Today in Portugal, I had the honor of meeting with the Governor of the Bank of Portugal, Álvaro Santos Pereira, and a Member of the Board of Directors and National Ambassador for Financial Literacy, Francisca Guedes de Oliveira. Later in the afternoon, we discussed Portugal’s newest financial literacy strategy with members of the National Plan for Financial Education. Financial literacy needs leaders who treat it as a priority, and it was encouraging to sit with people at the Bank of Portugal who do. Central banks have a powerful voice. When they speak about financial literacy, people listen, and that’s how a culture begins to change. I applaud the Bank of Portugal and the National Plan team for their commitment to bringing financial education to people across the country. The focus on young people is an important endeavor and it’s clear it’s at the heart of the National Plan’s work. Miguel Ferreira of @NovaSBE joined me and spoke to the academic approach here in Portugal. Miguel's project aims to educate many different groups of the population, and his work shows what can happen when research and teaching go hand in hand. I look forward to continuing this conversation with leaders in Portugal at the Estoril Conference on Thursday, where I'll be speaking with the Minister of Finance, Joaquim Miranda Sarmento.