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Anastasia Balezdrova 

Until today, all we knew about was wikipedia – the world electronic encyclopedia. From now on, there will also be moneypedia.gr on the Internet. It is a new training programme in the field of financial economics via the Internet, which is available to all users. The new web site was created upon the initiative of Eurobank in cooperation with the Athens University of Economics. It is targetted especially at young people aged 18-25 years, regardless of the type and level of their education.

"At this electronic address, young people will be able to find for the first time in Greek adequate and reliable information about money, about how it works, about banks and the services they offer. Using the simple electronic means they will have the opportunity to get familiar with basic and more complex financial transactions, organize their finances and find tips on how to open or expand their business," said Eurobank’s General Manager of Branch Network Michael Vlastarakis.

He stressed that according to international research, the average citizen’s level of knowledge and understanding of financial management and even of basic financial concepts is very low. "This reality, combined with the problems that the financial crisis in 2008 caused, makes it necessary to undertake initiatives for development of financial knowledge and awareness."

The former Rector of the Athens University of Economics, Grigoris Prastakos, to whom the initiative to create a website belongs, stressed the importance of cooperation between universities and companies.
 
"The programme was developed as result of the need to deal with the crisis in our country. The financial environment is bad, the business environment is not flexible, while we have strong competition from multinational companies using the opportunities provided by the crisis and companies from emerging economies, which are willing to dynamically enter the Greek market with low-cost innovation. Greece's competitiveness depends on the introduction of Greek products to international markets. Therefore, we need Greek companies to produce and offer their production abroad, young businessmen whose vision goes beyond the country," said Irini Voudouri, Professor at the University of Economics, who presented the programme.
 
Her colleague Yerassimos Sapoundzoglou described all types of banking services, which future business could require. "Every young person can choose the option, from the many available, that best fits their pocket, which the numerous income taxes have emptied. They may decide to deposit the money to gain interest or to invest it in a business. In this case, they may need to borrow. The web site lists all types of loans available, plus what they offer the customers and helps them to choose the right method. Credit cards are similarly presented, namely because, despite having been used for many years, many people still think of them as cash. Of course, when they receive the bill for their monthly instalment they realize that this is not the case, especially if they have spent a lot."

The Secretary General of the Ministry of Education Efthimios Bakas welcomed the initiative and said that it is very important at this time. "I think we are a whole 35 years late in taking this action. During these decades, the development of private initiative in Greece was perceived as something bad or evil and everyone was striving to find a place in the public sector. The bad thing is that even now, young people who fail to get into university and go to vocational training centres do not choose future-oriented subjects. They prefer very practical professions to provide them with just a monthly income. I welcome the initiative and hope others will follow. I would suggest that this web site include a kind of dictionary of economic terms to explain their meaning. Already for a year now, people have been hearing about spreads, bonds, CDS, etc. and they fear them, although they do not understand their exact meaning."

"After all the misfortunes had come out of Pandora's Box, hope finally emerged. I think that hope in our country will be at the level of medium-sized enterprises that young people will create. We have these young people, with skills and visions, that will help a lot in this direction," said Irini Voudouri in conclusion.