The Economy in Germany

Being able to handle your money is a matter of course in any country. Still, most people know as little about the financial system as they do about the interplay between banks, companies, private citizens and governmental budgets.

These days it might come across as odd if someone went into a shop wanting to barter goods in exchange for goods, but that particular system was always fraught with complications. You had to have something the other person wanted, and you had to find someone whose trade would fulfill your needs in the situation. This naturally led to the early development of a standard object of “exchange”, something that had a value and a use for everyone, and which could then be traded at any time for something completely different. The concept of money was formed.

Creating opportunities for progress

But how do we know today how much our money is worth? How do we know we can rely on that money having any value at all? And how much money is there anyway? Enough for everyone? Our somewhat casual attitude towards money leads us to believe that most people know the answers to these questions. In reality, the opposite is true. Due to this gap in understanding, the United Nations has made money the main theme for 2010 as part of its World Decade program Education for Sustainable Development, an initiative that began in 2005.

The World Decade concept is designed to integrate the principles of sustainable development into national education systems around the globe. Primary focus is placed on schools, but myriad organizations, communities and companies are also involved in communicating these fundamentals. Sustainability in this context aims to provide future generations with the same opportunities for a fulfilling life that we currently have. At the same time, these opportunities should be made more available to people living today. According to the official claim, sustainable development combines progress in business with the improvement of social conditions and protection of the environment.

If it costs nothing, is it nothing?

Based on these principles, the ability to handle money is not only a requirement for business, but for the future of our society. For the UN, money and the way we deal with it are the ABCs of sustainable development education. From there, UNESCO, which is responsible the Decade series at the UN, initiated a number of thought-provoking topics for the year 2010. For example: How much government debt can we push onto our children and grandchildren without seriously endangering their future? Or, how can we create a global financial system that ensures sustainable development for all regions of the world? These central questions then formed the basis for numerous project ideas that will be put in place this year right across Germany.

Many projects concentrate on early school development, for example the Sparkasse School Service, which offers reading and exercise books used in classes. After all, many primary school children receive pocket money from their parents but don’t fully understand where it comes from and are therefore not clear on the importance of the subject as a whole. Other projects such as the Eins x Eins – Augen auf im Geldverkehr (lit. “Keeping your eyes open when dealing with money”), offered by the debt and bankruptcy consulting offices of Schleswig-Holstein, try to promote more real-life financial education. One project currently running in selected day-care centers and schools attempts to raise awareness of what money actually is and teach kids how to realistically assess their own financial situations later on. Excessive debt, reflections on your own desires as a consumer and a general discussion of values are all integrated through theater and film projects, audio books and a new Kostnix (costs nothing) bankbook, with ideas for things that cost nothing or close to nothing.

Buying competence

Financial education for consumers, a sustainable design for our financial system, fair trade, and the costs of unsustainable development are all important elements of the decade project. The German UNESCO web site even has an overview of the more than 100 teaching and learning materials as well as a listing of events and projects. And it is not just for children and teenagers, of course. The event series Nachhaltige Geldanlagen – damit sich Renditen doppelt auszahlen (lit. Sustainable investments – doubling your rate of return), for example, provides general information about managing and gaining long-term knowledge of your finances.