Every year World Savings Day is globally celebrated on October 31 to call attention to the importance of savings as a way to reduce poverty, promote financial literacy, and educate people about saving and managing their finances. Aflatoun International, in partnership with the World Savings and Retail Banking Institute (WSBI), takes an active part in the celebrations for this day and carries out several activities and campaigns to advocate social and financial education for all children and young people.
This year the World Savings Day is celebrated under the theme; `When you save a bit, big things follow.` WSBI encouraged people to share their saving stories, asking why and how they save, as a way to bring awareness to the topic and inspire others. Especially in the backdrop of a pandemic, the topic of saving and managing finances has become more relevant than ever.
World Savings Day celebrations at Aflatoun International started with an online kick-off event on 19 October. In this event, Our CEO, Roeland Monasch, gave a speech titled; `When children learn to save, big things follow` focusing on the importance of learning to save at an early age. Iona Bain, a UK-based writer, speaker and broadcaster specialising in young people and finance, talked about saving in an uncertain world.
Children learning how to save at an early age