I €AN – Workshops für einen guten Start ins Geldleben
Project owner: Die Zweite Wiener Vereins-Sparcasse
Responsible person: Annunziata Schmidt-Chiari
2011
1,000 Euro Prize
AT
Civil Society / Social Economy
Education
Poverty
What is it about?
The Zweite Sparkasse bank, founded 5 years ago to help people in financial difficulties who would otherwise find it hard to open a bank account, now wants to “reduce its numbers of new customers through targeted debt prevention measures”. Together with the Vienna debt counselling service and ‘Jugend am Werk’ young people at work organisation, 15-19 year olds are being offered a general financial education to provide them with a better start to ‘monetary life’: 15 apprentices at a time are offered three 3-hour training sessions over a period of 3 to 4 months, with time in-between to reinforce what they have learnt. By January 2011, 250 apprentices had learnt to think more about how they handle money.
Appreciation of the Jury
During their first or second year of training workshops, trainees are prepared to lead a financially independent life, with the training tailored to their specific situation in life. Voluntary experts at the ‘I €an – Workshops’ adopt a preventative approach to ensure that the young people learn to handle the greed associated with consumption in our economic system, in line with their social status. This will ensure that they remain as debt-free as possible. We very much hope that the workshops achieve their goal and not just in Vienna but also elsewhere in Austria, as planned.