Gamification workshop aims to improve children’s financial literacy

HSBC Malta Foundation and the Retirement and Financial Capability Group (RFCG) within the Ministry for the Family, Children’s Rights and Social Solidarity — through its Ġemma initiative — have teamed up in launching a programme aimed at improving the financial literacy of young children attending a number of Skolasajf centres this summer, according to a press statement sent to Business Malta.

The programme centres around a workshop entitled “Needs and Wants”, which adopts gamification to get children engaged and have fun while learning. The workshop was originally developed by the Primary Mathematics Support Team at the Science Centre Pembroke within the Ministry for Education for ‘X’Hemm Weekend’, a national STEM — the academic principle of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics — popularisation event and was specifically adapted for Skolasajf.

Playing the game during the workshop, children can earn credit when answering questions about financial literacy correctly and then they work on building a kite using the budget they have accumulated. Maths Support Team members and coordinators of the workshop Amanda Cilia, Analisa Magro, Francesca Cutajar and Jeanelle Attard agree that gamification makes a topic such as budgeting more interesting for children to learn the basics of budgeting.

“It is imperative that digital literacy increases across the board and especially important to start early so that children grow up understanding that one should live within their means and also plan for the future,” said David Spiteri-Gingell, Chairman of the RFCG.

“The introduction of the financial literacy topic in the Skolasajf programme is a step in the right direction, towards helping children become citizens that can make informed choices,” said Dermot Galea, CEO of the Foundation for Educational Services which manages Skolasajf. Mr Galea also lauded the partnership with HSBC, which is being consolidated every year.

The project will involve a total of 360 school children attending Skolasajf during this summer. This is one of a number of projects which HSBC Foundation and Ġemma are running in collaboration to enhance digital literacy among school children.