On 12 March 2018, the Money Week 2018 was launched at the Bank of Albania. With diverse activities, the Week is a global money celebration, which aims to raise the awareness among children and youth to be responsible citizens in the future, able to take well-informed financial decisions.

This year marks a decade of Bank of Albania’s engagement in financial education, which meaningfully started with the Memorandum of Cooperation signed with the Ministry of Education. This is the fifth year that the Bank of Albania, in cooperation with the Ministry of Education, Sports and Youth, the Albanian Association of Banks, and other partners organize educational activities for children and youth in the context of the Money Week.

During 12-18 March 2018, the Bank of Albania, in cooperation with the Albanian Association of Banks and the support of the Ministry of Education, Sports and Youth, will organize various activities for children and youth. Financial education, more specifically how to manage money, to save money, and to think financially will be at the focus of the activities. The activities will consist of lectures, competitions, visits to the Museum of the Bank of Albania and commercial banks and open classes.

The Governor of the Bank of Albania, Mr Gent Sejko, and the Chairman of the Albanian Association of Banks, Mr Silvio Pedrazzi addressed the ceremony.

In his opening address, Governor Sejko stressed the commitment of the Bank of Albania on financial education, through the implementation of educational programmes and the preparation of textbooks dedicated to primary and secondary schools.

He underlined also the motto of this activity “Money: You reap what you sow”, which emphasizes the importance of money matters. Governor Sejko added that beyond the messages the Bank wants to convey, it values ​​the inspiration, authenticity and pro-active thinking as the most effective way to comprehend this complex yet practical topic.

Furthermore, Governor Sejko stated that through the educational activities planned throughout this Week, the Bank of Albania seeks to draw the attention of children and youth to the significance of personal finances and the impact of well-informed decisions on the personal success of each individual and of the society as a whole.

The ceremony continued with the awards for the winners of the three contests organized by the Bank of Albania and the Albanian Association of Banks on the occasion of the Money Week.

The first “Money: You reap what you sow!” contest targeted sixth graders, who presented creative projects, like drawing and installations, which clearly transmit their concept of money management. Overall, 70 projects were presented by 144 pupils of 21 primary schools.

The best video was another contest inviting high school students to present their messages on “Money: You reap what you sow!” through a video no longer than 2 min. The video could be produced by an individual or a team. In total, 24 videos were presented by 40 students from 14 high schools in Albania, of which 3 winners were announced.

The third contest was for the best essay on "Does the use of the euro in the commercial transactions in Albania pose a risk?" University students were invited to write argumentative essays no longer than 1500 words, conform to academic writing criteria.

• Governor Sejko: Address at the opening ceremony of the Money Week 12-18 March 2018
• Opening of the Money Week
• Highlights of Money Week
• Photo