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8,000 students involved in this year’s Citi Financial Education School Program in Hungary

The Program continues with a $85,000 grant from the Citi Foundation

November 21, 2013

Hungary, Budapest. Another 8,000 pupils will now have access to innovative technology-based teaching materials in the 26 elementary schools across Hungary participating in this year’s Citi Financial Education School Program. It is the joint financial capability building program of Citi Hungary and Junior Achievement Hungary (JAH) launched in 2001.

Aftab Ahmed, Citi Country Officer for Citi Hungary said, “We aim to inspire and prepare young students aged 10-14 to manage, save and spend their money wisely now and later in their lives. We do this through providing materials and showing experiences to help them understand the basics of finance and economics, as well as gain basic money management skills.”

Participating schools receive modern, technology-based curriculum resources and innovative teaching strategies that are providing basic knowledge through an interesting and interactive set of games. Key themes include family budget, income and expenses, credit and risks, saving and investing, supply and demand, market and competition. All materials were developed by Junior Achievement and have been adapted to reflect Hungary’s market environment and to suit pupils’ age. Continuous mentoring and coaching support from JAH staff also contribute to the program success.

In the Spring of 2014, the program ends with a financial capability competition roadshow that aims to stimulate the students’ competitiveness and competencies developed throughout the program.

Together with this year’s grant of $85,000, the Citi Foundation has donated a total of 1.4 million dollars to JAH in the last 13 years in support of the program in which altogether 154,000 students in 388 schools in Hungary benefit from the modern personal finance training materials.

Orsolya Gergely, Managing Director of Junior Achievement Hungary, said, “It is great to have the opportunity to continue this successful program with support from Citi. I hope students realize that what they have just received was far more than a one-off gift. It is rather an opportunity to acquire skills and competencies like money management, decision making, problem solving, teamwork, or negotiating that will all help them succeed in a market economy as grown-ups. Effective use of the life-long knowledge gained by the students through this program has been reinforced by teachers and parents in the last thirteen years.”

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