Unicaja Banco and Funcas (Foundation of Savings Banks) have renewed, for the second consecutive year, the existing collaboration between both institutions to promote an enhanced and quality education of citizens in the areas of finance and economics. For that purpose, they have entered into an agreement to develop several activities.
The agreement falls within Programa Funcas de Estímulo de la Educación Financiera (Funcas Educa), launched in 2018 by Funcas and CECA (the association of banks and savings banks). With the renewal of the agreement, both institutions continue with their collaboration to develop activities designed to improve the financial knowledge and skills of citizens.
Unicaja Banco representatives have remarked the importance of promoting the financial literacy in Spain and, especially, of making citizens aware of the need to achieve a certain level of knowledge to face the financial challenges and decisions in the different stages of their life.
On its part, Funcas sources have highlighted the growth in initiatives and resources committed to financial education in recent years and the increased interest of society in this topic. The challenge is now to assess what is being done, measuring the results and keeping what is working properly.
Pursuant to this new agreement, Unicaja Banco will promote financial and economic training activities aimed at citizens in general, to generate knowledge and skills that can be used to manage the economic resources and make informed and responsible decisions at any time.
Some of those activities have been presented these days by the Edufinet Project, promoted by Unicaja Banco and Fundación Unicaja, on the occasion of the celebration of the National Financial Education Week, fostered for the sixth consecutive yar by the Fiancial Education Plan (PEF, Plan de Educación Financiera), of the Bank of Spain and the National Securities Market Commission (CNMV).
In particular, the activities include the 3rd Edufinet Congress ‘Financial Education in a New Economic and Social Order’, which will be held virtually from 16 to 20 November due to the situation caused by the COVID-19 crisis. More than 40 experts will participate in this event, and they will address the challenges of financial education.
Other activities will be the 12th Lectures on Financial Education for Young People and the 12th Financial Olympics, which will be developed online during this school year 2020-2021 and which maintain their goal of providing students with a clear view of the economic and financial world.
Other projects promoted by Edufinet and which will be sponsored by Funcas are a free financial videogame for Secondary Education students, launched last Monday; interviews on finance with prominent personalities (Edufinet Talks); a board game on financial education; an awareness campaign on social media; the publication of financial guides, or a series of podcasts on this topic.
Unicaja Edufinet Project, a pioneering initiative
Unicaja has been for 15 years working on the Edufinet Project, which currently has the collaboration of 16 universities and more than ten business institutions and organizations, as well as of a working team of nearly 80 members, who work selflessly. This project falls within the bank’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and its commitment to financial inclusion.
Through an Internet portal aimed at the general public (www.edufinet.com) and which has received more than nine million visits from 180 countries, Edufinet has been operative since the end of 2007, although its development began in 2005. This way, Unicaja became one of the first financial institutions in Spain to launch an initiative of this type. This work has been recognized with several awards.
With the goal of providing citizens with access to financial education, Edufinet also organizes courses and workshops, which, due to the situation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic will be held online for the moment.
