Masters of the Digital Future – Banka Slovenije's Debate Project

Banka Slovenije invites students in the last three grades of primary school, secondary-school students and their teachers to participate in the debate project Masters of the Digital Future, which will be carried out in the next school year under the patronage of the Slovenian President, Nataša Pirc Musar, and the Banka Slovenije Governor, Boštjan Vasle. The project will be launched at the end of August and the grand debate final will be held at Banka Slovenije in May next year. It will be carried out by the Za in proti, zavod za kulturo dialoga (For and Against, the Institution of Cultural Dialogue). The winners will receive attractive awards. 

Like other central banks, in recent years Banka Slovenije has been strengthening its efforts to improve the financial literacy of children and teens. It has been carrying out a variety of activities that are based on two key building blocks: education days and the Banka Slovenije Museum, which opened two years ago. In addition, it is involved in Slovenia's strategic efforts to formally consolidate financial literacy in the school curricula. Every year, Banka Slovenije enhances its programmes with a major project, which also provides the opportunity for inter-institutional collaboration. This, it believes, is key for the country’s development.

This time around Banka Slovenije has joined forces with the Slovenian President's Office, with whom it shares a concern for young people's future, in a joint all-Slovenian youth debate project titled Masters of the Digital Future. The aim of this project is to encourage young people to think about the meaning of digitalisation for the banking system, contemporary payment methods and current economic trends, and reflect on the impacts of digital advances with regard to artificial intelligence and the individuals' rights and obligations associated with AI. The project will be carried out by the organisation Za in proti, zavod za kulturo dialoga, which has extensive knowledge of the debate methodology.

The joint debate project will take place during the next school year. It will start at the end of August with a special seminar for all the teachers interested in the project, continue with debate tournaments taking place over the entire school year and conclude in May next year with the grand debate final, in which Slovenian President, Nataša Pirc Musar, and the Banka Slovenije Governor, Boštjan Vasle, will also take part. The debate project winners will be treated to a trip to Frankfurt where they will be taken on a tour of the European Central Bank and the city's major sights. After the end of the project, all the finalists will meet with President Nataša Pirc Musar at the Presidential Palace.

The project's programme and detailed information are available at this link. The deadline for applications for the Masters of the Digital Future debate project is 31 October 2023, and you can register by sending an email to izobrazevalnidan@bsi.si.

Don’t miss out on this opportunity and sign up today.