World Saving Day event celebrates the thrifty

17 November 2019
World Saving Day event celebrates the thrifty

A programme is underway to encourage people from all walks of life to save, kicking off with an event held on World Saving Day.

The venue chosen for this year’s World Saving Day on 16 November was the Secretariat, which once served as the home of British Burma as well as the Minister’s Office after independence. This historic landmark is steeped in rich histories including the assassination of General Aung San, who is known as the “Father of Modern Myanmar”. With its age exceeding 120 years old, this heritage building has witnessed Myanmar’s transformation from being a colony to its first democratic comprehension in the Parliament House. Until now, the Secretariat remains a place, where the fallen heroes are honored. 

Efforts are being made under an Awareness Raising Campaign.

This year’s WSD aims to reach out to more people, including farmers and rural women through the Awareness Raising Campaign that will be using social media, including Facebook as the main channel. This campaign will run for two to three weeks with a total of 3.5 millions impressions estimated to be reached. With #SaveForFutureMyanmar as the focal point, the campaign aims to tackle trust issue among Myanmar people in the financial system of the country to promote formal services and better saving scheme. It will bring light into the “when, how, who and why” saving matters for the future and influence Call-to-Action among the crowd. This campaign serves as a powerful tool to create emotional connection with the general public and educate them through the lens of storytelling. 

Part of the campaign includes a call for the public for papers on savings and current trends. 

Active participation from the general public is established through the issue of “Call for Papers”, which is organized by the Yangon University of Economics, in collaboration with JICA, GIZ and UNCDF. This has allowed Professors and students to get first-hand involvement and knowledge in the research of current situation in financial services, savings habits and trends, challenges and opportunities in financial technology penetration, and also regulations and policies to encourage saving mobilization across the country. A total of 19 papers were submitted, among which the top 10 were awarded cash prizes. Afterward, the actual research reports were then collected from these 10 participants, under the supervision of different institutions, to access the potential aspects of the research. 

The top three research papers will be awarded additional cash prizes, along with the valuable chance to present their findings at the World Saving Day, before high-ranking Government officials and professionals. In addition, every qualified paper will also be published in the YUE Journal of Business & Economics. 

Leading banks, financial institutions and corporations across the country are all joining this event to celebrate the importance of saving and to promote public awareness through their financial products and educational tools. The Ministry of Planning and Finance and Yangon University of Economics, in alliance with GIZ, UNCDF and JICA are organizing this day, with the hope to use saving as a strategic tool to enhance health, education and business of Myanmar. Partnering institutions include DGRV, SBFIC, Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe, YOMA Bank, Prudential, KBZ bank, UAB and MOB etc. With last year’s World Saving Day achieving over 500 attendees, this year’s World Saving Day estimates to receive more than 1000 attendees from all over the country. Beside the main events, foods, games and fun also await the people.