Summary of GMW 2026

The 14th edition of Global Money Week (GMW) took place on 16–22 March 2026 under the theme [CH1.1]‘Smart money talks’. The Polish edition of the GMW, coordinated by the UKNF, was attended by nearly 68 000 participants, mostly children, school students, teachers, parents, caretakers, and seniors. 

As part of the GMW 2026 programme offer, the UKNF delivered 11 webinars for students and teachers, including 5 webinars in cooperation with the Bank Guarantee Fund, the Ministry of Finance, the Polish Chamber of Auditors, the Financial Ombudsman, and the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection. The webinars were organised as part of the Education Centre for Market Participants (CEDUR) project and attended by nearly 24 000 participants. 

The GMW 2026 programme offer was co-prepared by 13 institutions. The programme of the GMW 2026 included webinars, workshops, quizzes, competitions, online classes, lectures, and educational programmes.

The programme offers prepared by institutions partnering with the UKNF during the 14th edition of the GMW, including educational tools and materials, raised interest among over 25 000 participants. 

More than 18 000 participants benefited from the initiatives prepared locally by school coordinators.

Theme

As stated by the campaign organiser, the theme of the GMW 2026 – ‘Smart money talks’ – refers to the life of young people, who have to make many financial decisions, for example in regard to receiving first salary, entering into a student loan agreement and repaying such loans, investing, monitoring their expenses or protecting themselves against fraud. Many young people do not feel confident when asking questions about money, do not know who they should talk to, and they are afraid to share information about their own financial struggles.

By speaking their mind, sharing their experiences and asking questions of the right person, young people can become more self-confident and acquire the necessary skills to manage money wisely. Financial education provides tools – from the basics of budget planning to the secrets of digital finance – which help initiate conversations to avoid wrong choices in the area of finance. Financial literacy can support young people in the process of creating proper financial habits, avoiding traps, and making informed financial decisions that will bring out financial well-being.

Official slogan

The official slogan of the GMW is: ‘Learn. Save. Earn.’ Being initially the theme of the GMW 2017 and currently the official slogan of the GMW, it conveys the campaign’s key message and is in line with its purpose by encouraging children and youth to manage their money rationally and to share their new knowledge with their family and larger community.

Idea and purpose

Global Money Week (GMW) is an annual international campaign for financial education, aiming to make sure that from early age, children and youth can gradually broaden their knowledge, improve skills and create attitudes and habits which are needed to make rational financial decisions and ultimately attain financial well-being and financial resilience.

The coverage

Since 2012, more than 71 million children and young people from 176 countries from all over the world have taken part in the GMW campaign, involving more than 63 000 institutions, including public institutions, i.e. central banks, national financial supervision authorities, ministries of finance, ministries of education, as well as schools at all stages of education, higher education institutions, research centres, and civil-society organisations.

Way forward for the GMW

The GMW campaign is an effective tool for raising the level of knowledge and financial competence of the future participants in financial markets. The GMW’s main objective which determines its development is the multi-level cooperation between institutions, financial education practitioners and educators directly involved in the work with children and youth, as well as the addresses of the GMW themselves, locally and globally.

Organiser

The organiser of the GMW campaign is the OECD International Network on Financial Education (OECD/INFE). The UKNF is the national coordinator of the GMW in Poland. The GMW campaign is coordinated as part of the Education Centre for Market Participants (CEDUR) project.