MONEY MATTERS BVI (MMBVI), the financial literacy education program at the BVI Financial Services Commission (“the Commission”), will again take the lead in the British Virgin Islands’ celebration of GLOBAL MONEY WEEK 2023.
GLOBAL MONEY WEEK (GMW), which is organised by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, International Network on Financial Education (OECD/INFE), is a global awareness-raising campaign on the importance of ensuring that young people, from an early age, are financially aware, and are gradually acquiring the knowledge, skills, attitudes, and behaviours necessary to make sound financial decisions and ultimately achieve financial well-being and financial resilience.
The global youth initiative has grown steadily since its initial launch in 2012; GMW expects to mount participation this year from over 53,000,000 children and young people and has support from over
16,000 organisations in 176 countries worldwide, including the British Virgin Islands. The coordinated effort will see a variety of activities taking place, from financial literacy fairs, financial education workshops, and public debates, to visits to financial institutions.
This year MMBVI has partnered with over 15 local financial institutions to enable over 500 students from schools around the Territory to get behind-the-scenes access and information that will broaden their perspectives regarding the importance of money and what it can facilitate for individuals, businesses, and the economy. The BVI public can also look forward to an exhibit of student competitor banks prepared for the MMBVI annual Piggy Bank Pageant.
GMW will launch on Monday, 20th March, with a digital opening ceremony streamed from Paris; the celebration will run through 26th March. This year’s theme is ‘Plan your money, plant your future’.
Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the BVI Financial Services Commission – Mr Kenneth Baker, again emphasised the importance of messages reinforced by GLOBAL MONEY WEEK, stating that “at the very root of what the BVI represents, as a premier global financial centre is the need to understand how money works and the range of products that are available in the financial market to allow both businesses and individuals to achieve their goals.” Mr Baker added, “this why is it so important for the Commission’s financial education unit to use opportunities like GLOBAL MONEY WEEK to continue to inspire youth toward becoming more financially aware individuals.”