Cécile Biccari, a specialist in sustainable finance and an Ethos employee, is publishing "Your Money and the World", an illustrated book designed to demystify keys concepts related to money and responsible money management to the next generation.
What is an entreprise? How do banks work? How can money, and how we use it, change our lives, the lives of others, and even the future of the planet. "Your Money and the World" aims to answer these questions and many more. Cécile Biccari's first book, published by HELVETIQ with the support of the Ethos Foundation, is available in French and German, and will be available next year in English.
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Cécile Biccari has worked with finance professionals for many years, with the goal of making as many people as possible aware of the benefits of sustainable and responsible finance. That's why she joined Ethos in February. She is currently developing a training programme on responsible investment for members of pension fund boards, with the first modules expected in June 2024.
By contrast "Your money and the World", which she began working on in 2021, is aimed at a completely different audience: children from the age of 7. The goal is to raise awareness among the younger generation of the issues surrounding the economy, finance and the world of investment.
It is an unusual project, and certainly not one of the most obvious. So how did she come up with the idea of talking to children about money? “My children used to ask me a lot of questions about the economy and money in general," she recalls. “I quickly realised that there weren't any books to answer these questions.”
That was all it took for Cécile Biccari to embark on her adventure. She started writing and approached publishers. HELVETIQ, a Basel-based publisher specialising in games and children's books, was quick to take on the project. A hybrid format combining a comic strip and non-fiction was quickly chosen. It is illustrated by French cartoonist Naïade Lacolomb.
The importance of reconciling economy and ecology
"Your money and the World" begins with what is usually the end of a story: the discovery of a treasure. Little Nora, accompanied by a mouse who specialises in treasure management, explains the different options - and their consequences - available to us all: spending, investing, giving and saving.
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The second part of the book takes a more didactic approach at these four pillars. By combining very concrete questions - why do some bags cost more than others? Do you have to be rich to be happy? - with concepts from economic history such as the tulipomania and the end of the gold standard, it provides insights into how to use one's treasure responsibly.
“My main aim was to show that, historically, money is above all a story of trust and collaboration," explains Cécile Biccari. “But it was also important for me to reconcile economics and ecology and to show my children, and all other children, that the way we use our money has an impact on the world around us".
In this respect, "Your money and the World" will certainly teach children as much as the parents who read it. We are delighted to be able to contribute to the publication and distribution of this book", says Vincent Kaufmann, CEO of the Ethos Foundation. “Raising awareness and educating people about responsible finance and sustainable development has been part of our DNA since the creation of the Ethos Foundation in 1997.”
