Skopje, 27 November 2023

Today, the Governor Anita Angelovska Bezhoska and the Deputy Minister of Finance Filip Nikoloski awarded the prizes won by the students within the Competition for selection of the best art and literary works on the occasion of the World Savings Day - 31 October.

"The Competition is part of the National Bank activities, devoted to the younger population, encouraging them to think creatively and gain new financial knowledge. According to the OECD’s Survey concerning CSE, 40% of young people spend more than their own possibilities, have problems in managing their personal finances, and only 15% save, compared to 60% of the young people in the EU. Hence, this year the topics were related to savings as a key tool for a better financial future of young people”, said the Governor Angelovska Bezhoska addressing those present. She emphasized that savings are an important aspect in the process of maturation of young people, as they teach them to appropriately manage their assets, which will largely shape their future. Moreover, she underlined: “The National Bank has been continuously expanding the activities for financial education, as one of our strategic goals, for which the first national Strategy for Financial Literacy and Inclusion has also been adopted. It is necessary to make efforts in this area, especially taking into consideration the results of the surveys according to which young people in our country, similar to the CSE region, have lower financial literacy than the older groups of population. And insufficient financial knowledge is reflected with inappropriate financial behavior, i.e. with smaller savings and investment in a better future. Hence, educating pupils since their earliest age must be a priority of policy makers.”

“Financial literacy is one of the strongest tools that we have at our disposal in order to provide our financial opportunities and to achieve our financial goals. Therefore, it is important to set the financial education in the center of our schools, our communities and our lives. This is a long-term process and its incorporation into the syllabuses since the earliest age enables acquisition of knowledge and skills to build a responsible financial behavior during each phase of life”, said the Deputy Minister of Finance Filip Nikoloski. He added that better educated and informed citizens better manage their personal finances and are an important factor in building a safe and sound financial sector. "This event becomes a wonderful tradition and is an inspiration to motivate ourselves and others how to put finances first so that together we can create a better financial future for us and our next generations," said Nikoloski.

The Competition with which we are celebrating the World Savings Day - 31 October, was held for the eleventh time. This year, we received a total of 375 student’s works on the two selected topics: "I save wisely - I live better: I invest in my future" for elementary education and "Saving - a step towards financial independence" for secondary education. The Committees for selection of the best works, formed by representatives of the National Bank and the Ministry of Finance, when selecting the works for awarding the elementary education students, took into account the originality in the individual approach, idea, technical skill, inventiveness, creativity and sensitivity. In evaluating the essays of the secondary education students, the Committees took into account the scope and interpretation of the topic, as well as the manner of expression and creative writing.

On this occasion, the Governor Angelovska Bezhoska thanked all the students who participated in the Competition and their mentors and emphasized that the National Bank will continue to carry out its educational activities also in the future and with greater intensity, having in mind the importance of financial education for young people and for the population, in general.