Financial Education Champion Award 2021
winners join hands with the IFEC to raise financial literacy
in Hong Kong
17 December 2020
The Investor and Financial Education Council (IFEC), with its announcement today of the winners of the Financial Education Champion (FEC) Award 2021, reiterates its role and mission to improve financial literacy in Hong Kong. As part of its efforts to bring stakeholders from multiple sectors together to uphold and advocate the cause, the IFEC hosts the annual FEC Award.
The FEC Award aims to recognise the contributions of organisations to improve financial literacy across Hong Kong. Alongside the IFEC’s ongoing initiatives, it serves as a part of the Financial Literacy Strategy which aims to create a conducive environment for stakeholders to deliver more quality financial education to various segments of the Hong Kong population.
In its third year running, the number of award-winning organisations, coming from the education, financial and community sectors, government agencies and professional bodies, have reached 40. Collectively, these financial education initiatives cover wide ranging themes including saving, investment, debt and risk management, financial planning and consumer rights.
Speaking at the Award Ceremony, IFEC Chairman Mr Lester Huang said, “Financial learning should be incorporated into all stages and walks of lives. We are grateful to see stakeholders continue to demonstrate their passion in providing financial education opportunities to their communities during the COVID-19 pandemic, when many economic activities have been adversely affected. In such unsettling times, financial literacy becomes fundamental to support financial well-being.”
IFEC General Manager Ms Dora Li said, “Through this award recognition, and by encouraging more collaboration and sharing of best practices, the IFEC hopes to make investor and financial education more pervasive and accessible to the public. Even more so with the economic downturn and volatile investment markets, individuals require different financial skillsets to cope with escalating financial-related issues.”
Among the awardees, seven organisations were honoured with the Financial Education Champion - Quality Award for their continuous commitment in developing financial education initiatives with robust methods of evaluation.
In response to social distancing measures, awardees had expanded their delivery channels from face-to-face events to online learning to reach the masses, professionals and vulnerable groups to help enhance financial inclusion.
Click here to watch the FEC 2021 Award Ceremony and the list of awardees. All supporting organisations of the Financial Literacy Strategy are eligible to apply for the FEC Award, and are assessed based on their contributions and impact on improving the financial literacy levels of their target audience.
Besides the awards for organisations, six individual teachers have also been recognised in the Teaching Award for Business and Financial Education 2019/20 for their innovative and motivating teaching methods. They have adopted real life practical applications to help students better understand the business world, and shown students that learning about money can be fun and interesting.
Supported by the Education Bureau and jointly organised by the IFEC and Hong Kong Association for Business Education, the Teaching Award aims to promote knowledge, skills, attitudes, motivations and behaviours in personal finance and business education among secondary schools in Hong Kong. A total of 20 teachers have been recognised since its first launch in 2018.
Ms Li said, “We look forward to seeing more teaching professionals build on their expertise to adopt financial education elements into their teaching, and have a positive impact on enabling our next generation to become more financially capable.”
Click here for more about the awardees and their works.