By Aira Igharas / Special to the BusinessMirror
PRU Life Insurance Corp. of the United Kingdom (Pru Life UK), through its flagship corporate social responsibility program Cha-Ching, held its third annual Cha-Ching Educators’ Conference on Financial Literacy to strengthen its commitment to promote financial knowledge among Filipinos.
The conference, held on August 31 at Marco Polo Ortigas, was attended by 280 private- and public-school teachers from Luzon, the Visayas and Mindanao. About 55 percent of them are new to financial literacy.
“We see them [teachers] as champions of financial literacy. What we want to do is to really equip them with smart money-management skills,” Pru Life UK Senior Brand Activation and Community Relations Specialist AJ Tapia said.
With the theme “Building on the gains of Cha-Ching: Institutionalizing financial literacy in basic education,” the conference aims to teach the participants financial education to be more literate and credible in teaching financial literacy to the younger generation.
The presentations focused on the potentials of incorporation of financial literacy in the grade-school curriculum. Speakers, led by public- and private-sector advocates of financial literacy, discussed developing, celebrating and encouraging the reach of financial knowledge and entrepreneurship in the Philippine educational system.
“The third Cha-Ching Educators’ Conference provides an opportunity for Pru Life UK to take concrete steps and expand wider reach in instilling financial literacy in Filipinos, therefore contributing to nation-building,” Pru Life UK President and CEO Antonio de Rosas said. “We hope that with this event, our Cha-Ching teachers are even more equipped to champion the money-smart values in the classroom and mold money-smart kids who will, in the future, lead a more money-smart Philippines.”
Aside from learning sessions, awards were also given to schools and educators who actively participated in the program’s contests. The gold award in Cha-Ching School Project Proposal Competition was received by Western Visayas Sanitarium Elementary School, which presented the best strategies on how to champion and actively promote financial literacy within the school and in nearby communities.
Cha-Ching, in partnership with Cartoon Network, aired a series of three-minute animated music videos that show money-management skills. Kids can also learn how to make money-smart choices through cha-ching.com, which has games, applications and home activities.
“We are pleased the Cha-Ching program has been well received by children, parents and teachers in the Philippines and across Asia. Building on the program’s successes, we see the opportunity to create a grade-school curriculum on financial literacy using the Cha-Ching concepts,” Prudence Foundation Executive Director Marc Fancy said.
The program continues to expand its reach with the participation of Junior Achievement (JA) Asia Pacific Ltd. and the Department of Education, rolling out this year its enhanced curriculum for grade school to teach children basic money-management skills.
“I think this [financial literacy] is very critical to young people and is very critical to the building of a nation. We hope that we provide them all the foundations and all the right concepts,” JA Asia Pacific Vivian Lau said.