Visual art used to teach financial literacy

Mon, 03 Apr 2017 13:05:10 +0000

A NEW initiative for women and children aimed at improving financial literacy through visual art has been launched by the Financial Sector Deepening Zambia countrywide.

The initiative, duped “Know.Plan.Live”, is part of the financial literacy week which ended last week and was one of the activities embarked on by FsdZambia countrywide effective 1st March 2017 up to next year.

Other activities include debates in secondary schools, an animation of savings group, a children’s art contest in every province and videos of rural Zambians talking about finance.

Speaking at the official opening where women and children showcased their art in Lusaka, FsdZambia board member, Dolika Banda, explained that the goal of each activity was to test a unique form of communicating financial information through art.

Ms Banda said FsdZambia was closely tracking results to see which areas needed improvement to ensure more financial literacy.

“These creations show the struggles Zambian women face in improving their financial lives. But they also reveal opportunities for financial service providers to address these constraints,” she said.

She said the children’s art competition began in Lusaka last week and would reach classrooms in each province over the next one year.

And Bank of Zambia (BoZ) deputy governor for administration, Tukiya Kankasa, said the campaign was a response to the financial education objective laid out in the national strategy on financial education.

Dr Kankasa said the unique approach told a story of women through the brushes of women.

“We are testing this model as one of the ways to reach many Zambians with these messages. We at the bank of Zambia look forward to seeing how this message continues to grow.

“To members from financial service providers, mobile network operators, insurance companies, regulators and indeed the media, use this as an opportunity to start a discussion,’’ she said.