Since its foundation, the Swiss Finance Museum has actively promoted financial education for all age groups, with a particular focus on the younger generation. Numerous studies have shown the positive effects of financial education, especially for children of kindergarten and primary school age. This not only forms a solid basis for financial literacy in later life, but can also have a preventative effect against financial problems. And that is why the Finance Museum is also part of the annual Swiss Money Week.
Various studies show that even countries with highly developed financial markets - such as Switzerland - have a relatively low level of financial literacy. This means that for many people, managing their personal finances is difficult or even impossible. It is therefore important to encourage children to deal with money and finances. This knowledge forms the basis.
Andrea Weidemann, Head of Swiss Finance Museum and jury member
Swiss Money Week, the Swiss offshoot of Global Money Week, took place this year from March 18 to 24, 2024. As an international initiative, it aims to raise awareness of financial topics among children and young people. The Financial Literacy Network, of which the Finance Museum is a member, organizes a variety of activities to strengthen financial education in Switzerland and thus also counteract indebtedness.
Children's workshop "Money makes the world go round!"
This year, around 140 children and young people took part in the Finance Museum's activities. In addition to two public "Money makes the world go round!" children's workshops, which were fully booked, two lower school classes also attended the workshop to complete their project assignment. They proudly presented the money collages they had created in the weeks before.
About the workshop
Money collages
The money collages were the result of intensive work in the weeks leading up to Swiss Money Week. The lower school kids had creatively explored the topic of money and captured their thoughts and ideas in collages. In the workshop, these collages were discussed together with the workshop leaders. One class dealt with the question "What if it rained money from the sky?" and another: "What can I buy with money and what not?"
Budgeting competition
An absolute highlight of the week was the award ceremony for the budgeting competition in the auditorium at the SIX ConventionPoint. Around 60 children from middle and high school classes in the Zurich region gathered to determine the winners. The project task challenged the students to draw up a budget for a possible class camp in the six weeks before Swiss Money Week. It was not only the financial planning that played a role, but also the documentation of the process and the decisions. Criteria such as costs, environmental compatibility and others were weighed up and discussed by the kids.
The participating school classes made the most of their time and submitted impressive projects. The quality of the submissions was so high that it was difficult for the jury to choose a winner. The budgets and documentation were assessed by the jury consisting of Alisa Gallmann, representing the City of Zurich Education Department, Fabienne Strobel, Head of Sustainability at SIX, and Andrea Weidemann, Head of the Swiss Finance Museum.
The comprehensibility of the decisions and the discussions within the classes were decisive for the evaluation. Fortunately, no class came away empty-handed - all classes were able to take home a contribution to their class fund.
I think it is extremely important to teach children how to handle money. It teaches them the basic skills they need to make financially responsible decisions, both on a small scale and later on a larger scale. The school classes that took part in the budget competition not only won great prizes, but also got a feel for the value of money. This has led to many a valuable "aha" experience.
Fabienne Strobel, Head of Sustainability at SIX and jury member
On the occasion of Swiss Money Week, the Finance Museum offers school classes an exciting budgeting competition, which is an extremely valuable project for school children. The competition not only teaches them how to handle money responsibly, but also allows them to organize their class camp from A to Z independently. Money management and organizational skills are important for their future. Personally taking part in this competition as a jury member gives me immense pleasure, and the commitment of the classes in all the projects is impressive to see.
Alisa Gallmann, Education Authority of the City of Zurich and jury member
The winners
The winners of the competition were honored separately in the upper and middle school levels:
Upper School:
- 1st School Milchbuck, Mrs. Munoz
Middle school:
- 1st School Adliswil, Mrs. Läderach
- 2nd School Milchbuck. Mr. Behrendt
Impressions from the award ceremony
Video
Pictures
Our partners
Sophie und Karl Binding Stiftung
Walter Haefner Stiftung
Zürcher Bankenverband