WHEN the National Confederation of Cooperatives (Natcco) introduced the Aflatoun program in the Philippines back in 2007, only 18 schools were open to the idea of integrating financial education in the subject areas and introducing the concept of child-friendly savings.
Today, more than 1,400 schools are part of the Aflatoun network and are actively implemented by 7,200 teachers across the country. The translation of the teachers’ efforts can be seen on the financial behavior of the children. Through the years, the small yet consistent savings of Aflatoun kids reached P153 million—a testament that children, especially the poor, if given the education and the access, can save and break the intergenerational cycle of poverty.
The Aflatoun Financial Education Leaders’ Congress on October 11 and 12, held at the Microtel Hotel at the UP Technohub in Quezon City gathered 90 thought leaders on social and financial education from the government, cooperatives, schools, international and national nongovernment organizations and civil-society organizations. The Department of Education, Natcco’s major partner in the implementation of the Aflatoun program, presented the updates on the implementation of Financial Education Curriculum across grade levels, particularly on the Policy on the Integration of the Financial Education in the K-12 Curriculum.
The updates were given by Jocelyn Andaya, Director IV of the Bureau of Curriculum Development, and Aileen Supnad, Supervising Education Program Specialist.
As part of the international movement, Brian Lariche, Aflatoun Board for Asia, discussed the global reach of Aflatoun and the strategic direction that hinges on advocacy, quality programs and scale-up.
Alan Wang, Aflatoun Board and executive director of Be Better Education in China, shared how the program has created positive impact in the lives of the young children by developing their entrepreneurial skills and exposing them to fun activities that stimulate creativity and greater self-confidence.
Natcco recognizes the value of smart partnerships in furthering the goals of the program. The European Union in the Philippines is one organization that supports youth inclusion through its Framework Partnership Agreement signed with the International Cooperative Alliance. Ambassador Franz Jessen, Ambassador of the EU Delegation to the Philippines, inspired the congress participants with a message about Youth, Cooperatives, and the ICA-EU Partnership: Prospects and Future Partnership for Co-ops in the Philippines.
Ambassador Jessen shared the EU’s commitment to providing the youth with more opportunities to have their voices heard and helping future leaders to emerge. He was excited to share that the EU’s focus will even be strengthened and mainstreamed in all activities of future cooperation programs to build young people’s capacities, strengthen their access to resources, link them to the private sector, and enhance their involvement in value chains.
As the country is being challenged by issues on food security, the European Union is also convinced that resources should be invested in areas like agriculture, where the impact will be high, especially in the rural areas.
Since its inception more than a decade ago, the Aflatoun program has been consistent and committed in providing children and young people with the tools to build a better future. By becoming socially and economically empowered, they are inspired to discover their talents and stand up for their rights, enabling them to make a positive change to their lives.
A statement of the congress participants said, “ With the support of a strong network of more than 145 cooperative partners and DepEd divisions, we have established our mark as one of the thought leaders of child social and financial education in the Philippines. As the program thrived during the first decade of its implementation, we continue to need the input of our major partners, the Department of Education and other development partners, to shape, tailor and drive our program to the specific needs, challenges and aspirations of children, youth, teachers and cooperators. In the process, we hope to see a large stimulus for the innovation and expansion of our implementation as DepEd’s partner in the Financial Education curriculum across all grade levels. This gathering hopes to present the framework and priorities for the program in the coming years, with the DepEd and cooperatives as allies, guided by the strategic framework of Aflatoun International.”
The congress presented a holistic and sustainable mechanism for private and public partnerships. As one of the best forms of social enterprises, co-ops promote equity, inclusion and inclusive education—continuously stirring the spirit of innovation and creating stronger partnerships to develop more children and youth.
1 comment
Hello. I just want to ask about my sister’s aflatoun. It been 4 months but until now we can’t withdraw my sister’s money. They said that there are problems in the aflatoun managemnet. It’s unfair because others got their money, while many of us didn’t get it. There’s no even proper talk or notice about this happening. Why is that? It says that aflatoun aim to produce young and responsible citizens. How come that your organization didn’t do it’s responsibilities?