GMW GOES DIGITAL

The 2021 edition of GMW was different from previous editions because of its mostly digital nature. Due to the public health situation caused by the evolving COVID-19 pandemic, most participating countries decided to implement the GMW this year exclusively digitally. The shift to digital means represented an opportunity to reach more young people. At the same time, it presented some challenges, such as limited direct interaction with young people and the risk of leaving behind young people with limited access to digital devices, or with low levels of digital literacy.

Online quizzes, online games, social media messages, social media contests, video competitions, webinars and online presentations are just some examples of the activities carried out throughout the week around the world. A few examples are highlighted below.2

For the first time, thanks to the digital environment, several events involved students and teachers from multiple countries. For example, participants from five Portuguesespeaking countries (Brazil, Angola, Portugal, Mozambique and Cape Verde) shared their experiences on financial education in joint events and had the opportunity to get to know the specifics and culture of each country. In Moldova, the FINTRIVIA quiz engaged Moldovan youngsters living in 10 different countries in a contest focused on finance facts and curiosities. Another multi-country activity was implemented through the European Money Quiz, an initiative of the European Banking Federation mostly taking place on line.

Digital tools allowed some participating institutions to reach young people more widely than in the past. For instance, the Egyptian Banking Institute and partners widened the scope of their target audience and covered more than 25 financial education topics using different delivery modules to fit each targeted segment. The launch of the Week in Russia was held online on the biggest social network, Vkontakte. It allowed to engage more than 1.5 million participants through 16 hours of online broadcasting with over 70 speakers including bloggers, journalists, entrepreneurs, experts from the Ministry of Finance, the Central Bank and leading companies. The digital environment also allowed more than 10,000 students in Belgium to engage with several Ministers through virtual courses on financial education and live sessions with questions and answers.

The shift to digital delivery also encouraged many organisations to develop new financial education games. Sweden leveraged on the GMW to launch Pengalabbet (The Money Laboratory), an online educational game for children about everyday economics developed by the Economic Museum and the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority. In Germany, young people had the opportunity to participate in an online escape game, where they had 30 minutes to collect information and to reach the end of the game. The Financial Compass Foundation in Hungary also released an online financial “escape room” for individual players. Bank of Thailand also launched an online “Money Game”, a web-based financial literacy game consisting of nine levels through which financial education concepts are conveyed (such as saving for emergency fund, money management tips, and basic concepts of investing). During the live playing sessions, the Bank of Thailand could follow the answers given by participants to the questions set up at the end of the sessions, and found that the game had successfully manage to transmit key messages to those playing it.

 Malaysia GMW2021

Online contests have also been an effective way of exploiting the features of digital delivery. The IFEC in Hong Kong, China organized a territory-wide online Money Management Challenge for kindergarten, primary and tertiary students jointly with education and NGO partners across various digital and social media platforms. Participants in kindergarten and primary school were encouraged to present their goal-setting and saving ideas through role-playing, story-telling, accompanied by drawings, arts and crafts or animation, and to submit their entries via video clips. As tertiary students tend to be very active on social media, they were challenged to create text and video content around the topics of money management, digital scams and investment, which were then turned into Facebook and Instagram posts to share with their peers and encourage more awareness around personal financial management. Bank of Albania organised the “Best post on Facebook” contest on the topic “The impact of Covid-19 on the economy and care for personal finances during a pandemic”, while the National Bank of Georgia (NBG) and the national Financial Education Platform organized a country-wide Facebook contest for schoolchildren on the topic of money and the world of money. Based on their answers to questions, 15 winners were selected and awarded by NBG. A Global Money Week Social Media Challenge was also organized by the Central Bank of Nigeria for young people aged 18-35. The Challenge was deployed on Twitter and Instagram. Over 2,200 entries were received and the top 10 were invited to a virtual grand finale on March 31st. The top 3 finalist were selected by a panel of judges drawn from relevant stakeholders. The National Bank of Ukraine organised the virtual flash mob challenge ‘Dance like Moneyman’, where Moneyman was the hero of the special microsite for the GMW 2021 campaign.

 Malaysia GMW2021

Types of activities organised during GMW 2021

Activity Type

Financial education workshops/lectures online Financial education workshops/lectures in person Financial education games online Financial education games in person Virtual national Launch of GMW National Launch of GMW in person Quiz or competition online Quiz or competition in person Writing essays competition/creative competition Virtual visits to stock exchange Visits to stock exchange in person Virtual visits to money museum Visits to money museum in person Online Youth Talks Media - Radio show Podcasts

Total number of countries and economies which implemented the activity

82 51 54 21 58 11 59 19 38

9 4 19 12 51 42 19

Note: Includes data from Hong Kong, China Source: GMW post-reporting forms, as reported by participating organisations and countries

Several countries organised online live discussions with students on different topics related to money, allowing for peer interaction but also engagement with national experts. For example, the Royal Monetary Authority of Bhutan developed the “FinLit Edu Chronicle”, whereby young people were able to share their thoughts and views on different financial education topics on the FinLit Bhutan Facebook page. In Portugal, financial supervisors organised two innovative activities, specially designed to make students discuss the importance of savings and the safe use of digital channels to increase financial resilience. More than 450 students from 8 different secondary schools answered an online survey about their savings patterns and risk behaviours when using digital channels; the results of these surveys were subsequently discussed in the classroom and students were asked to prepare a summary of the main findings; finally, two students from each school were invited to participate on an online debate, to present their conclusions and discuss ways to improve savings and to use digital channels more safely. A similar format was used by the Financial and Capital Market Commission in Latvia. After conducting a survey of young people about their knowledge and skills in managing pension savings, the Commission organised an online discussion based on the results, with students challenged to share why they are not actively engaging with their pension and how they would like the State to invest their pensions.

Some countries developed hybrid initiatives to engage populations with limited access to internet. For instance, live TV shows on financial awareness were conducted by Nepal Rastra Bank (the central bank of Nepal) on national television, while in Poland a radio broadcast featured actors of the Puppet Theatre who told fairy tales with an economic content. Japanese public authorities collaborated with the largest economic newspaper company in Japan to engage people online.