Aflatoun, Child Social and Financial Education Dr. Tahira K. Hira, professor & Senior Policy Advisor to the President On Behalf of Child & Youth Finance International Financial Literacy Leadership Conference, Washingtom D.C, USA

Aflatoun Background Vision: The reduction of poverty through the development of socially and financially empowered children and youth. Mission: To inspire children and youth to socially and economically empower themselves to be agents of change in their own lives and for a more equitable world. Concept: The lack of basic knowledge about rights, responsibilities and finance is at the root of economic and social inequity.

What makes the Aflatoun Program Different? The balance of social and financial education is what makes the Aflatoun concept so unique. Aflatoun believes that a combination on economic empowerment and social education achieves holistic and sustainable empowerment. The Program targets children aged 6-14 (an age range that has not received much focus) in schools, alternative education and non-formal settings. Its methodology is engaging and child friendly, and puts children at the Centre of the learning process through songs, stories, games and worksheets.

Aflatoun’s Theory of Change The theory of change explains how the core curriculum elements are expected to develop certain competency outcomes which results in specific behavioral change. The behavioral change is expected to produce impact in the medium to long term.

Personal Understanding and Exploration: Child-centred activity lessons Core Elements Personal Understanding and Exploration: Child-centred activity lessons Rights and Responsibilities: Self-organized children clubs to exercise participation Saving and Spending: Savings activities, both monetary and non-monetary Planning and Budgeting: Economic socialization through savings books, ledgers and bank accounts Social and Financial Enterprise: Social, community focused and income-generating entrepreneurial activities Wanted to share with you a couple of books that would be the version for the US to adapt. These books are a new set done for European countries but aimed also for English speaking partners in the Americas, of course they would need some adaptations but I thought maybe you wanted to take a look at them as they are new and off the press.   Book 1 Book 2 Book 3 Book 4 Book 5 Book 6 Book 7 Book 8 Teacher’s Guide

Partnership Model Work through organizations (INGOs, NGOs, Government, Microfinance and Savings Institutions, Teacher training institutes) to deliver programmes Provide curriculum, technical support, capacity building opportunities, coordination events and shared services to partners of the network Facilitate multi-stakeholder delivery approaches and regional/global advocacy and fundraising

Programme Delivery: Network Partners Like-minded organizations that come together around our concept with a sense of shared mission and purpose Local ownership and curriculum contextualization helps filling gaps or compliments existing programming activities Balance of centralized quality assurance with partners, board and taskforces input  

Programme Delivery: Teacher Training Colleges (Afla Academy) Two-week pre-service training to familiarize student teachers with Aflatoun materials and explore appropriate, child-centred use. A focus on active-learning methods that is transferable beyond Aflatoun and across national curriculum. Agreement that graduating teachers are permitted to pilot program in schools

Outreach Partners in over 100 countries – 83 countries deliver Aflatoun, over 20 countries are preparing to pilot Reaching a total of 1,300,000 children – 1,000,000 of which in Aflatoun in 2010 Implemented in schools and non-formal education centers around the world Teaching material in 60 different contextualized editions and 30 languages Added one more since we sent you the proposal

Aflatoun Around the World MENA & FR Africa (19) Jordan Egypt Sudan Palestine Morocco Lebanon Yemen Guinea Conakry Guinea Bissau Mauritius Chad Niger Togo Côte D’Ivoire Mali Burkina Faso Rwanda Cameroon DR Congo Europe (12) Serbia United Kingdom Moldova The Netherlands Kosovo Albania Lithuania Georgia Kazakhstan Belarus Portugal Macedonia Asia (18) India Bangladesh Nepal Pakistan Philippines Thailand China Indonesia Cambodia Mongolia Afghanistan Kyrgyzstan Sri Lanka Laos Azerbaijan Tajikistan Malaysia Vietnam Africa (17) Ghana Kenya Mozambique Namibia Nigeria Tanzania Uganda Zimbabwe Senegal Gambia Lesotho Ethiopia Madagascar Zambia Sierra Leone Botswana Swaziland Americas (17) Argentina Ecuador Paraguay Peru Costa Rica Nicaragua El Salvador Brazil Chile Honduras Panama Guatemala Mexico Colombia Bolivia Suriname Puerto Rico

Achievements 49% of Aflatoun children are actively saving, that equates to 276,849 children The average amount saved per month is 0.55 Euro cents per month (USD 2,750,000 / EUR 2,162,028) Children run 976 social enterprises and 4,054 micro enterprises

Why? Child and Youth Finance Education Certified Savings Accounts Certified Savings Accounts Child and Youth Finance Education Certified Savings Accounts Have Avoid Stay in school longer Greater self-confidence Does not fear formal financial institutions Make choices Start an enterprise Plan for future Can spot high interest Avoid Money Lenders in Crisis Get loans from financial institutions Think twice going into debt Improve financial capability, Break the cycle of poverty! Make changes for themselves and communities Documentation of the impact to generate a solid body of evidence that demonstrates a positive relationship between aflatoun’s approaches and improved educational outcomes

Step by step guidelines available for the pilot phase Initial preparation Planning Material development Training Going live with program Review and Reflections

Aflateen (Youth Program) Target audience for youth aged 15 and above. Learning themes are developed towards the lifestyle of a teenager, reflecting its complexity compared to that of a child. Non-formal peer-to-peer learning will be encouraged where youth can take on a facilitative role in the learning experience. E learning modules in development to reach youth across the globe. Program pilot started in 2011.

The role of the secretariat Program set up related Sharing all educational materials Providing orientation and training Providing the Aflakit – partner manual, training manual, evaluation manual, governance manual and resource mobilization manual Facilitating a visit to the program Concept impact related Overseeing quality assurance and impact system, analyzing and publishing data collected Continuing improving the concept

Join our partners!!

Valerie Meza, Americas Program Manager www.aflatoun.org videos for more information: Aflatoun in short: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3RbCtAytH-Q 6 steps of implementation: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YAa6aI22X5I&feature=relmfu Valerie Meza, Americas Program Manager valerie@aflatoun.org Aflatoun, Child Social & Financial Education Nieuwezijds Voorburgwal 120 – 126 | PO Box 15991 1012 NL Amsterdam | The Netherlands ph: +31 20 7601340

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