Project Organization

EMPOWER Development UK

Project Location

With a population of 7.2 million, London is the largest city in Europe. It tends to have annual net inflows of people from outside the UK, with almost 30% of London’s population from minority ethnic groups. Hackney (East London), where the project is run, is home to more than 207,000 people with a wide range of ethnic backgrounds.

Project Description

Money Management for Youth focuses on teaching youth aged 9-17 years to think beyond their direct circumstances and to imbibe the following values as they pertain to establishing a more viable economic future for themselves: a sense of self-worth, personal and community responsibility, integrity and a sense of industry. The program is designed to give participants an appreciation of money and its uses and to expose them to the principles and practices of business enterprise.

Project Rationale

National statistics indicate that the personal debt crisis in the UK is worsening with over half of England’s teenagers having been or currently in debt by the time they are 17. Related statistics for the Borough of Hackney bear out this alarming trend (http://www.creditaction.org.uk/debtstats.htm,  http://neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination). In addition, economic indicators show that Hackney experiences higher levels of deprivation when compared to other parts of London. The project was implemented in order to address some of the consumer attitudes and knowledge/skills deficit which feed into this trend.

Project Activities

MMY can be run as either a week-long intensive programme or can be delivered in one-hour sessions over a 6 to 8 week period. Activities are age appropriate and include hands-on play, role acting, visual aids, a simulated stock exchange, and “mind your own business” – a simulated shop environment. Concepts such as saving, borrowing, interest rates, entrepreneurship, basic book-keeping are taught.

Project Impact

The programme has only run one course thus far but all participants benefited greatly and parents of the youth have asked for adult versions to be run. At present, the local housing authorities and neighboring supplementary schools have indicated a keen interest in the MMY program.