Regional Final South-West, July 1st, 2020

South-West region – a close race for the top spots

In our second home, the south-west region, which has been part of the YES! for four years now, we encountered a discussion-packed round. The teams voted for the Albertus-Magnus-Gymnasium Stuttgart and the European School RheinMain from Bad Vilbel as representatives of the area at the National Final.

We were delighted to have the President of the ZEW – Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research, Prof. Achim Wambach, Ph.D., as a guest again. He joined us live and emphasised how great he thought it was that so many teams, so many teachers and researchers have continued despite the circumstances.

Volker Schebesta, State Secretary in the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports in Baden-Württemberg, had a similar opinion. In his video statement, he said to deliver all the tasks in digital form was a great achievement of the young people for him.

We continued with our presenters Svenja Heber and David Patrician and our mini regional finals orange and green.

In the green group, the Albertus-Magnus-Gymnasium from Stuttgart started.  Their topic was “Efficiently organising the allocation of day-care places”, submitted by ZEW. In many cities, as in their example Stuttgart, the allocation of day-care places is very complicated for parents, day-care centres and the city administration. With their approach to using an algorithm-based ranking system, the process should not only be standardised and simplified, but the actual number of unfilled day-care places should decline.

“My house, my savings account, my pension”: What can you do if interest rates stay low? – this was the question posed by ZEW researchers to the Richard Müller School in Fulda. The team took up the urgent issue of sustainability and linked it to retirement provision. They called their idea “Financetree”. One euro out of eleven euros that a young person pays into ethical and sustainable funds per month as a safeguard in old age flows into concrete projects for environmental protection.

The next topic was also put forward by ZEW: “Facts instead of fake news – Why science communication in the digital space is becoming increasingly important”. The team from the Goethe-Gymnasium in Freiburg called their approach “Wikicheck”. With their platform, which provides volunteers and researchers together as reviewers, they wanted to uncover fake news quickly and reliably.

Group picturer with the European Flag and the winning teams. Foto: (c) YES! – Young Econmic Summit

In the orange group, the European School RheinMain from Bad Vilbel was first on the list. Their topic: “How can we measure the value of marketing? What is a brand worth?”, provided by the Leibniz Institute for Financial Market Research SAFE. With an app and a sophisticated system, they wanted to allow smaller companies to sound out and evaluate their marketing options more precisely to be more visible on the market.

“Access the German labour market: How can we strengthen the integration of refugees”, suggested by the ZEW. Lise-Meitner-Gymnasium from Maxdorf tried to answer this question. Their target group were young women who came to Germany but were not actively looking for work because they lack the information to do so. A volunteer “companion” should approach them, helping them to get to know the options they have on the job market. This is the core of their “Shajara System”.

The team from the Saarpfalz Gymnasium in Homburg also devoted itself to the same topic. Their approach was to bring Germans and migrants together through language courses, improved information and joint sports activities.

“SuSTravel – We have a dream, travel green” – this was the motto of the idea of the BSZ Leonberg. The young people linked the concept of sustainability with school trips and developed an idea of how school groups can make their trips more environmentally friendly. Their challenge from the ZEW was “Founders’ Day, now! Through innovative start-ups to the “Green Economy”.

The winner in the green group was the Albertus-Magnus-Gymnasium from Stuttgart. In orange, the European School RheinMain from Bad Vilbel came out on top. Congratulations to both teams and we look forward to seeing you at the National Final!

Now we have a little breather until 14 July, until the last round this year in the south-east region.

Until then,

your YES! team

Regional Final West, June 24 2020

There was some action in the West

In the third regional final, the teams from the Western Region gathered in our video conference – sometimes from home, sometimes from school – to determine which of them had developed the best solution idea. And the winners were the Konrad-Adenauer-Gymnasium from Langenfeld and the Regiomontanus Gymnasium from Hassfurt.

It would have been crowded on stage if all our guests had presented their greetings personally. But, in Corona style, we could only play videos. Prof. Dr Thomas Bauer, Vice President of the RWI – Leibniz Institute for Economic Research, would have liked to have been there as he had been in previous years and congratulated the YES! organisation for the Meritum Award of the Deutsche Aktieninstitut.

Yvonne Gebauer, Minister for Education in North Rhine-Westphalia, was also very impressed with how well the teams coped with the corona period and was looking forward to many great new ideas.

Third in the group of greeters was Thomas Kufen, Lord Mayor of Essen. He also praised how well the teams had been able to switch over to the digital version of the YES!

