed to them challenges in the field of education and employment. For these reasons, it is more important and relevant than ever, to provide them with the required knowledge on the personal finance management and the correct use of banking products. In this context, the theme of this year competitions and activities to take place is “Take care of yourself, take care of your money”. This theme highlights the crucial importance of knowledge in an evolving digitalised and innovative market, which enable people to avoid physical contact while using the financial and banking products, hence providing for a better protection of public health.
In addition, for those who opt for deeper information and knowledge, our website provides didactic tools to better understand aspects of economy and finance which affect the life of all citizens, like: what is economic growth; labour market, circulating flow, how do financial crises spread; what is competition, etc. Also, the elective module “Personal Finance in Your Hands", from some years now integrated in the high school teaching curricula, introduces to students the world of personal finance, informs and shape their needed skill to manage money in a more profitable way. This textbook is supplied and allocated for free to all high schools which elect to study it. It is accompanied with a guideline to teachers of economy subject. A similar approach has been adopted for younger children. Hence, the teaching package tailored for the financial education of pupils in class I, II and III of secondary schools, addresses issues, as: the difference between needs and desires; where does money come from and for what does it serve; the right management of money and savings, etc. This package may be used in free classes; classes dedicated to school projects; or in intra-subject projects. All that I mentioned above, makes clear that the Bank of Albania assesses that financial education should start at an early age. This affirmative sentence constitutes the philosophy of our programmes. The Bank of Albania aims at building up the communication bridges, awarenessraising and financial knowledge empowering to the new generation.