10th Week of Money to Return to Primary Schools

The Luxembourg Foundation for Financial Education (Association des Banques et Banquiers Luxembourg – ABBL) has announced it is organising for the tenth consecutive year the Woch vun de Suen (week of money) as part of the European Money Week.

It will take place from Monday 18 to Friday 22 March and aims to raise awareness among students in cycle 4 of Luxembourg primary schools (ten to twelve years old) about good money management and responsible consumption.

In December 2023, FondaCon ABBL jointly with the Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier (CSSF) for the first time took stock of the financial culture of residents by conducting the OECD/INFE1 study, a reference in the field on the international level.

“The findings were alarming, especially among the youngest,” remarked Jerry Grbic, President of FondaCon ABBL. Whatever the dimension - financial knowledge, responsible attitudes towards money or prudent behaviour in the face of online fraud - the level of Luxembourgers aged between eighteen and 29 was “below average”.

“In a context of geopolitical and environmental crisis, high interest rates and less than optimistic economic prospects, we can wonder if our children are well enough prepared to face the economic realities of life. The answer is undoubtedly no and calls for a broader awareness of our political leaders and more determined and concrete actions", emphasised Jerry Grbic while noting that the subject was mentioned in the coalition agreement signed last November.

Aware of their responsibility, financial market players have been mobilising for years to promote financial education, ABBL added.
“We have been organising the Woch vun de Suen for ten years and we can count on a network of motivated volunteers from the ranks of collaborators and members of the ABBL or even agents of the CSSF,” explained Jessica Thyrion , coordinator of FondaCon. “But all this cannot be done without the enthusiasm of many teachers who are aware of what is at stake for their students.” Thus, this year again, 74 speakers will travel to around 60 classes across the country. Ultimately, around 900 students will be able to participate to this awareness-raising action. Note the personal involvement of Gilles Roth, Luxembourg’s Minister of Finance, and Claude Marx, Director General of the Luxembourg Financial Supervisory Authority (CSSF) who will speak to the classes.

For the past two years, the classroom workshops have been based on the Money Odyssey2 mobile application, created by the ABBL FondaCon. “Money Odyssey allows you to acquire knowledge in a fun way, thanks to a gamification approach,” explained Jessica Thyrion. Money Odyssey is suitable for young audiences (from ten years old) as well as adults. This year, the application was notably updated with a Financial Challenge mode which allows players to “compete” online based on their financial knowledge.