“My Financial Literacy Selfie Contest” – #FLM2014 Winners Announced

Financial Literacy Month (FLM) in Canada was one of the most successful to date, as the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC) and the nation at large rolled out an expansive set of financial education initiatives designed to help take financial literacy in Canada to the next level. In one of the more interactive and attention-grabbing activities that took place during FLM, the #FLM2014 My Financial Literacy Selfie Contest was launched and heavily promoted to spark consumers to illustrate and display their financial education efforts in a selfie photo.

Winners of the contest have been announced and the awardees represent the individuals who best depicted how they put their financial knowledge to use, or how they have been working to assist others in strengthening their own financial literacy.

Selfie submissions were judged based on three primary factors: originality, quality, and adherence to the theme. A panel reviewed the submissions and narrowed the field down to twelve finalists. A second panel then selected the top three winners.

These are the winners, their awards and their locations:

<> 1st place (MacBook Pro): Katrin Liivoja, Osgoode, Ontario
<> 2nd place (Mac Mini): Melanie Wong, Toronto, Ontario
<> 3rd place (iPod Touch): Jean Philippe Nadeau, Ottawa, Ontario

In addition, Iva Lalitch (Ajax, Ontario) received an honorable mention. An award also was presented for the photo with the most likes on Facebook. That award went to Lucas Buck (Squamish, British Columbia), who won a special People’s Choice Award that included a $50 iTunes gift card.

The selfie contest was just one of many initiatives that took place in Canada during Financial Literacy Month, with more than 1,200 events held throughout the country to assist Canadians with becoming more empowered in making better informed financial decisions. Many financial literacy professionals assert that the contest also went a long way towards ensuring that momentum builds for year-round efforts that raise publicity for and awareness of the importance of financial education within all socioeconomic groups.

Another trend that was seen during Financial Literacy Month is the fast-growing collaboration among all sectors of the nation’s economy, as government, business, academia, NGOs and individual stakeholders worked together to develop, launch and manage initiatives. These trends are also being seen in many other countries as well, underscoring the strength and future promise of the global financial literacy movement.

Award winning financial literacy selfies can be viewed here.