| The Bank of Israel today launched an educational campaign under the title "Taking responsibility for our money––Understanding money makes you a winner." The campaign is intended to enrich youngsters' financial knowledge and to give them the tools for intelligent economic conduct. |
| The Supervisor of Banks said, "Financial skills are an integral part of life skills that our children must develop along the road to maturity and independence. The earlier we embark on educating youth to take on economic responsibility with an understanding of banking products, the more we will help to empower them and increase their awareness of their rights as future consumers." |
| The campaign, aimed at youngsters, explains banking and financial issues at a level and in a manner appropriate to the intended audience. The purpose is to present economic concepts such as interest rates, indexation, credit balances, debit balances etc., in a clear and interesting way. |
| The campaign, produced by the Government Advertising Bureau, features four youngsters, each one of whom presents a financial topic: planning a budget and saving; for whom a bank account is suitable; how does one choose a bank; and advice on handling a bank account. Each of the characters describes a problem, and offers the solution by means of a short film. In addition, guidelines have been formulated and tools made available that clarify a broad range of issues, such as reading a bank statement, a savings calculator, a budget table, frequently asked questions (FAQs), and a glossary of financial terms. |
| Facebook was selected as the main platform for presenting the information, as the intention is to make contact with youngsters via the main medium they use. The material is also available on the Bank of Israel website (in Hebrew, English, Russian and Arabic) and on cellular phones. |
| This activity by the Banking Supervision Department in the field of publicity on consumerism is part of the Bank of Israel efforts to promote financial education, some of which are carried out in cooperation with other bodies, such as the National Economic Council in the Prime Minister's Office. |
| Links to the campaign: |
| On Facebook "Taking responsibility for our money" |
| http://www.facebook.com/bankofisrael?sk=app_127345530687422 |
| On cellular phones: |
| wap.moblin.com/bankisrael |
