International Federation of Finance Museums Meetings
On September 8, 2016, representatives from finance museums around the world as well as regulators, policy makers, and private-sector professionals came together at the Museo Interactivo de Economía in Mexico City for the 4th International Federation of Finance Museums (IFFM) Annual Meeting. As a co-founder of and the academic advisor to the IFFM, GFLEC was delighted to participate in the meeting and engage in discussions of how financial literacy research can be used to further financial education efforts.
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IFFM Annual Meeting 2016 ProgramThe annual meeting included an inspiring keynote speech by Lesley Lewis, former CEO of the Ontario Science Centre. She focused her remarks on the role of innovation in inspiring and engaging visitors. Director Lusardi also joined the program with a presentation on GFLEC’s research demonstrating a global gender gap in financial literacy and an appeal for people to embrace the Beijing Financial Literacy Manifesto. Several museums gave presentations on their activities: Erste Financial Life Park (Vienna, Austria), Money Matters at the British Museum (London, England), The Federal Reserve Bank of New York (USA), the Savings Museum (Turin, Italy), and the Museo Interactivo de Economía (Mexico City, Mexico). Bank representatives also joined the program to share their financial education programs and strategies. |
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Research on the Global Gender GapGFLEC’s extensive research on the gender gap in financial literacy around the world was the focus of a presentation by Director Annamaria Lusardi at the IFFM meeting. This research laid the foundation for the IFFM Gender Gap Toolkit described below. By incorporating the research, the toolkit is well-equipped to effectively teach women and girls financial literacy. Moreover, the research provides a clear case for why such a toolkit is so important and why the gender gap was chosen as the theme for the IFFM this past year. As the toolkit initiative demonstrates, research is in the fiber of the IFFM. Gender Differences in Financial Literacy Around the World – Lusardi Presentation |
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IFFM Gender Gap ToolkitThe release of a toolkit to address the gender gap in financial literacy was the culmination of work by IFFM members. The gender gap was this past year’s IFFM’s theme and the open-source toolkit provides practical projects that could be incorporated into finance museums. The programs target different age groups and financial literacy topics. Finance museums are encouraged to implement the projects and provide feedback as well as to create new projects to be added to the toolkit. |
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Beijing Financial Literacy Manifesto“Financial Literacy is an essential skill in today’s society. Just as it was not possible to thrive in an industrialized society without basic literacy—the ability to read and write—so it is not possible to navigate today’s world without being financially literate.” The Beijing Financial Literacy Manifesto’s call to action, which was launched at the 2015 annual meeting, was reaffirmed at this event. During her presentation, Director Annamaria Lusardi asked everyone to be an ambassador for financial literacy and to demand financial education in their schools, workplaces, libraries, and museums. |