The Institute of Financial Studies (ISF) has joined, for the 11th consecutive year, the initiative of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and organized, during the Global Money Week – GMW (March 17–21, 2025), a series of financial education programs and actions aimed at academia, the business environment, students, and high school students.
The programs conducted by ISF aimed to enhance the level of financial education among teachers, high school students, and university students by facilitating access for children and young people to concepts and information related to financial markets.
The most significant event during GMW 2025 was the organization of the 9th edition of the European Financial Services Conference ECFS 2025 – “Digital Transition in Financial Services: Challenges and Opportunities Generated by New Regulations”. The event took place in Brașov in a hybrid format. This year’s proceedings sparked debates on financial stability, financial education and resilience, digitalization, artificial intelligence, fintech, new regulations, and sustainability. Representatives from academia, the business sector, regulators, and economists met to establish new trends in financial markets.
The conference was divided into several panels. One panel was dedicated to the process of handling insurance claims through digitalization, with participants primarily being professionals from the industry. Additionally, five academic panels were organized, where university professors and PhD candidates from Romania and abroad presented 41 scientific research papers. Over 100 people attended the conference. The plenary session of the conference was streamed live on the ISF Facebook page.
Main Actions Organized by ISF under the Auspices of GMW 2025:
- 5 sessions of Start2Learn: Personal Finance – a national financial education program aimed at high school students. 173 students learned the basic concepts needed to start planning their financial goals, laying the foundation for a healthy financial life.
- 3 sessions of SmartFIN@ISF & ASF Academic Laboratory – Vocational Training Seminars. These aim to enhance the skills and knowledge of 157 participating students, future consumers of financial services (upon graduation) and potential employees in financial markets (insurance, banking, private pensions, investments).
- 6 sessions of StartFIN – a continuous professional training program for primary school teachers in the non-banking financial sector, attended by 126 teachers.
- 2 sessions of the Insurance Academy – a professional specialization program for students, consisting of a series of training modules delivered by insurance specialists, attended by 100 students.
- Financial education seminars for students of the Academy of Economic Studies of Moldova, organized by ISF and ASF, attended by 550 students.
- An interview given by Prof. Univ. Dr. Marian Siminică, Executive Director of ISF, to the HIT FM Brașov & Metropolitan Area radio station, aimed at improving the level of financial education and understanding of the Romanian financial system. The interview can be accessed here.
- Vocational workshop “TOGETHER, PREPARED FOR THE FUTURE” – 3rd edition, 2025 – ISF, in collaboration with the Petroleum-Gas University in Ploiești, organized a financial education workshop dedicated to high school and university students, attended by 80 students.
Global Money Week is an international event held under the patronage of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), during which entire communities join efforts to promote better knowledge of the financial environment and provide young people with the tools and inspiration needed to shape their own future. This initiative brings together organizations from nearly 170 countries and annually engages over 40 million children and young people.
ISF will continue to develop and implement educational programs in the future to contribute to increasing the level of financial education among the population.
