The theme of the Balatonszemes camp is built on financial literacy every year, and this year was no different. Every day, the children took part in training sessions related to the world of money in a playful way.
On the day of arrival, after occupying the rooms, a lifeguard gave a presentation to the children. They went over the rules of safe swimming, discussed water signals, and it even turned out that in the lake, swans are the animals to be most wary of. The afternoon was spent playing icebreaker games, and in the evening, they watched the Spain–Argentina match together.
“We arrived in Balatonszemes, the venue of the camp, by 3 p.m., and after a short camp welcome and check-in, we occupied our rooms. This was followed by the lifeguard’s presentation, in which he explained the rules of safe swimming, and we talked about what to bring to the beach, which animal we should be wary of in the water—which was the swan—and he also told us about the meaning of the signals. After this, we played icebreaker games, and then we had the opportunity to watch the Spain–Argentina match as well. We had a great time and are already looking forward to tomorrow.” – Dzsesszika Androvics, Mohács Group 2
In the following days, the mornings started early: the children set off for a sightseeing walk between 6:30 and 7:00 a.m. to get moving before the training sessions. The mornings were filled with financial training organized by the Fáy Foundation. Divided into four teams, the students learned about the circulation of money, the relationship between the state, banks, and households, as well as the European Union and its founding countries. The most popular activity, however, was the card game called Banking, which allowed them to learn about conscious money management and preparing for unexpected situations in a playful way. They even organized an exciting in-house tournament for the game.
“We had to solve tasks at 4 stations, and at the end, we had to perform the song titled Pannonia in different musical styles. Our (green) team got metal—we were splitting our sides laughing during rehearsal, even Andor, our junior mentor, joined us! The green team won the tasks, bagging 6 tokens, while the yellow team won the musical one. We had a great time and were very happy, as everyone achieved a placement, thus adding to their tokens. Thank you for today as well!” – Dóra Kecskés, Jászság 2
On the shores of Lake Balaton, everyone found their favorite activity: alongside swimming, football and volleyball matches took place, but badminton and chatting with friends were also very popular. In the heat, the organizers also treated the team to refreshing watermelon, tea, and muffins.
“Today was a very interesting and meaningful day. We could learn about the circulation of money and the role of the state, banks, and households, where we learned that every element is indispensable in this endless loop. Among the games during the training sessions, the game called ‘Banking’ played the main role, in which you can learn how to manage money and that you have to be prepared for everything. Later, an inter-team Banking competition began, in which the 4 first-place winners of the aforementioned game could participate. Personally, it was a very engaging and experience-filled day, and I am glad to be here at the camp.” – Lorenzo Raffel, Pécs 1
On the closing evening of the camp, they counted the tokens accumulated in the piggy banks and announced the winners of the competitions. After the children presented the talks they had prepared based on what they learned, everyone received their certificate and a gift drawstring bag. The camp concluded with a huge joint karaoke party before everyone set off for home the next morning, full of memories.
“In today’s financial training, we learned about the European Union. We got to know the EU member states, including the founding countries: Belgium, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Italy, and Luxembourg. After the session, they collected the piggy banks to count our gathered tokens. Meanwhile, there was free time, such as football, volleyball, or board games like Banking. I think most of the campers chose football and volleyball. I was playing volleyball, where the time passed in a great atmosphere, and we tried to pass to each other as much as possible without letting the ball drop. The atmosphere on the football pitch was also great. In the evening, we gave a presentation to the others on the topic we learned about in the camp. Afterwards, we all received a certificate and a drawstring bag, and the placements were drawn as well. Following this, there was another opportunity for sports or chatting, and after a little while, karaoke followed, which a lot of people joined in on. With that, the day came to an end; we went back to our accommodation, started packing, and prepared to head home the next day.” – Tamás Fultz, Mohács 2