Biblio project partner Global libraries Bulgaria Foundation shares their experience in another European project focusing on libraries – FINLIT.
Besides Global Libraries Bulgaria Foundation, FINLIT project includes organisations from three countries in Central and Eastern Europe – Poland, Slovenia, and Romania.
During the project implementation partners developed:
- innovative web-based learning management platform, based on Moodle, in four European languages;
- Educational program for adult trainers in financial literacy;
- Educational program for adult users in financial literacy.
On 11 February, all 4 partners have started piloting online training for 5 to 10 libraries in each country. In a series of 10 online and face-to-face training sessions, librarians will go through the various modules and increase their knowledge on various financial issues.
The overall objective of the project is to equip librarians – a key group of adult trainers in their every day work, to be able to provide basic financial literacy to their adult uses. This age group (55+) needs further support within the rapidly changing and very complex financial environment where financial products and services are becoming more numerous, more complex and more risky. Special emphasis is given on librarians in small cities and rural areas where different educational activities and lifelong training on key competencies are so necessary.
All training materials will be available in four European languages and some of them also in English. Financial services have long been beyond the national borders and contemporary financial literacy education must reflect market globalization. The consortium is bringing together the efforts of different organization but facing the same deeply recognized need of the population in CEE countries.
This project is part of a longer strategy on increasing financial literacy level of the adult population in Bulgaria, Poland, Romania and Slovenia. By developing an open resource training program for adult trainers and adult users, by using the potential of huge public libraries networks, the successful implementation of the project will have long lasting impact of the targeted countries, but on regional and European level also.
FINLIT project supports also the implementation of specific growth, education, and cohesion policies related to EU 2020 Strategy and Digital Agenda for Europe. In EU 2020, the libraries are assigned with a significant role in expanding access to education, training and social inclusion of all citizens. Modern libraries are not book depositories but information and community centres that offer a variety of services to their users, working in partnership with NGOs, public and business organizations, schools, etc.
By GLBF
