Group launches financial literacy campaign

Abu Dhabi: The Abu Dhabi Council for Economic Development (Adced) yesterday launched "Dirhami", a literacy campaign designed to increase financial awareness among the citizens and residents of Abu Dhabi.

Dirhami will help educate the public on basic financial concepts including budgeting, saving and spending. The programme will also provide information concerning principles of investing in stocks, bonds or funds, controlling debt, managing one's finances in a business or a personal setting, as well as focus on the importance of incorporating financial literacy within the educational system.

"At Adced, we believe that the financial growth and prosperity of our country lies with the fin-ancial growth of each and every one of us, and through Dirhami we are aiming to educate the public to improve their financial knowledge and how they manage their personal finances," Fahd Saeed Al Raqbani, Adced's director-general, said.

The programme targets various segments and age groups ranging from children to retirees.

Sound decisions

"With over 50 per cent of our population being younger than 20 years old, we have the important duty of ensuring that our children are well educated in the importance of managing their finances through their school curricula to enable them to make sound financial decisions as they grow up and enter the job market," Al Raqbani said.

Adced said Dirhami was the first programme of its kind in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and was developed following research that showed a gap in financial knowledge and sound financial behaviour among Abu Dhabi residents.

"It was concluded that a programme like Dirhami would be beneficial in developing a financially healthy community among citizens and residents," Adced said.