Building on the success of previous summits in Hong Kong, Malaysia and South Korea, the 4th Citi-FT Financial Education Summit 2007 on December 6 -7 at the Taj Palace Hotel in New Delhi, India will be the largest international gathering of financial education experts and advocates ever held. This year’s summit, organized by the Citi Foundation, the Pearson Foundation, the Financial Times, and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) — the private sector arm of the World Bank, will be focused on “Partnerships for Progress and Inclusion” and will bring together more than 300 representatives of financial institutions, government agencies, non-governmental organizations, multilateral bodies, educational groups and private business from all over the world. The summit will be a major platform to share different approaches, identify best practices and find ways to generate effective multi-sector solutions on financial education.
Financial literacy is a life-skill that can help close the widening poverty gap, stimulate entrepreneurship and wealth creation at all levels of society, and protect consumers and investors in turbulent times. Governments, educational establishments, the private sector and non-profit organizations have the potential to collectively boost the financial literacy levels of millions of people who have little or no access to financial information. However, most of these stakeholders have still not found partnership solutions that are workable and sustainable.
Gracing the summit once again is Francisco J. Colayco, founder and chairman of the Colayco Foundation for Education (CFE). Mr. Colayco was a speaker during the 2nd summit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in 2005. The organizers have invited him back because of his pioneering work on financial literacy programs for overseas Filipino workers, his insights on how to increase the financial literacy of other types of groups, and how multi-sector partnerships could boost the impact of these financial education programs.
Mr. Colayco will be one of two panelists who will participate in a discussion on “Increasing Financial Literacy in Urban and Semi-Urban Areas”. The delegates will confer on how to boost financial literacy levels, particularly in under-privileged areas, by tailoring financial education programs to meet the needs of specific communities, identifying best practices in content development and delivery, and encouraging effective multi-sector partnerships among governments, educational establishments, the private sector and non-profit organizations.
