“Your First Finances”: financial literacy lessons from Belagroprombank

On 11 January 2017, the 5th graders were presented with books “Your First Finances” during the solemn ceremony that took place at Minsk Gymnasium No.12.

A solemn ceremony during which the 5th graders were presented with the books “Your First Finances” summed up the large-scale national campaign by Belagroprombank aimed at improving financial literacy. In total 96 000 Belarusian children, 5th graders, participated in the campaign. The campaign “Your First Finances” summed up the large-scale social project “25 Good Deeds” which Belagroprombank implemented to mark its 25th anniversary. In the year of its anniversary, the bank implemented a number of charity initiatives, as well as for kids.

The honoured guests such as the Deputy Chairman of the Board of JSC Belagroprombank Vitali Kruk, the General Secretary of the Belarus National Olympic Committee Anatoli Kotov, the head of financial literacy department of Information and Public Relations Division of the National Bank of the Republic of Belarus Yuliya Sakovich, the chief specialist of the General Secondary Education Division of the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Belarus Alexander Alexeev, and mass media representatives were present at the ceremony.

For the third year in a row, the campaign “Your First Finances” has been held by the bank jointly with the National Bank and the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Belarus.

The booklet “Your First Finances” is a colourful illustrated collection of fairy tales for children in the Belarusian language which in an interesting and comprehensible manner tells kids about the history of money, the importance of banks, about how to handle finances, what it means to be financially literate and financially up-to-date. From it kids will also learn about deposits, loans, bank payment cards and many other things in the field of finances.

The Deputy Chairman of the Board of JSC Belagroprombank Vitali Kruk is confident that the earlier a child learns to understand the value and significance of money, the easier and more comfortable he/she will enter the adult life.

– The project “Your First Finances” was the initiative of Belagroprombank with the aim of introducing children to the world of finances. Within this project, the bank presents a colourful collection of fairy tales about finances to 5th graders of city and village schools. Each year new fairy tales are added to this collection, and this year the book will also contain a glossary of financial terms, – the Deputy Chairman of JSC Belagroprombank Vitali Kruk commented. – The book “Your First Finances” is a colorful illustrated edition that will be an awesome addition to the library of a 5th grader. We hope that reading these fairytales will be entertaining for kids and that many children will find lots of useful information which they will share with their friends, parents and teachers.

The pupils of the gymnasium No.12 took part in the financial literacy lesson by Belagroprombank.

As part of the campaign “Your First Finances”, Belagroprombank’s employees have traditionally held interactive lessons of financial literacy, presentations, entertaining quizzes and contests about finances for schoolchildren. As the highlight of every lesson the schoolchildren are presented with the books “Your First Finances”.

In their turn, the children prepared gifts for Belagroprombank – drawings of Agrik.

At the ceremony, many words of appreciation were addressed to Belagroprombank. The bank’s initiative aimed at developing financial literacy has been supported by Belagroprombank’s partner – Belarus National Olympic Committee.

– The National Olympic Committee and Belagroprombank have been long-term partners. Agrik has become a constant mascot for the Belarus Olympic Team, accompanying our athletes and bringing them good luck at the sports competitions. Besides being the most sports-oriented bank, Belagroprombank is also the most child-friendly bank, as its initiative is aimed at developing financial literacy among kids, – the General Secretary of the Belarus National Olympic Committee Anatoli Kotov said (on the photo above).

The event was enlivened by the music and dance performances presented by the pupils of Gymnasium No.12.

– We highly appreciate the initiative of Belagroprombank aimed at improving financial literacy among children. Financial literacy among children is contribution towards their future, and it is absolutely necessary to give this aspect the sufficient amount of attention. As any science, financial literacy requires thorough study. Having basic financial literacy, kids will be able to learn how to handle finances correctly, feel confident in the adult world and take care of their family in the future, – the head of financial literacy department of Information and Public Relations Division of the National Bank of the Republic of Belarus Yuliya Sakovich (on the photo above) emphasized.

The history of the project “Your First Finances” by Belagroprombank dates back to September 2014. Over the three years of the project’s existence, more than 200 thousand schoolchildren from city and village schools throughout the country received a gift from Belagroprombank – a collection of fairytales about finances “Your First Finances”. Furthermore, Belagroprombank has been an active participant of the Week of Financial Literacy among kids and youth which is annually held in our country. Thus, in 2016 the bank held over 300 events for kids, with a total of more than 11 thousand participants.