In the session held in Valladolid, focus has been put on the importance of financial education, the main economic figures have been explained and the financial system and its products have been analyzed, and the attendants have learnt how to interpret a balance sheet and a P&L account.
The Edufinet Project, a pioneering programme in Spain that has received several awards in its nearly 15 years of history, collaborates with 15 universities and with more than ten institutions and business organizations.
A group of young members of Empresa Familiar de Castilla y León (EFCL, Castilla y Leon Family-Owned Business Association) has participated in a course on ‘Financial Education for Non-financials’. This training session has been given by members of the Edufinet Project, an initiative promoted by Unicaja Banco and Fundación Unicaja, with the collaboration of 15 universities and ten institutions and business organizations. The course intended to explain to the future generation of business owners in the region the main financial and economic concepts from a practical approach.
The session is part of EFCL ‘School of Shareholders’ and has started with the speech by the Head of Unicaja Banco Business Branch in Salamanca, Francisco Javier Fernández González, who has remarked the need to give financial education to all the society. He has also presented the Edufinet Project, under which several initiatives are organized and implemented to teach citizens the main economic and financial concepts, so that they have some guidance when making a financial decision.
Later, José Antonio Díaz, Head of the Financial Education Area at Grupo Unicaja, has analyzed the main economic figures and has explained the balance sheet and P&L account of companies. He has also referred to economic and financial indicators such as GDP, Euribor and interest rates.
Finally, José María López Jiménez, Head of CSR at Unicaja Banco, has explained how the financial system works and has talked about some products and services.
Edufinet Project, a pioneering initiative
The Edufinet Project has been working, through an Internet portal for the general public, since 2007, although its development began in 2005. In addition to more than ten business institutions and organizations, 15 universities collaborate with this programme. All of the previous have made Unicaja, one of the first institutions to launch an initiative of this kind, to be one of the most active agents in this area. This work has been recognized with several awards.
Since it was created, over 152,000 people have participated in the different seminars, workshops, courses or lectures organized by Edufinet, of which 108,000 are young people who have participated in the Lectures on Financial Education for Young People.
The website www.edufinet.com, which offers systemic and practical information in a question-answer format and where no previous knowledge is required, has registered so far more than 7.8 million visits, with consultations and access from nearly 180 countries.
The Edufinet Project has other two specific portals: one addressed to young people (Edufinext) and one addressed to business owners and entrepreneurs (Edufiemp).
Empresa Familiar de Castilla y León
EFCL was established in 1997 with the aim of working to facilitate the continuity of the region’s family-owned businesses, and it currently gathers 150 leading family companies from all Castilla y Leon, with a joint turnover equivalent to 21% of the GDP of the Autonomous Region and employing 9% of the region’s private sector working population.
