DOLCETA stands for On Line Consumer Education, a project funded by the European Commission, in which all 27 EU member states are participating, to implement in multiple languages a web space aimed at Online Consumer Education.
Since the end of 2006, the portal
www.dolceta.eu is managed byUniversità Cattolica in Milan. The goal of the project is to improve consumers' knowledge towards the domestic market, both national and European.
More generally, the project aims to set the conditions for Financial Education to be considered as a fundamental culture for well-being: knowing one's money is an indispensable building block for the present and the future.
In this regard, a strong educational message, aimed especially at the younger generation, is indispensable. The current market offers ample choices and increasingly competitive prices, but this situation is accompanied by increasing complexity that necessarily requires greater consumer preparation.
Dolceta is involved in the creation of online modules dealing with various consumer issues developed according to two different perspectives: one of an informative nature, aimed at adult consumers who wish to delve into the topics covered in a reading and hypertext navigation mode, and one instead of a formative, pedagogical slant, dedicated to teachers and trainers.
In March 2010, the seventh module dedicated to Financial Education was put online, which takes up topics related to family budgeting, payment methods, reparation and investment possibilities and develops training packages to be delivered as early as elementary school.
The Dolceta project aims to provide tools for Citizen's Consumer Education.
The portal
www.dolceta.eu/italia can be used by subjects of adult age, but its language is also suitable for adolescents. In some of its parts it is devoted specifically to teacher training. Module 7 is devoted entirely to financial education.
As part of the project, a video contest has been activated (
www.dolceta.eu/italia/Mod7/spip.php?rubrique49) which has the following goals:
- Raise awareness of economic literacy among students and teachers;
- Increase dialogue between students and teachers on current issues;
- Promote group work;
- Spread the use of the Dolceta portal;
- To stimulate secondary school students to use new technologies and the Internet as tools for daily work.
The presentation of the finalist films and the award ceremony of the Video Competition will be held at the "Consumption, Money, Financial Education" conference on Wednesday, May 4, 2011.
The full program for the day and invitation letter can be downloaded.