2017 Fiji Global Money Week
LEADING ORGANISATION:
PARTICIPATING ORGANISATIONS:
- Ministry of Education, Heritage and Arts
- Ministry of Finance
- ANZ Bank
- WestPac Bank
- Bank of Baroda
- HFC Bank
NUMBER OF CHILDREN REACHED DIRECTLY:
- 4 000
NUMBER OF PEOPLE REACHED INDIRECTLY:
- 10 000
Celebrations for Global Money Week in the country were led by the Reserve Bank of Fiji (RBF). In continuing their efforts in empowering young people to become responsible economic citizens, the RBF promoted and shared the importance of being 'money-wise'. This was done through various activities throughout the Week, including the distribution of learning materials for the development of money-wise habits, in addition to listening to young people’s views on how they can reshape their economic futures.
Activities organised in 2017 were built on those of previous years that have proven to be successful. "Be Money Wi$e – securing my future goals today", an essay competition on GMW 2016’s theme of "Take Part. Save Smart." was launched prior to the start of Global Money Week 2017, where students from across the country could participate. These essays were then judged and awarded at the end of Global Money Week. Additionally, these essays were used by the bank to listen to the voices of the youth and understand their concerns and aspirations towards saving and money habits.
In addition to this, the activities during GMW2017 also included the distribution of financial literacy materials, and classroom sessions about money management, distinguishing between a want and a need, always taking into consideration the future, and fostering the habit of saving. Representatives from the Reserve Bank of Fiji have shared that the experience has been overwhelmingly positive for kids. Moreover, the kids were very grateful for both the school materials and the new lessons they learnt about how they could manage their allowances today, and in managing their salaries or businesses in the future.
2016 Fiji Money Week
LEADING ORGANISATIONS:
PARTICIPATING ORGANISATIONS:
DATE OF THE EVENT:
- 14th - 17th of March
TOTAL NUMBER OF CHILDREN AND YOUTH ENGAGED:
- 3 865
Celebrations for Global Money Week in the country were led by the Reserve Bank of Fiji (RBF). Continuing their efforts in empowering young people to become responsible economic citizens, the RBF promoted and shared the importance of being 'money-wise'. This was done through various activities across the Week, including the distribution of learning materials to develop money-wise habits and listening to young people’s views on how they could reshape their economic futures.
Activities organised in 2016 were built on those of previous years that have proven to be successful. "Be Money Wi$e – securing my future goals today", an essay competition on GMW 2016’s theme of "Take Part. Save Smart." was launched before the start of Global Money Week where students from across the country could participate. These essays were then judged and awarded at the end of Global Money Week. Additionally, these essays were also used by the bank to listen to the voices of the youth and understand their concerns and aspirations towards saving and money habits.
Furthermore, the activities during GMW2016 also included distributing financial literacy materials and holding classroom sessions about money management, making better decisions between a want and a need, always taking into consideration the future, and fostering the habit of saving. According to representatives from the Reserve Bank of Fiji feedback from kids was overwhelmingly positive. Moreover, the kids were very grateful for both the school materials and the new lessons they learnt about how they could manage their allowances today, and manage their salaries or businesses in the future.
2015 Fiji Money Week
PARTICIPANTS:
- Reserve Bank of Fiji
- Ministry of Finance Fiji
- Ministry of Education Fiji
- Fiji Development Bank
- Pacific Financial Inclusion Programme
- Capital Markets Development Authority
- Fijian Holdings Unit Trust
- Unit Trust of Fiji
- VB Holdings Limited
- South Pacific Stock Exchange
DATE FO THE EVENT:
- 3rd of February - 17th of March
NUMBER OF CHILDREN REACHED:
- 3 224
The Reserve Bank of Fiji led Global Money Week 2015 in the country. Continuing their efforts to empower young people to become responsible economic citizens, the Reserve Bank of Fiji (RBF) promoted and shared the importance of 'money'. This was done through giving away materials to develop money-wise habits and also listening to young people’s views on how they could reshape their future. In this mission the RBF worked in cooperation with the Capital Markets Development Taskforce, with key support from the Ministry of Finance of Fiji, the Fijian Holding Unit Trust and the Unit Trust of Fiji.
