9th November 2019, Skopje – Improvement of the financial literacy of citizens enables them to make more effective decisions for their personal finances, which in turn has effects on the economy as a whole – therefore, children need to be financially educated from an early age. This was pointed out at the award ceremony at the occasion of the traditional competition for art and literary works at the occasion of World Savings Day and Insurance Day, announced by the Ministry of Finance, the National Bank and the Insurance Supervisory Agency.
The event held at the Ministry of Finance was attended by the Minister of Finance, Nina Angelovska, the Governor of the National Bank, Anita Angelovska-Bezoska and the President Council of Experts of the Insurance Supervision Agency, Klime Poposki.
Minister of Finance, Angelovska pointed out that the analyses showed that financial literacy is by two to three times higher in the developed economies than the financial literacy in the developing economies. She stressed that, in a time of wide range of financial instruments and services, citizens need to be financially educated so as to be able to make the right decisions.
– In our country, the latest evaluation carried out by GFK Agency showed that the financial literacy of population has much room for improvement through financial education. Financial education needs to be strengthened for all ages in order to reap the benefits first, and second to enhance self-protection mechanisms of consumers themselves, so they can make a realistic assessment based upon their personal knowledge. Promoting financial literacy is important so that when we talk about increasing fiscal transparency, they can understand those data, thereby being able to form the public opinion and to both improve and put pressure on the institutions, so that we can all together improve ourselves – Minister Angelovska said.
– In the past period, we, as a Central Bank, intensively invested in the area of financial education and as of this year, in encouraging the financial inclusion itself. Given that the surveys show relatively lower literacy among young people, i.e. that only 40% of young people at the age of 18-24 have the minimum required financial literacy most of our activities are focused on the younger population – the Governor of the National BankAnita Angelovska-Bezoska said.
She also announced that intensive activities have been undertaken with respect to our first National Strategy on Financial Education and Financial Inclusion, which is expected to be adopted next year. It will incorporate the overall experience gained over the past years, the recommendations of the relevant international institutions and organizations and the best practice in this field.
President of the Council of Experts of the Insurance Supervision Agency, Klime Poposki stressed that the early financial education was the key factor for long-term development and stability of the financial system in a country. Research in developed countries shows a high level of correlation between the financial education and literacy and the well-being of the population.
Poposki said that the Insurance Supervision Agency as a regulator of the insurance market, has been undertaking numerous activities in the field of financial education for many years backwards, among which issuing useful brochures and pamphlets, social games for young people which help them learn about the risks and coping therewith, as well organizing regular lectures in both primary and secondary schools. By the end of this year, an interactive portal will be launched, aimed at educating the citizens and raising the awareness of the dangers of risks and the need for insurance as an instrument for protection against financial losses.
However, the competition for literary and art works of pupils at the occasion of the World Savings Day and the Insurance Day has already become a tradition. This year, over 1,000 students from primary and secondary schools across the country applied for the competition, while 18 pupils were awarded and 32 were praised. Competition is aimed at enriching the knowledge of pupils in the field of saving and insurance by creative expression and learning.
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