EconomicsCanada

Message to Young Learners

Money — work — income — spending — saving — borrowing — education — training — budgeting ... the world of money and economics enters our lives so frequently these days. Yet there is a good chance that your education has not fully prepared you for all the economic decisions you will face — today and in the future.

If so, that's where we would like to help. This section of the EconomicsCanada web site is designed for youth — to enable people like you to choose what you want to learn, when you want to learn, and the pace at which you want to learn.

But we're not ready yet. By January 2003, CFEE hopes to launch a fun and engaging interactive site that will focus on helping you to develop the economic and financial knowledge and skills to make decisions that are good for you — and for your family.

We will be building two self-learning tracks:

Economics for Everyday Living will focus on personal financial and money matters as well as work, employment, and career exploration;

Economic Citizenship will focus on knowledge related to our roles and responsibilities as Canadian citizens, global citizens, and individuals whose actions will have an impact on the environment and future generations.

The emphasis will be on material that is relevant to your day-to-day life and the economic decisions and circumstances you face. Below is an overview of the content that will be covered in the site when it is complete.

Economics for Everyday Living:
- Personal and Household Financial Affairs and Management
  - Consumer Decision-Making
  - Budgeting and Planning
  - Borrowing, Debt, and Credit
  - Saving and Investing
  - Taxes
- Work-related Activities
  - Understanding the World of Work and Business
  - Occupations and Career Exploration
  - Entrepreneurship and Enterprise
Economic Citizenship:
- Canadian Citizenship
  - Role of Government
  - Economic Issues and Policy
  - Economic Realities
  - Our Economic Future
- Global Citizenship
  - Canada's Interdependence with Other Nations
- Caretaker
  - The Economy, the Environment and Quality of Life
  - Economic Assistance, Compassion and Benevolence

Currently, we are seeking one or more sponsors who will work with us to develop the self-instructional site. If you have any questions, or suggestions, please use the Contact Us button on the left to reach us.

In the meantime, CFEE has many resources available to help you develop a better understanding of the economy and the world of money and personal finance. Please visit CFEE's main web site [www.cfee.org] to explore what we have available. For example, Money and Youth has been very popular with high school and college/university youth — and with adults as well. You can access this publication through the Programs & Resources section of the CFEE site, or via a web site CFEE developed to complement Money and Youth [www.moneyandyouth.cfee.org].

Thank you for your interest in CFEE, the EconomicsCanada site, and the efforts to improve the level of economic and financial literacy of Canadians. We hope that some of our resources can help you now, and we look forward to being able to provide much more support in the future.

Gary Rabbior
President, Canadian Foundation for Economic Education