PRESS RELEASE
Awards ceremony for the winners of ''My money'' design contest

The Bank of Albania organised, on 31 March 2014, the awards ceremony for the winners of "My money" design contest. This contest was organised by the Bank of Albania in cooperation with the Albanian Association of Banks in the framework of the Global Money Week and targeted grade I-III pupils of the schools that have adopted the teaching set "1, 2, 3... Çufo the piglet is learning to save". For the contest, the pupils were invited to make simple designs, drawing on their concept about money.

About 420 designs by 400 children from 13 schools across the country were submitted until 27 March 2014 on the official Facebook page of the Bank of Albania. The 10 best designs were selected according to the number of "Likes" they had received. 

The award ceremony was attended by the Governor of the Bank of Albania, Mr. Ardian Fullani, Minister of Education and Sports, Ms. Lindita Nikolla, Chairman of the Albanian Association of Banks, Mr. Seyhan Pencabligil, and Chief Executive Officer of Raiffeisen Bank in Albania, Mr. Christian Canacaris. During the ceremony, Governor Fullani and Minister Nikolla underlined the importance of financial education at an early age. They added that the pupils' designs were indeed their first steps towards cultivating financial literacy. 

The Bank of Albania gave the top ten contestants a certificate of award and an encyclopaedia, and Raiffeisen Bank Albania sponsored each of the ten winners with ALL 10,000 in a bank account.

"My money" design contest was the second activity organised by the Bank of Albania for I-III graders in the framework of the Global Money Week. The activities for this Week had started with a puppet show "Çufo and Tip, an adventure with goldlets", whose première was staged on 10 March 2014. Also, some high school students, from schools that have adopted the elective module "Personal finance in your hands", paid visits to commercial banks operating in Albania. The students heard and learned first hand about the functioning of banks, their daily work and bank products and services.

The Global Money Week, organised 10 - 17 March, is a worldwide celebration to empower the next generation to be confident, responsible and skilled economic citizens.