Global Money Week – an international information campaign that promotes financial awareness – has started in Ukraine today. This is the ninth time that the NBU has backed this initiative and become its official host in Ukraine.
This year, the campaign’s launch has coincided with the NBU’s birthday. The Ukrainian central bank's history dates back to the spring of 1991, when the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine passed the Law On Banks and Banking. This legislation transformed what was then the Ukrainian Republican Office of the State Bank of the USSR into the National Bank of Ukraine, a central authority with the power to issue money.
Global Money Week 2023 started with Mission Financial Defense, Profession Bank Employee, a meeting of NBU Governor Andriy Pyshnyy with the children of NBU employees. Andriy Pyshnyy told the kids about the NBU’s work during the war, the central bank’s mandate, its efforts to hold the financial frontline, and the importance of the banking profession.
"Together with your parents, we work every day to ensure the financial defense of our country. Even as the war grinds on, the Ukrainian financial system is operating like clockwork. The global community admires our work and sustainability. The world is watching our country in amazement as our financial system continues to be stable in wartime, bank branches stay open, cashless payments go on uninterrupted, and bank employees operate out of bomb shelters. All of this has been made possible by your parents. They are the true stars of the finance world," said Andriy Pyshnyy. “I believe that every Ukrainian should have a chance to grasp the extent of the work the NBU team has been doing. What is more, everyone should be financially literate and well-versed in the financial services market in order to help the NBU safeguard the financial stability of Ukraine and rebuild the country."
Global Money Week in Ukraine will last two weeks, from 20 March to 2 April. The participants stand to enjoy a rich program of financially themed events, which have by tradition been prepared by the NBU jointly with the USAID Financial Sector Reform Project. The Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine has invited preschoolers, schoolchildren, and college students to take part in the events.
"USAID has supported the Global Money Week (GMW) annual financial literacy campaign in Ukraine since 2014. We are pleased to see that the National Bank of Ukraine has renewed its GMW activities in spite of the war with russia, and we are delighted to partner with the Bank to educate Ukraine’s youth on money and ways to use it wisely. Together with the NBU, we will continue to find creative ways to improve the knowledge, attitudes, and behavior of Ukrainians about personal finance. By improving financial literacy, we contribute to the future resilience of the financial system and to the financial well-being of the population," said Robert Bond, Chief of Party, USAID Financial Sector Reform Activity.
A total of more than 3,300 teachers who support the campaign in their educational institutions have registered to attend GMW 2023 events. For them, the NBU has prepared video lessons, teaching materials, contests for all types of students, the competitions 10 Most Active Schools and 10 Most Active Institutions of Higher and Vocational Education, financial literacy surveys for teenagers, European Money Quiz (an opportunity to compete for the European Champion title!), and webinars and virtual tours by NBU experts and partners.
The GMW 2023 framework also includes the second round of recruitment to Talan, a financial literacy school for teachers and a powerful educational project that is pending launch this year. Last summer, 264 teachers graduated the Talan school. More than 3,600 educators willing to advance their financial knowledge and prepare to teach Entrepreneurship and Financial Literacy have enrolled in the second round of training. The Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine will introduce this course in schools, starting in 2025.
To learn more about GMW 2023 events and to familiarize yourself with GMW ideas, financial awareness education materials, and the NBU's program of events for teachers and students of all levels, please visit the GMW website.
GMW is an international information campaign on financial awareness that is aimed at deepening the knowledge of finance in children and young people. The world has celebrated GMW since 2012. More than 170 countries have since joined the international financial literacy initiative.
As a representative of Ukraine in the International Financial Education Network of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and a member of the GMW working group at the OECD, the NBU is the official coordinator of GMW 2023 events in Ukraine. GMW 2023 events in Ukraine have been made possible by support from the USAID Financial Sector Reform Project.