Febelfin and Kamal Kharmach teach youngsters in a playful manner how much fun the economy can be
19 December 2022 - 7 min Reading time
Customized school performances, a TikTok channel and new educational materials about crypto are all intended to raise young people’s financial literacy
A study by the research agency Indiville in collaboration with Febelfin shows that young people are keen to receive more financial information. They are primarily interested in information about investing, becoming self-reliant and applying for credit. To meet the demand, Febelfin is working constantly on new content intended to raise the level of young people’s financial literacy.
Nationaal onderzoek van Febelfin i.s.m. onderzoeksbureau Indiville bij 2164 Belgen tussen 16 en 79 jaar oud, waarvan 746 tussen 16 en 30 jaar oud (maart 2022).
Febelfin therefore recently launched a new TikTok channel chock-full of ‘FinTok’, and there is new free educational material about crypto available for teachers and students. And as the cherry on the cake, Febelfin in collaboration with the TV personality and lecturer Kamal Kharmach is producing school performances titled ‘Economedy’. Via these shows, young people are given all sorts of handy facts about the workings of the economy.
The best thing about this collaboration is that Febelfin makes it possible for me to show young people across Belgium how much fun the economy can be. These are often shows that I take to companies. But thanks to the support of Febelfin, schools can also sign up for them. And the fact that they also provide teaching packets is the icing on the cake.
Everything you always wanted to know about money matters (the things you don’t learn at school)
Febelfin regularly surveys the financial literacy of young people. That their knowledge of all things financial is not optimal was already set out in earlier press releases. Here are a few of the observations from the study.
- More than six out of ten young people say they know (next to) nothing about investing, applying for credit or pension savings.
- Barely 37% of young people are involved in money matters, which represents a decline from last year (44%). Just over half of young people say they know enough or at least something about budget management or keeping daily financial records.
- Young people are mostly searching for information about investing, becoming self-reliant and applying for credit.
Yet basic financial knowledge is essential in order to manage money well and further build up your assets. That is why Febelfin has long been designing educational materials and new initiatives among young people in order to support them in these areas as much as possible.
It is also very important to devote enough space in young people’s school curriculum for financial education. Increasing their level of financial knowledge is a shared responsibility in which both the financial sector and the government, the schools and other stakeholders need to play an important role. Febelfin wants to support young people and schools by offering them the necessary tools. Objective information about money matters that one does not usually learn at school, made to measure and relevant to young people’s daily lives.
TikTok helps improve the financial literacy of Gen Z
In order to fill the gaps in young people’s financial knowledge, the updated website ‘Mijngeldenik.be’ was launched recently, with a great deal of new content. On the website, Febelfin explains various aspects of daily financial life: payments, banks and credit, saving and borrowing, etc. There is also a series of articles available on the topic of purchasing your first home. This is content that meets young people’s demand for more information about borrowing/credit. The articles describe in plain language how you can start the process of buying your own home, for example, from setting a budget to taking out a home loan. They devote particular attention to explaining specific terms (such as outstanding balance insurance, fixed/variable interest rate, etc.) associated with this process.
In order to get this content across to youngsters, Febelfin has set up a new TikTok channel with information about all sorts of topics such as online fraud, crypto, digital payments, etc., by appealing to the latest trends and providing a mass of informative tips and tricks. And it is clearly a success, since the TikTok video on how to destroy a bank card went viral with 1.2 million views.
Ready-to-use lesson plans and a soap opera about crypto
On the topic of investing, Febelfin has been working with ED TV to develop new educational materials about crypto. The aim is to help students see the forest for the trees and teach them the do’s and don’ts of the crypto world in a neutral manner. They also receive explanations of alternative forms of investment.
These materials fit in with the qualifications and have been designed in collaboration with the University College Ghent (Hogeschool Gent). The material consists on the one hand of a 3-part soap opera ‘Bits of coins’, and on the other of lesson plans for teachers. In ‘Bits of coins’, we follow the story of Jack, age 17. He has a student job as a courier but would like to earn more money. And the sooner, the better, of course. Jack discovers the crypto world, but soon finds himself facing problems. The teachers can use the lesson plans out of the box in order to discuss the topic in class.
The target group for this educational material are third-grade secondary school students.
Febelfin is convinced that this new and free educational material will help teachers convey in an interactive manner to their students the need to remain vigilant as regards crypto (investments). A study conducted by Febelfin has shown that 1 out of 5 young people in Belgium own cryptos. Given recent developments and the debate occasioned by the VRT programme about the FIRE movement, it is clear that young people need a neutral source of information and to be made aware that there is no such thing as ‘quick money’.
'Economedy’: see how much fun the economy can be
Febelfin is delighted to announce a new collaboration with Kamal Kharmach. Kamal Kharmach is not only a TV personality and stand-up comedian, but is also fascinated by everything to do with the economy. He is a lecturer in business economics at the Karel de Grote university of applied sciences and the presenter of the VRT programme ‘Andermans Zaken’. This makes him the perfect person to explain the economy and the financial world in a transparent and simple manner.
With his show ‘Economedy’, Kamal takes a humorous look at the economy. He seeks to familiarize young people with how the economy works and show that the economy can be an exciting, fun and omnipresent subject. The show is chock-full of fun facts and is thus ideally suited as a school performance customized for young people.
Kamal Kharmach: “The best thing about this collaboration is that Febelfin makes it possible for me to show young people across Belgium how much fun the economy can be. These are often shows that I take to companies. But thanks to the support of Febelfin, schools can also sign up for them. And the fact that they also provide teaching packets is the icing on the cake.”
Karel Baert, CEO of Febelfin: “We are delighted with this new collaboration. The economy and the financial sector are often too abstract for young people. With these new shows, we seek to show that the economy and finance is more closely linked to their daily lives than they might think, and that a good basic financial knowledge is necessary in order to manage your money well and build a shining future.”
