The Edufinet Project, a financial education program promoted by Fundación Unicaja and Unicaja, has presented this Thursday in Malaga the seventh edition of its Financial Guide. This is a new edition of an educational publication that updates and expands its contents, introducing new sections such as sustainable finance or digital transformation applied to finance, with explanations of concepts such as blockchain, cryptocurrencies, big data, artificial intelligence, automated financial advice or the main cybercrimes.
The presentation took place at the Fundación Unicaja Cultural Center in Malaga and was attended by the head of the Edufinet Project, José M. Domínguez; the head of Social Activities of Fundación Unicaja, Gerardo Lerones, and the head of Financial Education of Unicaja, María Eugenia Martínez-Oña.
The Edufinet Financial Guide, sponsored by Funcas Educa and published by Aranzadi, is an educational publication, aimed at the general public, which aims to provide a useful, systematic and accessible introductory and comprehensive overview of the fundamental aspects of the financial system and the different products and services offered in it, together with other related and cross-cutting content, presented with objective criteria.
This publication is aimed at providing assistance to increase personal autonomy when making financial decisions. Its contents are available on the Edufinet website (www.edufinet.com).
Contents with educational approach
The contents of the Edufinet Financial Guide have an educational approach and are focused on the financial needs of citizens, emphasizing the complete life cycle of financial products, as well as the essential elements of each of the phases of the financial decision-making process. The publication approaches financial education from a broad perspective, incorporating borderline subjects, and contains a wide range of practical illustrations and exercises.
Specifically, the Financial Guide covers, through 22 chapters, the different areas of interest for those citizens who wish to improve their financial knowledge, and uses a question-answer format in order to facilitate the understanding of the concepts and the search for information.
To this end, in the foreground, as fundamental content, there is a systematic exposition of the basic concepts that provide a global vision of the financial system and the different services provided in it, covering the most important aspects.
Thus, first of all, the concept of family budget and the approaches to its management are presented, and a section with the main economic-financial indicators is also included. This is followed by the decision-making process, based on the consideration of the needs posed and the different existing options, within a perspective of the complete cycle of the different products, with all their implications. Then, the role and structure of the Spanish financial system is examined, as a preliminary step to the study of the different payment instruments, savings products, investment, pension funds products, financing and other financial services.
In the background, contents of cross-cutting scope (legal aspects, taxation and financial calculations) essential for the consideration of financial decisions are addressed independently, as well as those related to sustainable finance and digital transformation in the field of finance, the latter two as new sections in this edition of the Guide. The chapter on digital transformation applied to finance develops aspects such as blockchain technology, cryptocurrencies, big data, artificial intelligence, automated financial advice or the main cybercrimes.
The Guide also includes a set of practical exercises, consisting of more than 120 multiple-choice questions, covering all the sections of the publication, with four answer options, only one of which is correct in each case. Following the set of questions, the solutions to the exercises with the correct answer are included at the end of the publication.
The Financial Guide is one of Edufinet's main actions, within the Project's general objective of bringing financial education closer to the population and contributing to increase citizens' financial knowledge and skills in order to make informed financial decisions, which is beneficial for the economy and society as a whole. Since its first edition, launched in 2008, nearly 29,000 copies have been distributed. Together with the Financial Guide, the Edufinet Project has published 30 books to date on financial education.
Two decades of trajectory in financial education
The Edufinet Project is one of the pioneering financial education programs in Spain, with two decades of experience, which currently has the collaboration of a ten institutions and business organizations, as well as 17 universities.
In fact, it is one of the most active agents in the fields of financial education and inclusion, in the exercise of its sustainability policy and its commitment to society. It currently has two physical offices, in Malaga and Salamanca, from which it organizes in person and online sessions.
Since it was launched, more than 300,000 people have participated in person in the various seminars, workshops, courses and conferences it has organized. Its web portals have received more than 11 million visits, with access from some 180 countries and close to 20 million page views.
Its website (www.edufinet.com) offers practical and educational information on the financial world through different sections (Edufinext, Edufiemp, Edufitech, Edufiblog, Edufisport, Edufiagro and Edufiacademics). Other lines of action include courses and conferences (in-person and online) and publications, in addition to the educational work carried out through its social media profiles (YouTube, Facebook, X, LinkedIn, Instagram and TikTok) and the podcast platforms iVoox and Spotify.
All this has contributed to making the Edufinet Project one of the most active agents in the fields of financial education and inclusion today. Its work has been distinguished throughout this time with various awards, including the Finance for All 2024 Award, granted by the Financial Education Plan, in the category of best financial education initiative, and three awards in the CECA Awards for Social Work and Financial Education 2023-2024. It has also been recognized as a finalist in the Vuela 2024 Awards.
