Through UNICEF and its Universal Declaration of the Rights of the Child, andm November 20, 1959, the date in its commemoration became effective annually in most countries. In Brazil, a few decades earlier, attempts were made to standardize a date for children. On November 5, 1924, Decree No. 4867 established October 12 as the official date for commemorating Children's Day in the country.
Although Brazil continues to fight problems that have been eradicated in various parts of the world, such as exploitation through child labor and domestic violence, some actions related to education as a way to enable a sustainable cycle of moral and financial development over the years have been the object of attention. One of them is the implementation of children's financial education in Brazil.
Before the start of the pandemic, the International Student Assessment Program (PISA) of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) reported the financial education level of Brazilians in the period from 2015 to 2018 as below desirable. In the Investor X-Ray survey, carried out by the Brazilian Association of Financial and Capital Market Entities (AMBIMA), 62% of the Brazilian population was unable to save money in 2019, starting the year 2020 with no financial reserve. At the same time, according to data from Ibope Inteligência, only 21% of internet users in the country received guidance on how to take care of their own money in their childhood. Most respondents who received basic finances report that this occurred later, 38% in adolescence and 14% in adulthood.
If we think that after these surveys, we are facing a pandemic that is still on the way to eradication and has left serious consequences on the economy, the vision of the future seems disheartening. But with regard to education, one aspect allows us to think positively about a different future. This is because the Ministry of Education (MEC), in partnership with the Securities and Exchange Commission (CVM), is training, through a financial education incentive program, teachers in the 9th grade of elementary school and the 1st grade of high school. of municipal, state and military public schools across the country. With free courses, through an online platform, professionals will have the knowledge to make topics such as financial planning, personal finance management and investments part of the daily lives of children and adolescents. The goal is to train 500 teachers over the next three years. In other words, financial education is now on the National Common Curricular Base (BNCC), providing for a minimum that must be taught in schools across the country, from kindergarten to high school.
Bearing in mind that, according to the Associação de Educação Financeira do Brasil (AEF-Brasil), one in three students learn to save money after participating in financial education projects, introducing the topic in schools means advancement for Brazil and a glimpse that in a few years, our culture may differ from the current one and a seed for the reduction of social inequalities. Children's financial education is essential for the new generations, especially if we consider the recent changes in the world of work, which imply demands from people with safe and conscious decision-making.
Amid the pandemic, many children's actions were reported, bringing hope for a future of opportunities. According to B3, in one year the number of registered investors up to 15 years of age increased by 65,5%. The Stock Exchange has 10.210 accounts registered in the name of children under the age of 15, according to data from July this year. Of the total, 5.693 are for boys (R$ 1,57 billion) and 4.517 for girls (R$ 0,21 billion). Together, they invest R$ 1,79 billion in assets.
These numbers show that financial education is taking shape in Brazil.
Children's financial education is responsible for creating generations concerned with economic development, which, when promoted, also positively interferes with sustainable development. Thinking about financial education is also thinking about developing ethical values and encouraging responsible choices.
TATICCA - ALLINIAL GLOBAL values childhood and believes in the transforming power of children.
Happy Children's Day!