Financial Education Made Easy Thanks to USAID and Serbian Libraries
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| Jasmina Ninkov, director of the Belgrade library, Ivana Avžner, City Secretary for Culture, and James Stein, Director of USAID’s Economic Growth Office at the launch of the Financial education website at the Belgrade library.. |
With the support of USAID’s Economic Growth project, the Belgrade City Library became one of the first libraries in the Balkans to launch a financial education program for citizens. Belgrade’s municipal libraries are now working together to offer education programs for youth about the fundamentals of financial literacy as well as information and advice on management of personal and family finances for citizens of all ages through a website dubbed novcici.rs (coins), designed with professional and financial assistance from USAID.
The growing financial industry in Serbia is increasingly offering consumers a vast array of products and services that can meet their individual needs. While certainly beneficial, this newfound range of choices also requires that consumers are equipped with the information, knowledge and skills to understand and evaluate their options and select those that best suit their needs.
At the opening, James Stein, the Director of USAID’s Economic Growth Office reminded guests that “Financial literacy can empower consumers to be better shoppers and help them to obtain goods and services at lower costs. In turn, this will help optimize their household budgets and provide more opportunities to consume save or invest. Financial literacy is a skill for life. No matter what we do, how much we earn or how old we are, understanding money can help us and our families get the most out of life.”
USAID partnered with Belgrade’s libraries because it recognizes that financial education is essential to help consumers understand how to prevent becoming involved in transactions that are financially destructive, how to avoid becoming victims of fraud, and how to exercise their consumer protection rights. Stein reminded young people that “They owe it to themselves to get informed.” These young people have many more options than their parents ever had, but this increase in opportunities needs to be approached with increased knowledge and vigilance.
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| Librarians from Novi Sad after the successful competition of the USAID ‘train the trainer’ training in financial education.. |
Librarians from 15 Belgrade municipal libraries have been trained by USAID in providing basic financial planning information and are now organizing well-received and popular public workshops in their communities. More than 500 high school students have attended financial education workshops so far. (The Belgrade City Library is the biggest library network in the country, which consists of 16 municipal libraries in Belgrade in addition to 182 libraries in primary schools and 86 libraries in high schools).
The Novi Sad City library has also recognized the importance of financial education, and USAID consultants are now holding a series of trainings for trainers in Novi Sad. Those receiving training will later independently train high school students through their library network. “As one of the oldest and most reputable cultural institutions in Novi Sad we have decided to respond to the spirit of modern times and engage in the challenge of financial education. We will transform our library into a modern information center and public service for the local community.” – said Dragan Kojić, director of the City library.
The idea of the website is to present the basic principles of the sound management of personal and family finances in a simple way, and to provide essential information about certain financial products, accompanied by clear explanations and advice on how to use the products effectively. “The website is an interesting and significant project since it merges two spheres that appear not to have anything to do with one another – finances and libraries, thus adding an additional meaning to libraries. The Ministry of Culture strongly supports this activity realized in collaboration with USAID.” – said Ivana Avžner, the Belgrade City Secretary for Culture.
“Financial literacy promotes individual well being and eventually contributes to the economic growth and wealth of the nation, by expanding the quality of available financial services, and by enhancing the ability of individuals to more effectively use these services. USAID has supported the Serbian financial sector to grow, become stable and sound. Now, with the strong growth of financial services and products, we recognize the need to help consumers learn how to use these services for their best interests and better protect their rights as consumers.” – said James Stein, Director of USAID’s Economic Growth Office.
Although recently launched, the financial education program has received recognition from prominent world library forums, due to the social importance of the issue and the innovative approach demonstrated by the library.
The first recognition came in the form of the Stuart Brewer scholarship, which co-finances the presentation of the most interesting librarian projects in this year’s IFLA (International Federation of Library Association) Metropolitan Library Section Conference 2010 in Zagreb in May. Soon after, the American Library Association, a global leader in the field of librarian activities, invited the Belgrade City library to present their finanicial education program at its annual conference in Washington in June (USAID is sponsoring a part of the travel costs for representiaves). Finally, the Belgarde library was also invited to participate at the Annual Global Librarian Conference in Gothenburg, Sweden.
Using the network of public libraries for financial education of citizens is a common practice in the USA and the most developed European countries. By taking action in this field, the Belgrade City Library has become the first library in the country, as well as in the region, that raises the education level of its local community by following contemporary library trends. The expansion of their activities in the financial literacy area also modernized the image of the library as an institution that responds to the requirements of modern society.
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