Afterwards, we went back to our now well-known mini regional finals Orange and Green, which were led by our two hosts Svenja Heber and David Patrician in their usual entertaining way.

But the same rules still applied: 10 minutes of presentation, which the teams had made appealing by sharing their screens. This was followed by a 10-minute discussion – perhaps not quite as intensive as in an analogue meeting, but still with critical questions and competent answers.

The Konrad-Adenauer-Gymnasium Langenfeld started in the green group. Their topic was “The Economy and I – Economic education as a prerequisite for our participation in a democratic society”, provided by the iwp Institute for Economic Policy from Cologne. For them, people needed to have access to more economic education, which is why they designed an app to make it easier for citizens.

A critical topic, which also affects them, was worked on by the group of the Konrad-Klepping-Berufskolleg from Dortmund. “Learning together – How the integration of refugee children in German classrooms can succeed” – that was the challenge RWI faced. The team developed a timetable that would combine the advantages of individual learning in regular classes with those of a community in an international group.

For the Gymnasium Petrinum from Brilon, the team also went into economic literacy, but with a focus on school, proposed by the ECONtribute cluster of excellence: “My house, my pension, my mobile phone – how do I make sensible financial decisions?” Their idea Educonomy involved using a digital budget to go through increasingly complex financial topics from grade 5 to grade 12.

The Orange group had with four teams. Two of them had worked on the same topic at RWI: “Climate change is costly, but so is mitigation: What policies are most cost-effective?”

“Work from home, save the climate” was the proposal of the first team from the Integrierte Gesamtschule Bonn Beuel. With a seal of approval for companies that are committed to offering home office, employees should directly recognise that a potential employer is open to such a work option.

In their presentation, Rudolph-Brandes-Gymnasium mentioned a fictional brewery that produces YES! beer. And here it is. Photo: (c) YES! – Young Economic Summit

The idea of the Rudolph-Brandes-Gymnasium Bad Salzuflen was quite different. With their approach “Phase X takes an economical approach to tackle climate change and enhances the EU Emission Trading System”, they wanted to improve Europe-wide certificate trading for emissions.

For the Regiomontanus Gymnasium from Hassfurt, the topic was on donations and taxes: “Donations and social policy: Do we need taxes or are voluntary donations the better way to finance public goods”, a topic provided by the Düsseldorf Institute for Competition Economics (DICE). Their answer was a – restricted – co-determination for everyone, what the government should do with their taxes.

The fourth team from Engelsburg Gymnasium Kassel presented their idea Greenpare – Sustainable and responsible banking. Their suggestions are unambiguous guidelines on how banks should behave sustainably, ethically and environmentally consciously in their investments. The cluster of excellence ECONtribute provided their topic: “Can the financial sector help to solve global problems?”

After the one-minute pitches, the teams retreated to discuss and cast their vote.

The winner in the green group was Konrad-Adenauer-Gymnasium Langenfeld. In orange the Regiomontanus Gymnasium prevailed. Congratulations!

That’s how to celebrate online. The YES! organisers with the two advancing teams. Photo: (c) YES! – Young Economic Summit

We have now finished three out of five regional finals. It’s still exciting, even digitally, and the ideas of the teams are on the same level as we’ve seen in previous years. Kudos to all our young participants out there!

On July 1, we will move on to the south-west region. The region has been part of the competition since 2017 and has provided the winner of the national final three times in a row. So we expect great solutions!

See you soon,
your YES! team

Regional Final North, June 15th, 2020

The North has voted

Only five days after the first regional final, we were already heading north, where the YES! once had its origins. Six teams had survived the corona months, continued working despite school closures and were finally allowed to present their ideas. The Gymnasium Buckhorn Hamburg and the Immanuel Kant School from Neumünster prevailed.

Usually, the regional final in Kiel is a home game for us. And although we all could only meet at the screen, it almost felt like it. Maybe it was also due to the comparatively small group because we only had two mini finals of three, from which the two representatives for the northern region should arise.

