From left in the front row: Mr. Beau, President UENO, and right in the back row: Professor KOBAYAKAWA.
During the meeting, the Deputy Governor stated, “Financial education is one of the key missions of the French central bank. We strive to create as many opportunities as possible to engage with students, aiming to enhance financial literacy across society.” President UENO responded, “The younger generation will shape the next society. As an academic, I find it deeply meaningful that the central bank is working to build society from that perspective.”
Subsequently, Mr. Beau delivered a lecture titled “Rethinking central bank money in the digital era” at the Global Hall. Approximately 90 attendees, primarily students from the School of Political Science and Economics, participated.
Mr. Beau explained, “Amid rapid societal digitization, Europe is advancing legal frameworks supporting the tokenization of finance (efforts to digitally represent asset value and rights on blockchain), with the European Central Bank leading discussions on issuing digital currencies for both wholesale and retail sectors.”
When a student asked, “Wouldn’t digital currencies issued by private companies suffice?,” Mr. Beau responded, “It is important to issue a digital version of banknotes as the foundation supporting the digital society and to provide users with freedom of choice.” This led to a lively question-and-answer session.
Following the lecture, students shared feedback such as: “Hearing about the latest developments regarding Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) was a valuable opportunity. It reaffirmed the importance of considering not only convenience but also risk perspectives when examining cutting-edge technologies and systems, not just CBDC.” Another student commented: “While my research on cashless payments has focused on Southeast Asia, I now want to pay attention to Europe’s initiatives as well.” The event proved to be an opportunity to broaden their learning horizons.