Local Year 9 student Joshua Vardanega of St Columba Anglican School, Port Macquarie took out one of the major prizes in the 2012 Money Stuff Challenge at a ceremony in Sydney last week.
NSW Fair Trading Minister, Anthony Roberts, made the announcement at a Youth Forum in Darling Harbour, which was organised by NSW Fair Trading.
The student’s winning entry consisted of a fantastic website about earning and managing money, with a quiz “Are you good at saving money?” and tips on shopping wisely and social media elements, “Young money” Facebook page and Twitter.
Mr Roberts said the entry caught the eye of the judges because of its high quality information, catchy and appealing design and use of social media tools to reach young people.
“The website is full of information and handy tips about managing money, budgeting, saving and shopping wisely,” Mr Roberts said. “It also has a quiz to test how good or bad you are at saving money.”
The Money Stuff Challenge is an annual competition run by NSW Fair Trading. It is open to all high school students in NSW and this year the pool of prizes was up to $16,000.
This year, NSW Fair Trading introduced the People’s Choice Awards category, sponsored by the Australian Taxation Office. It allowed the general public and students to choose their favourite entry from the shortlisted entries, through online voting on the Money Stuff website.
“Joshua Vardanega not only took out the top prize in the NSW Regional Years 8-10 category, receiving $200 for himself as well as $2000 and a plaque for his school, but he was also the winner of the People’s Choice Awards, taking an additional $100 for himself and $1000 for the school,” Mr Roberts said.
“Over 10,500 votes were submitted, with Joshua’s entry receiving over 5000 votes, making him a true winner.”
The Money Stuff Challenge is based on the award-winning educational resource Money Stuff, which helps teachers educate young people about their consumer rights.
“The competition is a great way for young people to learn about their consumer rights and how to protect themselves,” Mr Roberts said.
“It allows young people to focus on consumer topics by being creative and using their own initiative in developing their entries.
“There was an excellent response to this year’s Challenge, with over 1100 students from 60 schools across the State taking part. We look forward to even more entries next year,” Mr Roberts said.
For more information about Money Stuff, visit www.moneystuff.net.au or the NSW Fair Trading
website at www.fairtrading.nsw.gov.au
