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Summary of activities for GMW 2024

The Central Bank of the Republic of Kosovo, through Financial Education and the organization of events, aims to contribute to the enhancement of knowledge about economic and financial issues for all age groups of the Kosovar society, ranging from children and young people, individual consumers to entrepreneurs.

The Global Money Week is among activities that CBK marks, and CBK marks this activity since 2013. GMW 2024 was marked with the motto “Take care of your money, secure your future” which was held from 18 – 22 March 2024. 

• The week opened with the signing ceremony of the Memorandum of Understanding in the field of Financial Education with the representatives of the financial sector: the Kosovo Banking Association (KBA), the Association of Microfinance Institutions of Kosovo (AMIK) and the Kosovo Insurance Bureau (KIB), whereby establishing the Financial Education Council.

The purpose of this Council is to engage towards advancing the inclusiveness and the establishment of cooperation in the field of Financial Education, in order to ensure that education activities are coordinated, as a shared responsibility between CBK and other financial institutions.

The Council will contribute to the stimulation and promotion of initiatives, events, activities and materials from the field of Financial Education (non-commercial), through the institutions involved. Moreover, this Council will contribute to organizations that enhance citizens’ knowledge on banking products and services, insurance and other financial products/services and informing citizens.

• The week continued with the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding with the Faculty of Economics of the University of Prishtina “Hasan Prishtina” in order to advance cooperation and support in the academic aspect, to advance the economic and financial knowledge, to exchange information and cooperation for joint projects in the field of economy, finance and financial education.

Through this Memorandum, CBK intends to build a common platform with the Faculty of Economics, where joint projects and initiatives can be developed to raise and advance the educational, economic and financial knowledge of young people in Kosovo. Also, at the same day, Governor of CBK, Mr. Ahmet Ismaili delivered the Lecture “The Central Bank and its role in the financial system of the Republic of Kosovo”, which was attended by about 100 students of the Faculty of Economics.

• At the end of the lecture, Governor Ismaili announced the Young Economist Award – which the CBK awards every year in order to promote scientific research, whereby inviting all young researchers (students) to apply with their scientific papers for the CBK award for young economists. This year, students have the opportunity to prepare their research papers based on four topics.  
• The role of green finance in promoting sustainable economic development in Kosovo.

• Cyber security, privacy and trust in finance.
• Membership in SEPA as a driving factor for European integration.
• Financial technological innovations and their impact on access to finance and financial inclusion.
• The importance of financial education in consumer protection.

The competition for student research papers will be open until 30 September 2024

The activities of the GMW continued with a lecture delivered by Governor Mr. Ismaili at the Lower Secondary School “Ismail Qemali” in Pristina, which was attended by about 45 students of 9^th grade. In addition to the lecture, some educational and informative materials were distributed to the students.  

• As part of the Global Money Week, the “Access to finance for women entrepreneurs” conference was co-organized by CBK and the Association of Microfinance Institutions of Kosovo (AMIK).

The CBK organized this conference with the aim of contributing for the first time to the identification of challenges and obstacles that women entrepreneurs face with their businesses in terms of access to finance and to discuss the identification and contribution that the CBK can make in addressing these challenges.

The conference brought together stakeholders from the Central Bank, the microfinance sector, the Chief Executive Officer of the Agency for Gender Equality, success stories from women entrepreneurs and a panel with representatives of international and local institutions, such as: USAID, EFSE, KCGF, CBK and AMIK who discussed before attendees the identification of challenges and recommendations for improving access to finance for women entrepreneurs. This conference was attended by about 60 participants.   

• As part of the Global Money Week 2024, a lecture was also held with the students of the University of Business and Technology (UBT), through a visit to the Central Bank of Kosovo (CBK), where the students had the opportunity to expand their knowledge of the functions of the Central Bank of the Republic of Kosovo, the economy of Kosovo and the financial sector.

The lecture was delivered by Mrs Zana Gjocaj, Director of the Department for Financial Stability and Economic Analysis at CBK, who made a general presentation of the role and functions of the Central Bank of the Republic of Kosovo and in particular about economic analysis and financial stability, providing a clear and detailed overview of how these analyses are prepared. The economic analyses presented provided a broad overview of the performance of Kosovo’s economy, identifying the main sectors of development and potential challenges affecting its stability.

At the end of the lecture, the students were informed and encouraged to apply for the “CBK Award to Young Economists”, a traditional contest undertaken by the CBK to promote and stimulate the work of young researchers in the field of economics and finance.

• As part of these activities, a visit/lecture was also organized at the Secondary School “Abdyl Ramaj”, a Vocational Education and Training Institution (VETI) in Suhareka.

The lecture delivered by CBK officials focused on the importance of financial education for young people and addressed topics, such as: personal finance management; the importance of savings for the future, the role of the Central Bank of Kosovo (CBK) in the country’s economic stability, the functioning of the overall financial sector, etc.

The activity was marked by an active engagement and participation of the students, who, with their questions expressed interest in understanding more about financial concepts and the role of the CBK in the country’s economy, reflecting on the importance of financial management in their daily lives, as an important step towards raising awareness and developing financial skills in order to be better prepared for future financial challenges and opportunities.

Students were provided with various financial education materials, such as the book “Finance for young people” and other handouts to help them deepen their knowledge towards a more stable and secure financial future.

• Also, CBK announced the Video Contest for high school students with the motto “Take care of your money, secure your future”, which will be open until 10 May 2024.