Zoud Global money week UAE – 2026
Zoud Global Money Week UAE 2026
Every year, Global Money Week gets over 71 million young people across 176 countries thinking about money. Organised by the OECD, it is one of the largest financial education campaigns in the world. In the UAE, ZOUD brings it to life with one clear goal: empower children and youth with financial knowledge so they can make smart decisions and build a secure financial future.
In 2026, HAL was part of it. 8 schools. 1,000 students. Ages 6 to 18. Every session was hands-on, activity-based, and built around real financial decisions. No presentations. No passive listening. Students built savings boxes, tackled real-life budgeting challenges, decoded advertising tactics, and questioned their own spending habits.
Eight schools. Three age groups. One week of real money conversations.
From identifying dirham coins to debating a sibling loan, students across the UAE spent the week making financial decisions that stuck — not just hearing about them.
American International School
The youngest group opened with real UAE currency on the table, racing to identify every note and coin before closing on one habit: save what you earn.
The 9–10s worked through real spending scenarios under one question — Smart Spend or Money Mistake? Several changed their own answers mid-debate.
Star International School, Mirdif
Students broke down five real ads for persuasion tactics. The advertisement with no tactics at all fooled almost everyone — until they reasoned their own way to the right answer.
A social experiment on influencer marketing closed the session, sending students home with two tools: needs vs. wants, and a 24-hour pause before spending.
Pace Springfield International School
The youngest students built and named their own savings boxes, grounding "saving" in something they could hold.
Older students allocated an AED 1,000 budget across needs, wants, savings and emergencies — and rewrote their entire approach once optional spending entered the picture.
Delhi Private School, Sharjah
A charity drive and a sibling loan, folded into an AED 1,000 budgeting exercise, sparked genuine debate about generosity, trust and money.
The oldest group explored the psychology of spending — how dopamine drives purchases — and closed with a Wall of Commitment: one concrete change, in each student's own words.
GEMS World Academy
At full-room scale, individual activity sheets carried the discussion — and the accuracy held. Students traced eight persuasion techniques across five real ads.
The trap-free advertisement produced the same pattern seen all week: most assumed manipulation, then reasoned their own way to the truth.
Oxford School Dubai
Pairs split AED 1,000 in play money across needs, wants, savings and emergencies — some negotiating in sign language, others with their eyes closed.
Every scenario meant physically removing cash from an envelope. Watching money actually leave made the consequences impossible to ignore.
Victoria International School, Khorfakkan
The younger group sorted real purchase scenarios into Smart Spend or Money Mistake, staying engaged through an energetic, high-volume room.
Older students budgeted AED 1,000 across the same four categories and could explain the reasoning behind every allocation when asked.
ASPAM Indian International School
This group took longer than any other to debate each budget category — and it showed. Several pairs admitted, unprompted, they could have managed their money better.
The oldest students closed with a Wall of Commitment after analysing five ads for spending traps. The responses were specific, personal and considered.
