Mediobanca Group and JA Italia present “Crescere che impresa!”
The financial and business education programme targeting students in middle schools has the objective of helping young people develop the skills they need for the workplace and to become citizens of tomorrow.
Helping young people to understand what entrepreneurs are like and the traits which distinguish them, showing the importance of developing and financing a project, helping them acquire greater self-knowledge and understanding of their own professional future, and helping them approach the world of the digital and global economy. These are the principles on which the Crescere che impresa! project is based. The project is aimed at young people aged between 11 and 14 organized by Junior Achievement Italy, in partnership with the Mediobanca Group, which for several years now has supported the initiatives run by JA Italy. The programme, which involves group work and interactive activities, aims to help young people of school age become familiar with economic and financial concepts through interaction between traditional methods and digital instruments.
The educational programme Crescere che impresa! for middle-school students due to be launched in November, was presented on Monday, 29 October 2018, at 11.30 a.m., at the Milan head office of Mediobanca in Via Filodrammatici, 3. The following speakers took part in the presentation: Annamaria Lusardi – Director of the Committee for Financial education; Francesco Saverio Vinci – General Manager of the Mediobanca Group; Antonio Perdichizzi – Chairman of JA Italy; and Corrado Cosenza – Spokesperson for Financial Eduction for the Italian Ministry of Education for the Lombardy Region. The meeting was moderated by Marco Lo Conte, a journalist who works for Il Sole 24 Ore. Participants also included the speakers of Radioimmaginaria.
The launch of the Crescere che impresa! programme promoted by JA Italy, in partnership with the Mediobanca Group, is one of the initiatives run by the Committee for planning and co-ordinating financial education as part of the “Month of Financial Education”. The project’s objective is to inspire and encourage young people to believe in themselves and their own ideas by providing them with the skills and tools they need to plan their futures carefully. The programme consists of three, two-hour meetings held in the classroom by a teacher at the school with a volunteer from the business world who has received suitable training alongside them.
“We are very proud of the increasingly excellent results being delivered by the Crescere che impresa! programme addressed to middle-school pupils and consistent with the Junior Achievement progressive model”, said Antonio Perdichizzi, Chairman of JA Italy. “Mediobanca is the right ally for us in terms of contents, solidity and willingness to support this project; and our hope is that the agreement will continue over time. JA Italy intends to strengthen the impact of the local networks operating throughout the country, investing financial and human resources in providing guidance to young people, to help them develop the skills that they need to approach the workplace and become responsible citizens. Together we are convinced we can continue to improve the Italian school system’s ability to attract talented teachers and increase the level of innovation, ensuring that tried and tested, practical opportunities are offered to young people providing increased openness to the outside world”.
According to the most recent statistics available, 13.8% of students left school early in 2016, compared with the objective of 10% stated in the Europe 2020 manifesto,[1] and strong regional imbalances remain, with the figures for Sicily, Campania, Puglia, Calabria and Sardinia above the national average. With the Crescere che impresa! programme, with its experiential teaching methodology based primarily around group work and interactive activities, students are also able to take an active part in the school-based and non-school events, getting to understand what entrepreneurs are like and the traits which distinguish them. The students will also have an opportunity to develop and finance an idea or project allowing them to approach the world of the digital and global economy, discovering the means by which purchases are made in everyday life, analysing the advantages and disadvantages and learning to become “discerning consumers”. The programme accompanies young people in helping them to understand themselves and their professional futures better, providing them with tools to explore the opportunities offered by different employment sectors and emerging professions
“For several years now, the Mediobanca Group has been supporting projects to promote social inclusion and education, with particular attention devoted to the younger members of society”, explained Francesco Saverio Vinci, General Manager of Mediobanca. “Our support for this initiative promoted by JA Italy is the result of our desire to contribute to developing the financial and business culture of young people of school age. The “Crescere che impresa!” project will also be an opportunity to promote volunteering by staff members of all the companies in our Group. Indeed, it will be our colleagues at CheBanca! and Compass, who work at the 300 branches throughout Italy who will guarantee extensive coverage, helping to create value in the regions where we operate”.
[1] https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php/Europe_2020_indicators_-_education
Milan, 29 October 2018
