Kuala Lumpur, 22 March 2021 – Fun(d) for Life programme, Malaysia’s first financial literacy programme for youths, parents & teachers in English and Bahasa promised financial literacy fun and knowledge as it announced that it will be collaborating with various financial institutions to enhance its effort in shaping a financially-smart generation during the Global Money Week, which will take place between 22nd March – 28th March 2021.
The Global Money Week is an annual financial awareness campaign organised by the OECD International Network on Financial Education and is celebrated in 175 countries by 63,000 organisations worldwide to inspire children and youth to learn about financial literacy. In Malaysia, the efforts are led by Bank Negara Malaysia, as co-chair of the Financial Education Network (FEN).
While the need to cope with greater uncertainty and financial complexity has never been timelier during the times of COVID-19, Malaysians’ level of financial literacy has not improved since 2019, according to the RinggitPlus Malaysia Financial Literacy Survey 2020.
“We believe we have a shot at changing this by starting financial education from as young as 7 years old and teaming up with two of the biggest influences in a child’s life; their parents and teachers. Getting the young generation to see the importance of financial literacy from such a young age when all they probably care about is buying new toys also requires us to explore innovative ways to make it engaging for them, which has been our focus,” said Alina Amir, co-founder of Arus Academy, the social enterprise who has partnered with FWD Takaful to bring the programme to the masses for free.
During the Global Money Week, Fun(d) for Life will be hosting various activities for youths, parents and teachers. This will include a class on mobile app development to empower students with providing financial literacy solutions to their community offering prize money up to RM1,800, a video series on money concepts for teens followed by a quiz competition as well as a dialogue between teens in Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei & Indonesia on the topic of money. Motivational talks to expose underprivileged teens to careers in finance will also be organised.
As a firm believer that it takes a village to raise a financially-literate child, the programme will also be running a contest to encourage parents to share their tips on raising financially-literate families. There will also be daily webinars to guide teachers on how to integrate financial literacy into the classroom in line with the Ministry of Education’s guidelines on financial literacy. It will be collaborating with Bank Negara Malaysia, AKPK, Securities Commission & FWD Takaful on these initiatives, which offers cash prizes and devices to help participants with online learning and teaching.
According to Wan Ahmad Najib, Chief Strategy and Digital Distribution Officer of FWD Takaful, “At FWD Takaful we have a vision of changing the way people feel about takaful and believe financial literacy is key to achieving this vision. We initiated Fun(d) For Life with our partner Arus Academy in 2019, leveraging our shared passion and expertise for digital technology to make financial literacy more accessible for the younger generation. We’re delighted to introduce Fun(d) For Life beyond Malaysia via the Global Money Week 2021 as part of our commitment to expanding and enhancing financial literacy for our future generations.”
The Fun(d) for Life programme is in support of the Financial Education Network (FEN) and is in line with Malaysia’s National Strategy for Financial Literacy 2019-2023 to improve the financial well-being of Malaysians. It comprises face-to-face and virtual camps for selected participants as well as an online portal with dedicated sections and content for students, parents and teachers in Bahasa Melayu and English. The Portal is filled with interactive games, videos, infographics, comics and activity tips for the whole family to access from the comfort of their homes. It covers a wide range of financial topics relevant to 7-18 year olds including savings, budgeting, foreign currency, long-term planning, online scams and frauds.
To participate in the various activities it will be hosting throughout Global Money Week, please visit www.fundfor.life/GlobalMoneyWeek.
