Annual Meeting of Technical Assistance Project on Financial Education held in Podgorica

27/09/2024

The Annual Meeting of the Technical Assistance Project on Financial Education was held in Podgorica from September 24 to 26, 2024, bringing together more than 50 attendants from 10 countries participating in this project implemented by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), with the financial support of the Ministry of Finance of the Netherlands. The project aims to improve financial literacy in the participating countries by providing support in the design and implementation of national financial education strategies.

The meeting started with the opening remarks by the Vice-Governor of the Central Bank of Montenegro, Mr. Nikola Fabris, who highlighted the importance of financial education in the modern financial environment.

"The support and commitment of the Ministry of Finance of the Netherlands, the OECD and other partners to this project obliges us to make continuous efforts to achieve the set goals. The primary goal is to improve financial literacy in our respective countries because financially literate individuals contribute to the stability and resilience of the economic system," said the Vice-Governor Fabris.

The three-day event brought together key stakeholders in the field of financial literacy who shared their experiences, discussed the challenges faced by individual countries and presented ways to overcome those challenges. Several sessions were held covering a wide range of topics, including financial education for young people, enhancing the financial literacy of vulnerable groups, and strategies to inform and protect consumers from financial frauds where representatives of the CBCG presented the activities and initiatives implemented in these areas. The participants also presented the examples of successful cooperation between public and private institutions in order to raise the level of financial knowledge. Among the prominent examples was the project "Robotics for the youngest" that is being implemented by the CBCG, the Ministry of Science, Education and Innovation, and the Innovation Fund of Montenegro that promotes the use of technology and robotics in financial literacy of the youngest.

The event ended with a meeting of the OECD delegation with representatives of the Montenegrin institutions involved in the implementation of the Programme for Financial Education Development in Montenegro 2023-2027. The meeting provided an opportunity for a detailed discussion on Montenegro`s in the field of financial education, the sharing of experiences, as well as defining future steps and activities within the technical assistance project, with a particular emphasis on expanding access to financial education and strengthening the cooperation of all relevant stakeholders. It was also highlighted that financial education is crucial at a time when citizens are offered a wide range of complex financial products and services, and financial innovations are becoming more and more prevalent. The message from the meeting was that there is a lot of room for further improvements in the area of financial literacy and that it is important to include as many stakeholders as possible in all new initiatives that will help raise awareness of the importance of financial knowledge.

The OECD technical assistance project will continue to support Montenegro and other participating countries in their efforts to improve the financial literacy of their citizens, thus strengthening the overall economic stability in the region.