Topics like Artificial Intelligence, rising living costs, environmental impacts of consumption, circular economy, and healthy nutrition are omnipresent. Against the backdrop of an increasingly complex consumer landscape, consumer education is more crucial than ever.
The newly formed Federal-State Working Group on Consumer Education held its inaugural virtual session on January 16, 2024, co-chaired by the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety, and Consumer Protection (BMUV) and the Ministry for Nutrition, Rural Areas, and Consumer Protection in Baden-Württemberg. The group comprises representatives from the BMUV, state consumer protection ministries, academics, teachers, and students.
The group aims to enhance consumer education in schools and extracurricular settings to empower consumers to make informed decisions and understand their rights. It seeks to facilitate dialogue between policymakers and practitioners to address the growing complexity of consumer issues, including topics such as Artificial Intelligence, rising living costs, environmental impacts of consumption, and healthy nutrition. The group will convene twice a year to review, develop, and share structures, concepts, and educational approaches, involving representatives from state consumer protection ministries, educational institutions, and consumer organizations.
Dr. Christiane Rohleder, State Secretary at BMUV, commented, "Knowledge and competencies regarding everyday issues are central to acting autonomously as consumers. At all stages of life, it is important to be able to assess the financial, ecological, and social consequences of one's own consumer behavior. Only then can consumers make the right decisions for themselves. Consumer education also offers an opportunity to impart basic skills such as reading and writing through everyday examples. I am pleased that with the Federal-State Working Group, we are jointly setting an impulse to better acquaint people with their rights and options in consumer matters. To this end, we aim to strengthen consumer issues both in schools and extracurricular education."
Source: BMUV
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