2015-11-12
International forum in Vilnius: The purpose of financial education is to not only provide knowledge, but change behaviour as well
Today, on 12 November, at the international forum initiated by the Bank of Lithuania, which is being held in Vilnius, experts, academicians and practitioners are holding discussions on the challenges of education and future possibilities.
“In today’s dynamic financial world, when the consumer has many choices and can implement financial solutions by a single push of the button, providing knowledge in implementing financial education programmes alone is not enough. It is more important to develop the skills and habits of residents’ personal finances management,” said Ingrida Šimonytė, Deputy Chair of the Board of the Bank of Lithuania.
According to her, financial education is a rather new field both in Lithuania and in the neighbouring countries. Therefore, this international discussion at the same time encourages deriving knowledge from successful experiences or learning from mistakes.
During the event, representatives of Latvia, Estonia, Poland and Lithuania will present national financial education initiatives. The international researchers Matthias Weber from the Research Centre of the Bank of Lithuania and Vilnius University as well as Leonore Riitsalu from Tartu University and the Estonian Business School will reveal how to apply the principles of behavioural economics in changing residents’ financial attitudes and encouraging rational behaviour in dealing with personal finances.
Bianca Isaincu, representative of Child and Youth Finance International, will share her experiences in the second part of the Forum. She will invite to discuss on how children’s and youth’s financial education can be developed at schools and what measures could be taken in order to ensure wider possibilities for children and youths to use financial services securely.
A “Money Bee” week for young people, arranged by the Bank of Lithuania, also begins today, with its purpose being to encourage students to plan their personal budget and take financial decisions responsibly. For more information on this and to register for the event, go here.
Having in early 2012 focused financial market supervision at the Bank of Lithuania, financial education became one of its priority fields of activity. In 2013, the Board of the Bank of Lithuania approved The Financial Education Conception and the financial education website www.pinigubite.lt was created. Research on Lithuanian residents’ financial literacy is carried out on a periodical basis; Children’s Financial Education Weeks, seminars for the public, other events are organised.