The Krasnoyarsk Territory and the Nizhny Novgorod Region have been declared winners of the All-Russian Financial Culture Capital Competition. This inaugural event was organized by the Bank of Russia and the Russian Ministry of Finance.
Bank of Russia Governor Elvira Nabiullina remarked, "When we were conceiving this project, we were sure that we would receive plenty of fascinating projects. We have proved to be right! All teams that have made it to the final have bright ideas and insights. We had a long debate about who should be the winner but failed to choose the only one. So, we have two Financial Culture Capitals this year."
The competition committee cast an equal number of votes for these regions due to their large-scale projects that could potentially benefit all of Russia. The initiatives aim to improve financial literacy among residents in towns, settlements, and small villages, teaching them how to use financial technologies effectively and protect themselves from fraud.
Minister of Finance Anton Siluanov stated, "A modern educated person is supposed to possess financial literacy and culture, namely to be able to invest his/her savings wisely, receive financial gains, and build up a financial safety cushion. The more financially literate people there are, the stronger finances of both the region and the whole country. We extend our congratulations to those constituent territories that have qualified for and taken part in the competition."
The winning regions will receive support for future projects through informational, expert, and methodological resources. They will also host forums and conferences aimed at sharing best practices in promoting financial culture across Russia.
Approved by the Government of the Russian Federation as an annual event, this competition supports regional financial education initiatives. It consisted of two stages: initially reviewing applications from 21 constituent territories regarding their local financial education efforts; then selecting 12 finalists who presented new educational projects at an awarding ceremony held at the National Centre RUSSIA.