UK Final, July 19, 2022, Digital Event
On the hottest day ever in the UK, we were able to host a really cool event. The fact that we couldn’t be in Coventry ourselves was only a minor downer. As finalists, the teams from Aylesbury Grammar School and Sheffield Girls’ Sixth Form get to present their work again on the big stage in Hamburg.
Sometimes it’s pretty good to be able to do one and the other. On Friday afternoon, we received a message from a teacher that her team would not be allowed to travel due to the announced heatwave in England. We had to think about changing the event to digital over the weekend. And when two more teams cancelled, it was clear that we would not pack our bags but get the webcams ready.
Only a small, but joyful group at the UK Final. Photo: YES! – Young Economic Summit
So we were then able to welcome at least four teams to a digital final. Sam McLoughlin from the Royal Economic Society, who had already supported us throughout the competition, took over the moderation and led through the day in a charming and quick-witted manner.
And our guests were also able to be there digitally. Representing the University of Warwick, where we had planned to hold the actual final, Lory Barile, Associate Professor and Director of Graduate Studies, reported on the many opportunities offered by studying economics at her university.
Steven Paling, Deputy Director, Economics & Strategic Analysis at NHS England, talked about his career and the wide range of jobs that require economic thinking. He was also a judging panel member that selected the teams from nearly 50 entries.
Education in schools and social media about migration
The eventual finalists from Sheffield Girls’ Sixth Form kicked off the day. Their topic was Facing the challenges of discrimination and migrant integration by Steffen Müller from the University of Hamburg. The girls developed their concept “Migration Education for the Misinformed Nation”, which would provide education on discrimination and be included as compulsory subject matter in PSHE (Personal, Social, Health and Economic) lesson plans.
In the second strand of their idea, they wanted to target social media content that is negative and discriminatory towards people with a migrant background. So they developed their campaign to counter prejudices about migrants held by many people in the UK.
The tax alternative to pandemic lockdowns
“How can we set Taxes, instead of Lockdowns, in order to Reduce Deaths during Pandemics?” was the question Arijit Ghosh from RWI – Leibniz Institute for Economic Research asked the team from Aylesbury Grammar School. They named their answer the Supermarket Excursion Tax (SET) – it got them into the final. Based on data from the first Corona waves, they identified supermarkets as one of the main sites for virus transmission. To counteract this, they came up with the idea of charging a flat tax of £10 for every purchase made there. This should make people go to supermarkets less often, shop online more and thus reduce the risk of transmission. The revenue from this tax should then go to the health service, delivery services and low-income households.
Even though it was only a small digital round, everyone felt very comfortable. The teams asked critical questions but were always respectful in their interactions. Our YES! spirit obviously knows no bounds.
Finally, Arun Advani, Associate Professor at the University of Warwick and Co-Chair of the Discover Economics campaign of the Royal Economic Society, emphasised once again how impressed he was by the young people’s achievements. And such ideas, Advani said, showed that economics is not just about numbers and money but about people.
We want to thank the Royal Economic Society for their local support and, of course, the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research. It was only thanks to the ministry’s support that we could accompany the British teams and their cooperation with scientists from German research institutes for months.
We are now looking forward to seeing the two teams in the final. Welcome to Hamburg in September 2022!
Until then, all the best
Your YES! team
Programme
(Latest Update: July 19, 2022, 10 a.m.)
Times and content may still change.
Note: All the times are UK time. Please add one hour for Central European Time.
10:30 a.m.
Arrival and check-in
11:00 – 11:25 a.m.
Welcome by moderator Sam McLoughlin
Welcome remarks by Lory Barile, Associate Professor and Director of Graduate Studies at Warwick University, and Steven Paling, Deputy Director at NHS England.
11:25 – 12:30 p.m.
