Podgorica, (MINA-BUSINESS) – According to the Centre for Economic and European Studies (CEES), digital technologies and finance are now an integral part of young people’s everyday lives, but discussions with Montenegrin high school students show that formal education still does not keep pace with the rapid changes brought by the digital age.

For this reason, financial literacy and digital security are becoming not only a matter of knowledge, but also an issue of safety and responsible decision-making.

As part of the project “Digital Security for Greater Financial Inclusion of Youth,” CEES representatives organized workshops for students from the “Bratstvo i Jedinstvo” Secondary Mixed School in Ulcinj, the “Niko Rolovic” Grammar School in Bar, the Secondary Electro-Economic School in Bijelo Polje, and the “Vuksan Djukic” Secondary Mixed School.

Discussions with students showed a high level of knowledge of digital technologies and financial literacy, particularly among young people from the southern region of Montenegro. A large number of students already have experience with seasonal employment or work, which means many of them use bank accounts, e-banking applications, and have experience in planning monthly and annual budgets.

“Their financial behavior, as well as their awareness of responsible money management, shows that practical experience plays an important role in understanding finance,” the CEES said in a press release.

They added that there is a need among young people for additional education on financial security and digital protection, as these topics are not sufficiently represented in the education system or public discourse.

According to a CEES survey, nearly 20 percent of high school students already use digital banking, yet as many as 48 percent do not know precisely what inflation is, while more than two-thirds of respondents lack sufficient information about interest rates. 

This further confirms the importance of educating young people in the fields of financial literacy and digital security.