2018
On June 8, the Department of Finance at the European University of Tirana (UET) organized the annual
forum of the students of this department. The forum entitled “Financial Intermediaries in Albania: Challenges and Concerns” was organized in the form of a contest, where presentations were awarded by
the jury members. AAB Secretariat, Credins Bank and ABI Bank’ representatives were part of the jury.
On May 31, 2018, AAB in cooperation with “Aleksandër Xhuvani” University in Elbasan organized an open lecture with students of the Faculty of Economics at this university.
During this lecture, led by Ediola Biçaku and Glejdja Hibraj, Heads of Internal Audit Departments, respectively at Intesa SanPaolo Albania and Fibank Albania, students were introduced to the role and functions of internal audit in financial institutions.
On 29 May 2018, an open lecture was held at the European University of Tirana (UET), Faculty of Economics with the participation of Mrs. Silvana Zoto, Chairperson of AAB Internal Audit Committee and Head of Internal Audit at NBG Bank Albania. The lecture was meant to acquaint students with the profession and the importance of internal audit. Mrs. Zoto accompanied this open lecture by the Executive Director of the Albanian Stock Exchange – ALSE, Artan Gjergji, who presented the topic “Albania’s Stock Exchange as an Investment Opportunity”.
This lecture was held in the framework of the open lectures series, organized by AAB in cooperation with several universities in the country.
On May 17, in cooperation with the Faculty of Business, “Aleksandër Moisiu” (UAMD), was organized an open lecture on the topic “Getting to know Internal Auditing – a Profession that makes a difference”. The lecture was led by Silvana Zoto, Head of Internal Audit, NBG Bank Albania and Chairperson of the Internal Audit Committee at AAB, and Daniela Hoxha, Internal Audit Department Manager, Banka Kombëtare Tregtare. This activity was organized to actively promote internal auditing’s value during International Internal Audit Awareness Month. Internal auditors around the world are joining together to build awareness about the importance of internal auditing this May. Awareness month efforts offer internal auditors a heightened opportunity to advocate for the profession, both within their organizations and in their communities.
On April 12, 2018, the Albanian Association of Banks in cooperation with Bank of Albania and the support of the Ministry of Education, Sports and Youth, hosted the European Money Quiz in which roughly 500 high schools’ students across Albania competed directly against each other in a live national contest hosted via the Kahoot! online learning platform.
13-to-15-year-old children from 35 schools participated in this quiz. Questions were presented in a live video stream and the answers returned immediately via the Kahoot! app.
The winning team is from “Sotir Gurra” high school in Korca and is comprised of: Doris Kole, Kristjana Emini, Cvetan Vojo, Elva Panariti, Desara Shkembi.
The winners will represent Albania in the European finals where 30 countries will compete in a live event. The final will be held on 8th May in Brussels. In addition, Bank of Albania gave the winners symbolic gifts.
In the framework of financial education, the Albanian Association of Banks in cooperation with the Deposit Insurance Agency (DIA) organized a debate entitled “Are deposits insurance schemes influencing on the stability of the banking and financial system of the country?”. This competition was attended by students from the faculties of Economics from Aleksandër Moisiu University of Durrës, Epoka University and Luarasi University, who were confronted with arguments pro and cons for and against the topic. The debate was planned according the “Karl Popper” format and led by Balkan Youth Link Albania (BYLA) experts.
The particularity of this debate lies in the rules it contains, which encourage confrontation between the two teams by means of arguments aimed at promoting and improving critical thinking, public communication, and work group. At the end, the event organizers awarded the best team, which represented Aleksandër Moisiu University of Durrës.
On 8 January 2018, the AAB Secretary General, Mr. Spiro Brumbulli, was invited at the Epoka University in an open lecture. This event, was organized by the YEN Club (Young Economics Network) and Mr. Brumbulli was a guest speaker invited to talk about the banking sector, the achievements and challenges and the sector contribution to the economy. At the end, Mr. Brumbulli responded to student questions which focused particularly on the concerns about the banking sector.