The project will start with a survey in 200 schools and will continue with trainings for students and teachers.

The large-scale initiative starts with a survey of the level of financial literacy of the students from grades 1 to 12, which will be conducted in the period November 2015 – February 2016 in 200 schools across the country, and will end at the end of 2017. Experts from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) will present the results at the beginning of 2016 and in a series of seminars they will share the experience of other countries in the financial literacy training and will recommend measures to Bulgaria.

Initiator of the project is Junior Achievement Bulgaria. For 10 years they have been creating, adapting and applying in a number of schools educational programmes for economic and financial literacy. This survey and the subsequent trainings aim at opening the doors for wide social partnership for modernization of the education and for inclusion of the financial literacy as an element of the key competence "initiative and entrepreneurship".

Special guest at the press conference that laid the beginnings of the project was Tsvetanka Mincheva, member of the Management Board and Head of Retail Banking at UniCredit Bulbank. She shared the motives of the largest bank in Bulgaria to get involved in the initiative: "The wealth and well-being of the people depends directly on their education and more specifically on their personal financial culture. The investment which UniCredit Bulbank makes by participating in this project is an investment in a better life for our children in a wealthier and orderly country. The new technologies have a growing importance for the improvement of the financial culture. That is why UniCredit is going to invest over 1.2 billion euro in digitalization of the services in the next three years."

Investing in education is high priority to UniCredit Bulbank. The objective of the financial institution is to enable the young people to improve their ability to manage their personal finances and to develop their economic potential so as to be able to better accomplish their aspirations and overcome difficulties.

Further information for clients:

UniCredit Bulbank, Call Centre

Phone number: 0700 1 84 84

More information for media:

UniCredit Bulbank, Identity & Communications Department

Viktoria Blajeva, Phone: + 359 2 9264 993, wjlj/ebwjepwbAvojdsfejuhspvq/ch

Magdalena Ivanova, Phone: + 359 2 9232 528, nbhebmfob/jwbopwbAvojdsfejuhspvq/ch