The conference organised by the Cyprus Financial Literacy and Education Committee (CyFLEC), entitled “Financial Literacy for the Youth: Preparing the Next Generation,” proved to be highly enlightening, showcasing international perspectives, best practices, and practical examples. Held on Thursday, 13 March 2025, it aimed to underscore the importance of strengthening financial literacy from the very earliest stages of citizens’ lives. The conference placed particular emphasis on strategies to strengthen financial literacy among young people, along with practical approaches to fostering sound financial habits.

The keynote speaker of the conference was the President of the Republic, Nikos Christodoulides, who stated in his address that Financial literacy is a decisive factor for mantaining the prosperity and resilience of the economy, strengthening competitiveness, and it also affects our country’s society, as well as each and every one of the citizens. An economy that is based on financially literate citizens, consumers, and employees is clearly more resilient to crises. Recognizing, therefore, the importance of financial literacy, the government has set financial education as a key priority.”

Welcoming the conference, the Governor of the Central Bank of Cyprus and Chairman ofCyFLEC, Christodoulos Patsalides, emphasized that the need to strengthen financial education in Cyprus is urgent, as confirmed by the findings of the recent Pancyprian Financial Literacy Survey. He underlined that financial education is not a luxury. It is a fundamental right and an essential skill for the citizen of the 21st century. The success of the strategy depends on the commitment of all — the state, institutions, universities, businesses, and society.”

At the conference, opening remarks were delivered by the Minister of Education, Athina Michaelidou; on behalf of the Minister of Finance, by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Finance; and by the Vice President of the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission, Panikkos Vakkou.

The conference ended with two panel discussions.

The first discussion, moderated by Michalis Haliassos, Professor and Chair for Macroeconomics and Finance at Goethe University Frankfurt, was titled “Learning from the World: Global Best Practices in Youth Financial Literacy.” The panel featured distinguished experts, including Adele Atkinson, Professor of Practice at the Centre on Household Assets and Savings Management (CHASM) at the University of Birmingham; Maria Demertzis, Chief Economist for Europe at The Conference Board Europe and affiliated with the European University Institute; Alexandros Michaelides, Professor of Finance at Imperial College Business School; and Dennis Philip, Professor of Finance at Durham University Business School.

The second discussion, moderated by Sophia Anyfantaki, Senior Economist at the European Central Bank and Research Economist at the Bank of Greece, was titled “Empowering Cyprus’ Youth: Strategies and Opportunities in Financial Education.”The panel brought together distinguished participants, including Panagiotis Andreou, Associate Professor of Finance at the Department of Finance, Accounting and Management Science at the Cyprus University of Technology (CUT); Leonidas Kyriakides, Professor of Educational Research and Evaluation at the University of Cyprus; and Andreas Milidonis, Professor of Finance and Head of the Department of Accounting and Finance at the University of Cyprus.

The conference was held under the auspices of the President of the Republic and took place within the framework of Global Money Week, the annual global campaign held every March, aimed at inspiring people to acquire the financial knowledge needed to make sound financial decisions.

In addition to the conference, CyFLEC also organised thematic workshops as part of Global Money Week for journalists, educators, civil society representatives, university students, and school pupils.

All activities were coordinated by CyFLEC’s Coordination and Management Team, which is based at the Central Bank of Cyprus.