Fifth All-Russian Congress of Financial Awareness Volunteers ends
More than 500 financial awareness volunteers from 60 Russian regions attended the Fifth All-Russian Congress in Odintsovo, Moscow Region, on 10–11 June 2019.
Bank of Russia Governor Elvira Nabiullina noted in her welcoming address that the volunteer movement was expanding, and volunteers assisted in almost all of the regulator’s projects to raise financial awareness, including those in Bank of Russia regional branches. ‘I am glad that volunteers work in orphanages and teach orphans financial literacy. Last year, the project already reached out to three thousand children and is set to expand this year,’ said Elvira Nabiullina. ‘Events for pensioners are in great demand, and we are pleased that a growing number of people in their third age have joined the volunteer movement.’
The Bank of Russia Governor highlighted the work of volunteers who reveal misconduct in the financial market and illegal financial service providers. ‘You know how deeply they hurt households, and we are aware of the problem. Our Consumer Protection Service receives complaints about fraudsters who act under the guise of official financial organisations. One of our challenges is to promptly reveal and stop them. We can see that volunteers help reveal such activities. They detect dubious announcements on the Internet, among other things, because such practices usually spread online,’ said Elvira Nabiullina.
The Congress hosted discussions of different aspects of volunteers’ work. Considerable attention was paid to their interaction with vulnerable groups – disabled and mobility-impaired people, orphans and children without parental care. Participants discussed mentoring as an approach to working with children in orphanages, and ways to adjust teaching materials for physically and mentally impaired people, including through games and interactive elements.
The discussion of gamification as an advanced method of financial literacy teaching raised strong interest among participants. A wide range of interactive tools, from board games to online quests to mobile apps, allows reaching out to all target groups. Games are a popular element of financial literacy classes for children and adolescents: pupils solve business cases, model interactions with various financial organisations, and discover financial products and services. This approach allows children to develop creative and entrepreneurial thinking and learn through practice. Congress participants could try the most interesting games on site.
A discussion dedicated to a volunteer incentive system attracted many participants. For some of them, financial literacy projects are a step towards a teaching career, while for others, they are a good opportunity to practice their communication skills and eloquence, meet interesting people and make business contacts. However, most volunteers said that classes help them develop personal qualities and satisfy the urge to help others. ‘When we raise financial literacy, we help people achieve their ambitions and make them happy,’ said Yulia Kurennaya, a student of Saratov Socio-Economic Institute of Plekhanov Russian University of Economics, sharing her vision of the volunteers’ mission.
Currently, about one thousand volunteers are taking a training course elaborated by the Bank of Russia, which consists of 11 modules: bank products, payment cards, microfinancing, insurance, etc. In the near future, the programme is expected to be supplemented with modules dedicated to small and medium-sized businesses and countering unlawful practices. Furthermore, the programme will be adjusted to take into account students’ opinions and recent developments in financial technologies.
During the Congress, a presentation of the recently established Association for Financial Literacy Improvement was delivered. The Bank of Russia joined the Association as one of its founders together with self-regulatory organisations, associations and market participants. The Association will be the main coordinator of volunteers’ work, which will subsequently take up training and volunteer incentive programmes.