Financial educational tour in commemoration of global money week |14 May 2018
Seychelles celebrated the global money week for the first time in March 2018. As part of the celebration UN Youth Seychelles (UNYS) organised a financial educational tour that took place over two days where students visited seven institutions, namely Mauritius Commercial Bank (MCB), Barclays Bank, Al Salam Bank, Nouvobanq, Central Bank of Seychelles, H Savy Insurance and Seychelles Pension Fund.
Global money week is an internationally celebrated week focused on financial education. It is tremendously important for the financial sector to gather with the public, especially youth to teach about financial practices that will grow the prosperity of our nation.
This activity was inaugurated as part of a UNYS’s initiative to contribute towards the sustainable development goals where it touches on Goal No 1, 4 and 8 (No Poverty, Quality Education and Decent Work and Economic Growth).
A group of 40 students from Independent School, International School Seychelles, School of Advanced Level Studies, Plaisance, Beau Vallon, Mont Fleuri, English River, Pointe Larue and Belonie secondary accompanied by UNYS members and teachers got the chance to take part in this tour. The group enjoyed both touring the premises of the institutions and attending presentation sessions where they learned about the institutions’ functions, roles, products and impact in society.
The tour commenced at the Barclays Bank followed by AL Salam Bank, Nouvobanq and Central Bank of Seychelles where students got the chance to learn about different departments and their importance.
The next visit was at H Savy insurance, Mauritius Commercial Bank (MCB) and the Seychelles Pension Fund where they were welcomed by the chief executives who explained the different aspects of their organisations and what they have to offer the public.
Overall it was a very fruitful visit expressed the students and their teachers. All this could not have been possible without the help of the above-mentioned institutions, as well as the Ministry of Education and Human Resource Development for gathering the students.
Another initiative that UN-YOUTH Seychelles came up with was to post different financial tips on social media throughout the seven days to encourage the public in general to save money and to use it wisely. In this day and age, saving money is no easy task, but we need to understand that the slightest change in our spending habit could make a tremendous change to our financial situation.
The seven financial tips are: Adopt a spending mantra, Don't ever consign a loan, Evaluate purchases by cost per use, Spend on experience not things, Open a savings account at a different bank than where you have your checking account, You can’t have too much savings and last but not least pay attention to fees. Seven sentences that will change your life for the best, and good news it costs nothing.
The UN-YOUTH Seychelles would like to express its immense gratitude towards all its partners for their quick response and for welcoming us on their premises. This is only the first phase and UNYS is already working on its report and recommendations to make it a more inclusive and even more impactful activity next year.
About UN Youth Seychelles
UN Youth Seychelles (UNYS) is a youth- led non-profit, non-governmental organisation acting ‘Glocal’ to mould conscious leaders today. We as members of the organisation commit to promote the Global Goals and youth engagement in leadership roles nationally and internationally.
The accompanying photos show the students during the visits at some of the institutions.
