PRESS RELEASE
Bank of Albania undertakes the initiative and launches the awareness campaign: “Neither old nor new, I am simply Lek!”

On 17 November 2021, the Bank of Albania launched the awareness campaign: ”Neither old nor new, I am simply Lek!”, in a ceremony organised on this occasion at its premises. This initiative of the Bank of Albania aims at making the public aware on the elimination of the outdated terms “new lek” -”old lek” in their day-to-day financial operations. The use of this terminology continues triggering confusion over times.

 

With a view to avoid this confusion, the Bank of Albania has undertaken a national campaign from some years so far, to highlight that the Albanian currency is simply the Lek, and its face value is the one written on the coins or banknotes.

 

The launching ceremony of this campaign started with opening addresses by the Governor of the Bank of Albania, Mr Gent Sejko, Prof.  Dr. Adrian Civici, Associated Academic in the Academy of Sciences of Albania, and Dr. Valbona Treska, President of the Order of Psychologists of Albania.

 

In his address, Governor Sejko stated that the Bank of Albania is undertaking this initiative in the framework of its role in the field of financial education and in fulfilling the recommendations of the Albanian Assemble, which are embodied in the resolutions on the assessment of our institution's activity.

 

Mr Sejko pointed out that the Bank of Albania has earlier paved the way to the launching of this awareness campaign, through the preparation and delivery of various material and activities on this purpose, while it has been attentive to include this message in its educational publications and programmes. Also, the Bank of Albania has conducted a survey to measure the degree of the use of the terminology “new lek” - “old lek”, on a national level. Results from the survey show that the phenomenon on the incorrect communication of the lek value is perpetually present in our society, as more than half of the interviewees either wrongly identify or read the lek value.  Also, it is found out that the wrong communication of the lek value varies across socio-demographic groups, by: age, education level, employment, level of income, etc.

 

Against this backdrop, the Bank of Albania decided to take this thorough awareness campaign, which will extend in time and affect various groups of interest. The Bank of Albania, for realising this campaign, will collaborate with the relevant institutions, aiming at establishing a comprehensive platform with communication means and channels, as:

• Ministry of Education and Sports to hold lectures dedicated to pupils and high school students at the Museum of the Bank of Albania;
• Universities to deliver lectures in auditors with experts of economy, psychology, etc.;
• The Audio-visual Media Authority (AMA) to make media aware to avoid and eliminate the use of this terminology;
• Chamber of Commerce to enhance the awareness across trade units in this regard and with the aimed at that prices be expressed only in national currency; 
• Other national and local institutions to deliver the leaflets and posters prepared by the Bank of Albania for this purpose.

 

 

At the end of this launching ceremony, on behalf the Bank of Albania, Governor Sejko invited all the above-stated institution to join this meaningful and demanding commitment to educate the Albanian public, with a view to abandoning forever the use of these outdated terms in the economic and financial interactions, and definitely turning it into a linguistic relict.

 

The Bank of Albania recalls on that our currency is neither old nor new, but it is simply Lek!