The Financial Literacy Week 2019, an initiative of the National Council of Financial Supervisors (CNSF), that took place from 28 to 31 October, involved over 2200 participants, mostly young people of school age, but also teachers and other trainers, football players, working age population and senior citizens.
In this year’s edition, the Financial Literacy Week, which always counts on the participation of the partners in the National Plan for Financial Education, took place in Bragança and in other municipalities in the Intermunicipal Community of Terras de Trás-os-Montes, under the motto ‘Na Formação Financeira Todos Contam’ (Everybody Counts in Financial Literacy).
On the first day of this celebration, activities took place at schools of the Emídio Garcia School Grouping in Bragança, and were attended by around 1400 students, from all school years, of the grouping’s five schools. The three financial supervisors – the Portuguese Insurance and Pension Funds Supervisory Authority (ASF), Banco de Portugal (BdP) and the Portuguese Securities Market Commission (CMVM) –, in collaboration with the partners of the National Plan for Financial Education, held 66 financial training sessions at the secondary school Escola Secundária Emídio Garcia.
Also on 28 October, Margarida Corrêa de Aguiar, Chair of ASF, Luís Máximo dos Santos, Vice-Governor of BdP, Ana Paula Serra, Director of BdP, and Rui Pinto, Member of the Board of CMVM, presented awards to the schools that won the 8th Todos Contam Competition, which received 58 entries from 69 schools of mainland Portugal as well as the Autonomous Regions of Madeira and the Azores. For the first time, the competition celebrated the teacher that stood out the most in implementing the financial education projects with the “Todos Contam Teacher Award”.
On the same day, a public session was held to assess the train-the-trainer courses, created under the protocol between the CNSF and the Portuguese Institute for Employment and Vocational Training (IEFP), attended by the financial supervisors and the Chair of IEFP, António Valadas da Silva. Between 2018 and 2019 one hundred IEFP trainers joined this training programme and their training courses reached around 6000 students.
The Financial Literacy Week was also the event chosen to present and discuss the results of the first survey on the financial literacy of professional football players, under the cooperation protocol to promote players’ financial literacy, entered into between the CNSF and the Portuguese Professional Football Players Union (SJPF). This presentation took place at Instituto Politécnico de Bragança, on 29 October, and was attended by the financial supervisors, the Chair of the SJPF, Joaquim Evangelista, and by internationally renowned former football players. The CNSF was represented by Rui Pinto, member of the Board of CMVM.
Between 30 and 31 October several events took place in the nine municipalities of the Intermunicipal Community of Terras de Trás-os-Montes, under the cooperation agreement signed in 2019 between the CNSF, the Northern Regional Coordination and Development Committee (CCDRN) and the municipalities of Alfândega da Fé, Bragança, Macedo de Cavaleiros, Miranda do Douro, Mirandela, Mogadouro, Vila Flor, Vimioso and Vinhais. Each of these events was attended by the respective Mayor and as well as a party that included the Chair and the Vice-Chair of CCDRN, Fernando Freire de Sousa and Ester Gomes da Silva, a representative of the Intermunicipal Community of Terras de Trás-os-Montes and the financial supervisors. As a whole, these events gathered 570 participants of various population groups: students, teachers, unemployed persons, senior citizens and people on social assistance (RSI).
Nine municipalities of the intermunicipal communities of Tâmega e Sousa and of Alto Tâmega (Amarante, Boticas, Lousada, Baião, Cinfães, Felgueiras, Montalegre, Valpaços and Vila Pouca de Aguiar) also celebrated the Financial Literacy Week and, under the cooperation agreement they signed with the CNSF and the CCDRN, held training and awareness sessions regarding financial subjects for around 250 students, senior citizens and members of the general public.