The NBR, ASF, MF and ARB organized the ”Urban Financial Education Camp”

The National Bank of Romania (NBR), the Financial Supervisory Authority (ASF), the Ministry of Finance (MF) and the Romanian Association of Banks (ARB) organized, from June to August 2023, the fifth edition of the project ”Urban Financial Education Camp” dedicated to students in grades VI-VII.

The project was carried out this year during 16 sessions, each lasting one week, in locations provided by the National Bank of Romania through its territorial structures. The students who had the opportunity to be part of this experience are enrolled in schools in Bucharest, Constanța, Târgu Jiu, Buzău, Baia Mare, Oradea, Cluj-Napoca, Brașov, Timișoara, Craiova, Suceava, Iași and Târgu Mureș.

During the five days of the camp, specialists from the NBR, ASF, MF and ARB presented and explained financial notions and concepts, and representatives of the Bank Deposit Guarantee Fund were also invited. Each of the groups of students benefited from useful information with the aim of developing healthy habits on how to manage money and skills to make correct and informed choices to improve their financial situation.

In this context, the programme approaches a non-formal teaching methodology called edutainment (education through entertainment). The activities are based on a multi-sensory technique, which leads to accelerated learning, with children constantly involved in the education process. Games and activities are used to demonstrate important financial concepts so that students learn and have fun at the same time.

As part of the ”Urban Financial Education Camp” programme, a session dedicated to children from disadvantaged envirnments was organised for the second consecutive year from 28 August to 1 September. It took place at the NBR's Unit for Professional Improvement and Social Activities in Cumpătu - Sinaia, in an informal setting. The participants were provided with the necessary infrastructure to create a pleasant environment in which financial knowledge and information could be assimilated at an optimal level.

Financial education is strategically placed on the agenda of all organising institutions, the common objective of this programme being to raise the level of financial education among students.