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On the 22nd of September, in front of DNB president Klaas Knot, Queen Máxima has opened in Amsterdam the new visitor center of De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB).
In the center, everyone can work interactively discover, through games, movies, or a scavenger hunt, how the economy works, what DNB does and what the impact is on their own finances.
Financial education on the agenda
To coincide with the official opening a promotional campaign 'money talks' started. After the opening ceremony, Queen Máxima joined a tour of the Visitor Centre, where pupils and students demonstrated the interactive components. At the end she spoke with those people who where involved about the importance of financial education and the cooperation between the various parties, including DNB. DNB president Klaas Knot emphasized in his speech the importance of openness and accessibility. "We have done our utmost to make our activities as accessible and present it as interactive as possible. This increases understanding of how the economy and the financial sector are structured. And that's good for everybody."
Meet gold, money and the economy
The new visitor center focuses on two types of visitors. Groups, mostly from the education (from secondary education till college) can get a tour. They explore in competition the various fields of DNB, such as supervision, monetary policy, payment systems and economic advice.
Besides the organized group visits, the new center also provides opportunities for 'walk-visits' on the ground floor. Passers-by, tourists and other interested people can freely walk in and get acquainted with DNB. Shredded banknotes, old coins, or gold, it is all to discover in the new center.
The center offers a fascinating presentation for everyone who wants to know more about economics and the scope of DNB. How can you see if a bill is real? Research carefully genuine and counterfeit banknotes in the false money lab, the only place in Europe where you can explore this. Or grab a gold bar and guess the weight. Financial education of young people is of great social importance. After all, more and more young people have debts. The visitor center is an interactive lifestyle experience for young people aged between 10 and 16 years old. That the euro is the Dutch currency is known by children. But how the euro looks like exactly in the Netherlands and abroad, in which countries you can pay with the euro or how you count with the euro is often unknown. It is important that children learn this and because of that they will get an even more conscious approach to money. In the center, everyone discovers how the economy works in an interactive manner, through games, movies or a scavenger hunt. Besides they see that the role is of De Nederlandsche Bank and what the impact is on their own finances.