First Section – Two Presentations
Sheffield Girls’ Sixth Form
Migration Education for the Misinformed Nation/
A two fold solution that addresses the issue of misinformation surrounding migration through social media and PSHE lesson
Their challenge:
Facing the challenges of discrimination and migrant integration
by Steffen Müller, University of Hamburg
St. Olave’s Grammar School Orpington
Their challenge:
The future of aviation – Sustainable flight with hydrogen?
by Steven Gronau and Manuel Ehmann, Leibniz University Hannover
12:30 – 1:00 p.m.
Lunch Break
1:00 – 2:00 p.m.
Second Section – Two Presentations
Aylesbury Grammar School
Supermarket Excursion Tax (SET)/
A flat tax on all supermarket excursions aiming to reduce transmission of a virus, while raising revenue to mitigate the economic fallout of the virus.
Their challenge:
How can we set Taxes, instead of Lockdowns, in order to Reduce Deaths during Pandemics?
by Arijit Ghosh, RWI – Leibniz Institute for Economic Research
Tiffin School Kingston upon Thames
Their challenge:
Project 100% – How Can We Make the COVID Vaccination Campaign Successful?
by Rika Stoczek and Kevin Piehl, Leibniz University Hannover
2:00 – 2:10 p.m.
Coffee Break and preparation for the Pitch
2:10 – 2:25 p.m.
Presentation of the pitches in reverse order
2:25 –2:50 p.m.
Voting
2:50 – 3:05 p.m.
Coffee Break while counting the votes
3:05 – 3:10 p.m.
Election justification by the school teams
3:10 – 3:20 p.m.
Announcement of the finalists by Arun Advani, Assistant Professor at Warwick and co-chair of the Discover Economics campaign
3:20 – 3:30 p.m.
Closing words by Thilo Neidhöfer & Sam McLoughlin, photos of the finalists
3:30 p.m.
End of the event
YES! BRIDGE 2022 UK
YES! Bridge is a new school competition in the UK that focuses on developing a solution to a current topic in economics, politics, society and the environment.
YES! Bridge is funded by the German Federal Ministry for Science and Education
Since 2015, the YES! – Young Economic Summit has been a successful and growing school competition in Germany. Learn more about the YES!
In 2020, the YES! was awarded a prize by the German Federal Ministry for Science and Education for “Raising the Profile of Education and Science Diplomacy”. This is what Education and Science Diplomacy means.
We proposed a project we called YES! Bridge. The idea was to bring the YES! competition to the UK and connect British pupils with German researchers to promote the border-crossing cooperations on solving current issues.
Five school teams from the UK can select a proposed topic, work together with German researchers and then attend a British National Final in summer 2022. The top two teams will then advance to the Final in Germany in September 2022.
We cover all costs for travel and accommodation for the teams so that young people from all different financial backgrounds can join.
All teams will have access to your YES! learning platform with learning modules to support them throughout the competition. Learning modules include for example guidelines on how to define a problem, how to develop a solution proposal or how to build a good presentation.
Participating schools
Aylesbury Grammar School
Their challenge:
How can we set Taxes, instead of Lockdowns, in order to Reduce Deaths during Pandemics?
by Arijit Ghosh, RWI – Leibniz Institute for Economic Research
Emmanuel College Gateshead
Their challenge:
Paris climate targets – how can negative emissions and climate engineering help limiting temperature rise?
by Wilfried Rickels, IfW – Kiel Institute for the World Economy
St. Olave’s Grammar School Orpington
Their challenge:
The future of aviation – Sustainable flight with hydrogen?
by Steven Gronau and Manuel Ehmann, Leibniz University Hannover
Sheffield Girls’ Sixth Form
Their challenge:
Facing the challenges of discrimination and migrant integration
by Steffen Müller, University of Hamburg
Tiffin School Kingston upon Thames
Their challenge:
Project 100% – How Can We Make the COVID Vaccination Campaign Successful?
by Rika Stoczek and Kevin Piehl, Leibniz University Hannover
The UK final is on July 19, 2022 at Warwick University in Coventry.
Scientific Partners:
FAQs for YES! Bridge
Experience the journey of a YES! team
Captions in English available
