Garanti BBVA hosts students from its social and financial leadership program ‘5 Pebbles’
Students from the ‘5 Pebbles’ program visited 21 Garanti BBVA branches across Türkiye to learn firsthand about the different transactions that take place at banks. Garanti BBVA is a founding member of the Teachers Academy Foundation (ÖRAV) and has been collaborating with them to run this program since 2016.
About 500 students and 21 teachers visited Garanti BBVA branches in 15 different provinces, where they learned from experts about banking and how to start saving. The students, who had never been in a bank branch before, also learned about the various banking processes that take place at branches, such as waiting in line, having individual meetings with customer service representatives and visiting tellers and ATMs.
Garanti BBVA Executive Vice President Murat Çağrı Süzer pointed to the importance of youth gaining new skill sets in a rapidly evolving, complex world. “Education systems all over the world are looking for ways to teach students these new skills at an early age,” he said. “It is no longer enough to just learn information. Students need to use the knowledge to come up with creative and innovative solutions”, he added, making reference to recent reports by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
Entrepreneurship and problem-solving skills in particular have been reported to increase students' academic success and self-confidence by increasing their motivation to learn, the Executive Vice President noted. Garanti BBVA will continue to prioritize accessible education as part of its social investment programs, and support for inclusive growth. “We are proud to do this highly valuable work in conjunction with ÖRAV," he stated.