“Be Money Wi$e – securing my future goals today”, an essay competition on Global Money Week 2015’s theme of “Save Today. Safe Tomorrow.” was conducted in February 2015. Students in the age group of 15 and 19 years participated in the competition penning and sharing their thoughts on how they could secure their future goals by becoming wiser in the way they handled their money from an early age. The event was widely supported and promoted throughout various secondary schools across the country. The most impressive entries totaled to 224, with 165 from the Western Division, 50 from the Central Division, eight from the Northern Division, and one from the Eastern Division.
The Governor of the Reserve Bank of Fiji expressed his joy at the critical ideas in the essays and general enthusiasm to take part in the competition. The governor shared that it was good to note that many students appreciated the importance of saving towards future goals in their essays. Also, students were now able to identify with the capital markets. He hoped that this would improve in the future and thanked the Ministry of Education for teaching children about basic money management skills, including saving and investing.
Furthermore, the activities during Global Money Week also included distributing financial literacy materials and holding classroom sessions about money management, making better decisions between a want and a need, always taking into consideration the future, and fostering saving habits. These were also complemented by the Reserve Bank of Fiji’s distribution of copies of the 2015 Student Diary to Dawasamu Secondary School students in Tailevu (a rural area in Fiji). The Governor of the Reserve Bank of Fiji describes the Student Diary as a useful and practical tool designed to assist the students with their daily and future plans. The Governor said that this and other initiatives could have not been possible without the Ministry of Education, Fiji Development Bank, Pacific Financial Inclusion Programme, commercial banks and other financial institutions that provide critical support in improving financial literacy and access to financial services in Fiji. Notably, the Ministry of Education reported that the value of students’ savings and investment in 2014 for the Fiji Development Bank funded “Money Smart” programme had increased to $628,398 from $453,302.87 in the previous year.
2014 Fiji Money Week
PARTICIPANTS:
- Reserve Bank of Fiji
DATE OF THE EVENT:
- 17th - 18th of March
NUMBER OF CHILDREN REACHED:
- 4 000
Reserve Bank of Fiji (RBF) and Vuli the Vonu (the national financial literacy champion) celebrated Global Money Week by organising an informative event called “Students Encouraged to Be Money Wise”. During the Global Money Week, the Reserve Bank distributed over 3600 Student Diaries through the Ministry of Education to more than 30 schools in Fiji, as part of the of the Reserve Bank of Fiji’s continuing efforts to raise awareness on financial literacy. The Governor of RBF, Mr. Barry Whiteside, expressed the importance of financial education and encouraged children and their parents to actively learn about finances.
Reserve Bank of Fiji and Vuli the Vonu, a national Financial Literacy Champion, presented copies of the latest RBF Student Diaries to Yat Sen Secondary School students at their school assembly. The Governor of the Reserve Bank highlighted that financial education is now taught in core subjects in the classroom, therefore parents, guardians and teachers need to support students with their studies and help them to translate classroom learning into better decisions and actions, such as prioritising their wants and needs, planning ahead, prudent spending and making a life-time habit of saving.
The Governor said that improving financial literacy and competencies of all Fijians indirectly contributes to consumer empowerment and promotes a more robust and efficient financial system, which can add to national savings and supports economic growth. Studies have shown that good personal money management skills can make a positive impact on achieving one’s personal and financial goals. It is with this theme in mind that the Reserve Bank of Fiji designed the 4th edition of the Student Diary that is targeted at high school students. The colourful handy size Student Diary has been designed for students from forms 4 to 7. This years theme, “be money wise”, focuses on ‘money smart’ principles of saving and investing. The Diary includes other useful financial information and budget planners to help students keep track of their income and expenses, while also allowing them to plan their daily activities and studies.