Financial education and the AAB
During the journey of humanity, money was born and evolved as a companion tool, but never as indispensable in the personal life of each person as now in the effects of the fourth industrial revolution. The human existence today, his well-being, career, striving for progressivity, competition, and the requirement to be able to move forward at any moment are inextricably linked with money management, knowledge of the use of personal finances, and decision-making and risks that accompanies us through our economic and financial life. But without mystifying and hyperbolizing money itself!
So, the conditions bring us to a situation whether want to or not, we are forced to fight and deal with money. And it is not about a minority of people, as they may have been considered in the past, but about the population as a whole. Knowledge of income, tax and pension obligations, disposable income, expenses, priorities, savings, clear short-term and long-term objectives, loans, and financial markets is essential. Knowledge of concepts such as interest rate, compound interest rate (recapitalization), inflation, and deflation affect our financial life and consequently our level of well-being.
For all these reasons, about a decade ago, the OECD took the initiative for financial education, for the awareness of institutions and individuals about the need for financial knowledge, building for this purpose an annual campaign like “Money Week” that is organized every beginning spring in about 176 countries in the world.
AAB is part of this awareness campaign for informing the public and providing essential financial knowledge. This is part of AAB’s activity, evidenced by the initiatives organized during Money Week (together with the Bank of Albania), the preparation of informative videos, leaflets, lectures, school meetings, participation in visual media, organization of forums, writings, and publications various, organized games, publications, etc. The translation of the book “First steps in finance” by Gunnar Baldvinsson, a simple, short, concise, clarifying book for all those who need basic knowledge in personal finance is the latest presentation. Available in electronic version, you can read it from any electronic device – computer, tablet, smartphone.
AAB remains determined to contribute in various ways to raise awareness of the public to learn about personal finance, in addition to efforts made with the structures of the education system to improve this knowledge in the teaching curricula. In these efforts, AAB is not alone, but part of a group composed of state institutions and other non-profit organizations to build a national strategy for financial education.
Spiro Brumbulli
Secretary General
Albanian Association of Banks