“ART OF SAVING”:

On the occasion of the World Savings Day, October 31, 2019, Intesa Sanpaolo Bank Albania joined for the third consecutive year the successful international initiative “ART OF SAVING” of Intesa Sanpaolo Group & Savings Museum (Museo del Risparmio), Gallerie d’Italia & the Historical Archive. The concept was created by the Museum of Saving, a multimedia laboratory located in Turin, Italy that specializes in economic-financial education.

The initiative “ART OF SAVING”, which is based on informal education methods, aims to teach children the importance of savings by using practical examples.

The national wide initiative “ART OF SAVING” was organized with the support of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports in Albania involved 56 Intesa Sanpaolo Bank Albania employees and around 2100 children and teens (1,300 students of elementary school, around 460 of secondary school and 350 from high schools).

For the third consecutive year, Intesa Sanpaolo Bank Albania in cooperation with the Ministry of Education, Sports & Youth, supported the financial education among early ages & teens in Albania. Financial Education to the youngsters is provided through Intesa Sanpaolo Bank Albania employees, who on a voluntary basis have acted as instructors presenting four curricula (multimedia labs) prepared by the Museum of Savings* in Turin. Three curricula were focused on saving concepts, engaging children through games and group plays to create simple financial plans and to understand how to control their expenses, while the fourth one was focused on recycling and on the basic concepts of circular economy.  The multimedia labs for “ART OF SAVING” activities were designed based on the needs of each age group, considering their previous knowledge and children age-interests.

During “ART OF SAVING” initiative that was organized from October 30^th until November 5^th 2019, 56 staff members of Intesa Sanpaolo Bank Albania volunteered to teach in 41 schools throughout the country. Nearly 1,300 children aged 6-10 years old, around 460 children aged 11-14 years old, and around 350 teens were part of this initiative, where bank employees shared the basic concepts of saving and its importance in accomplishing their future dreams.

Children were engaged in various games and quizzes which aimed at familiarizing them with the concepts of personal finance management, how to identify targets, how to categorize them in time and how to create opportunities for open discussions about basic financial concepts by working in teams. In addition, they learned more about the importance of recycling and how that benefits them and to the entire society nowadays and for the future.

Silvio Pedrazzi, CEO of Intesa Sanpaolo Bank Albania emphasized that ART OF SAVINGS initiative highlights for another consecutive year the active role that every bank employee has in raising the awareness about the importance of financial education, starting from the early ages. In addition, children are learning about the basic concepts of a circular economy and about recycling.

“We are extremely happy of the children feedback and interest shown during ART OF SAVING sessions. Our volunteers are the best ambassadors of spreading awareness on the importance of financial education among the new generation. It’s with our great pride that our volunteers engage each year to this activity and we have the possibility to reach more children. This year, ART OF SAVING was geographically spread in all the cities of the country where Intesa Sanpaolo Bank Albania operates.

The inclusion of a specific curricula on recycling in the ART OF SAVING initiative, has given us the possibility to teach children about the basic concepts of circular economy that Intesa Sanpaolo has already embraced and invested upon the last years. Circular Economy is an important tool to challenge not only the linear economy model but also the consumption of natural resources while reminding to all the citizens to proactively stop further pollution of our planet. Intesa Sanpaolo will continue to take concrete actions to facilitate the access of new generations to services provided by the financial sector while raising their awareness on a more protected and sustainable environment”.