YOURSELF, TAKE CARE OF YOUR MONEY

GMW 2021 THEME: TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF, TAKE CARE OF YOUR MONEY

“Take care of yourself, take care of your money” was the official theme of Global Money Week 2021. The COVID-19 pandemic has affected most countries around the world and has impacted the financial situation of families and individuals. Importantly, it has also increased young people’s vulnerabilities in terms of their access to education, employment, social interaction and mental health. Many young people have been left without the possibility of earning basic income and both they and their families have been affected financially by the pandemic. The effects of the pandemic have been felt the most by vulnerable young people.

The theme of Global Money Week this year, “Take care of yourself, take care of your money”, stressed the importance of building financial resilience to cope with the current crisis but also with future ones, thereby supporting financial well-being. Young people need to have the instruments and opportunities to build a better, more inclusive and more sustainable future, for themselves and for the societies they live in. Financial literacy is one of those instruments, together with adequate financial inclusion and financial consumer protection frameworks.

Around the world, participating countries and institutions have addressed the GMW theme through various activities, ranging from contests and essay competitions, to webinars, lectures and presentations on related topics. Many of the initiatives cited in the previous section also focused on financial resilience. A few more examples are highlighted below. 3

For example, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) used social media to reach out to those struggling during the COVID-19 pandemic with financial issues through messages from the @Moneysmartteam such as “if you’re feeling overwhelmed by money or personal issues, it can be hard to know where to turn. You don’t have to do it alone #GlobalMoneyWeek2021”. In Romania, the Financial Supervisory Authority and its partners addressed topics such as earning responsibly, having personal budgets, spending smart, knowing the value of money and taking care when engaging in payments online or e-commerce. The Kronofogen (Enforcement Authority) in Sweden led a social media campaign on financial resilience and debt for children and young people.

 Bhutan GMW2021

In Mongolia, two leading mobile network operators supported GMW 2021 by sending SMS savings reminders to all their mobile phone clients between 15-40 years old. Moreover, the Bank of Mongolia organised a TikTok competition where young people had to create songs about “Saving is easy”, while the Central Bank of Nigeria’s song competition on the theme “Take care of yourself, take care of your money” gathered more than 2,200 entries.

In Germany, the non-profit FunnyMoney launched a YouTube series designed to help young people understand the importance of long-term decision-making. Video tutorials including “three steps for taking care of your money” proved to be popular in Trinidad and Tobago too. In Italy, almost all GMW activities highlighted the importance of planning in advance to better respond to economic and financial shocks, such as for example webinars aimed at educating parents to correctly understand and anticipate their children’s financial needs (for instance, spending on education).

In Portugal, several key activities explored the importance of taking care of money and creating financial resilience. Examples include students’ discussions on how to save and the role of an emergency fund but also around the topic of safety online and digital payments (including risky behaviours when using your mobile phone). Finally, in Malta, presentations by the Central Bank of Malta focused on discussing ‘cyber risk for students’.