Bank of Russia and Artek join efforts in kids’ financial literacy programme
On 5 October 2017, Artek, the international children’s recreation centre, and the Bank of Russia signed an agreement on cooperation in the field of children's financial literacy. Under the agreement, a dedicated financial infrastructure will be established on the centre’s premises in order to hold educational games and finance-themed sessions.
Children who stay at Artek will receive their own central bank, stock exchange, commercial bank, insurance company, non-governmental pension fund, unit investment fund and other financial organisations. Some will try their hands as financiers with these companies while others will become educated consumers of financial services. The programme will also involve an in-game payment system and in-game currency.
The project will also include, as a key component, an integrated mobile app for personal and family finance management, payments and financial discipline. The app will offer all kids staying at the centre the opportunity to play the game.
The project will run specialised sessions based on BoR-developed modules. The financial literacy package will be part of Artek’s all-year training programme, which will include various competitions, sports and an academic Olympics in financial literacy.
Teenagers participating in the project will gain theoretical knowledge and practical skills ranging from personal and family finance management to investment, tax / pension calculation.
Once the project has been tested at Artek, it will be offered to other federal children's recreation camps. What's more, each federal camp may develop its own unique educational modules and infrastructure, subject to the camp’s specialist field and technical capabilities.
‘We hope that the project's successful launch at Artek will be followed by its expansion so financial sessions become part of the training programme offered by other recreation camps for children. The project presents an excellent opportunity for kids to solve financial literacy problems in an entertaining game. The knowledge they will bring home is useful to the whole family’, said First Deputy BoR Governor Sergei Shvetsov.
Starting from 2019, financial programmes are due to be launched at a number of federal children's recreation camps including Okean, Orlyonok and Smena. Down the line, the financial programme's training package will be available to institutions of a similar profile.