Young adults around the world increasingly fi nd themselves trapped by debt. In Switzerland, debt and managing money hopefully will soon be added to the school curriculum since Intrum Justitia launched a project called Students, Debt and Money.

Easy access to credit cards, lax controls and tempting new forms of credit are among the key reasons so many young people fall into debt. In Switzerland, 30 percent of young people between the ages of 12 and 18 are now in debt, and the number of shop aholics has doubled in the last ten years.

In an effort to slow this tidal wave, Intrum Justitia started a project called Students, Debt and Money, where students aged 13 and 20 submitted entries as part of an educational module for "Managing money."

"It's great that our contest has had such a big impact. Hopefully it will help young people to be more cautious, with fewer falling into a debt trap," says Thomas Hutter, Managing Director of Intrum Justitia in Switzerland.

Intrum Justitia's initiative has received considerable attention. It was one of five entries nominated for a Swiss business ethics prize. Last fall the project won a prestigious PR honor, the Golden Communication Award.

Following the success of the first contest, people asked that it be repeated. In 2006 Intrum Justitia started a new contest, the Swiss School Award, which was divided into three themes:

• Elementary students are competing for the best poster or class diary with the theme "My money - mobile phones and spending money."
• Upper secondary classes are competing for the best concept for an information presentation with the theme "My money - teenagers and money."
• Other classes are vying for best submission in the category "My money - what do young people do with their money?"

"Through positive reinforcement, the participation of celebrities and interactive forms of education, we want to help young people in an entertaining way to be aware of the downside of debt," says Thomas Hutter.