The IfW president sent a video to the school teams with words of warning for the world economy and encouragement for the youths. Photo: (c) YES! – Young Economic Summit

The IfW president sent a video to the school teams with words of warning for the world economy and encouragement for the youths. Photo: (c) YES! – Young Economic Summit

Although we did not have any live guests, the line-up of greetings to the students was impressive. Prof. Gabriel Felbermayr, Ph.D., President of the IfW Kiel Institute for the World Economy, emphasised in his video that especially in the current times when states are once again more often concerned about their advantage, it is enormously vital to focus on solutions. Karin Prien, Minister of Education of Schleswig-Holstein, clearly spoke out in favour of thinking these difficult weeks behind the young people as a new beginning that extends across all areas of society – and the input of the young people, in particular, is critical here. And Renate Treutel, the Mayor of Kiel, also took the opportunity to pay tribute to the enthusiasm and stamina of the teams with a video message.

But then things moved on quickly. Our two hosts Svenja Heber and David Patrician took over their mini regional finals orange and green again.

Our rules: 10 minutes of presentation, which the teams had made appealing by sharing their screens. This was followed by a 10-minute discussion – thoroughly critical, but always with appreciation for the work of the others.

Even digitally you can deal with serious topics and have fun doing so . Photo: (c) YES! – Young Economic Summit

The Orange group contained two teams that had worked on the same topic: What will we do tomorrow? The future of work, provided by the ZBW. It showed once again how different approaches to solutions could be in the YES! The RBZ Wirtschaft . Kiel wanted to unearth hidden treasures with their idea “Enrichment through self-efficacy”. Their strategy: Employees have hidden talents or knowledge that a company should find out in workshops and use in daily work.

The Kurt-Körber-Gymnasium took a different approach. For them, the focus was on the unfair conditions for gig workers, i.e. people who take short-term jobs and are often poorly paid. With their Fair Gig platform, they wanted to create a way to evaluate companies and find jobs with fair conditions.

The third team from the Immanuel Kant School in Neumünster dealt with the topic of “Multilateralism in the crisis – How can we save international cooperation?” from the IfW. Their answer was information and transparency so that the population understands the importance of global alliances. Your App MUTE is at the centre of this.

Even digitally you can deal with serious topics and have fun doing so. Photo: (c) YES! – Young Economic Summit

The green group started with the presentation of the Gymnasium Buckhornfrom Hamburg. Their slogan “RETHINK YOUR FUTURE & “SWIPE” FOR A BETTER TOMORROW” describes the idea of a social network that aims to promote awareness of the CO2 consumption of each individual. Their topic was “How much CO2 is still allowed to enter the atmosphere, and how do we get it out again?” from the IfW.

The second team, Don Bosco Gymnasium from Essen, which was allowed to move to the north due to scheduling constraints, examined the situation in the care sector. Their subject was “Sick, old, left alone? How can the healthcare system cope with demographic change?” from RWI in Essen. They advocated the establishment of a profession that is located between nurses and doctors, to distribute medical tasks on more shoulders and also to financially upgrade the care sector.

The Globalization of Work: Meeting the Challenges of the 21st Century was the task of the IfW for the Sophie-Scholl-Gymnasium from Itzehoe. They took a closer look at the parcel market and developed a concept of deposit packaging instead of throw-away boxes.

After the presentations, each team was then allowed to discuss the other solution ideas in a digital room.

The two winners were the Gymnasium Buckhorn Hamburg and the Immanuel Kant School from Neumünster.

It was again a lot of fun with everyone, and of course, we congratulated the winning teams.

We’re going to blow the whistle for now before we continue in the west on 24 June – even if only digitally for all of us.

Your YES! team

Regional Final South-West, July 1st, 2020

South-West region – a close race for the top spots

In our second home, the south-west region, which has been part of the YES! for four years now, we encountered a discussion-packed round. The teams voted for the Albertus-Magnus-Gymnasium Stuttgart and the European School RheinMain from Bad Vilbel as representatives of the area at the National Final.

We were delighted to have the President of the ZEW – Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research, Prof. Achim Wambach, Ph.D., as a guest again. He joined us live and emphasised how great he thought it was that so many teams, so many teachers and researchers have continued despite the circumstances.

Volker Schebesta, State Secretary in the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports in Baden-Württemberg, had a similar opinion. In his video statement, he said to deliver all the tasks in digital form was a great achievement of the young people for him.

We continued with our presenters Svenja Heber and David Patrician and our mini regional finals orange and green.

In the green group, the Albertus-Magnus-Gymnasium from Stuttgart started.  Their topic was “Efficiently organising the allocation of day-care places”, submitted by ZEW. In many cities, as in their example Stuttgart, the allocation of day-care places is very complicated for parents, day-care centres and the city administration. With their approach to using an algorithm-based ranking system, the process should not only be standardised and simplified, but the actual number of unfilled day-care places should decline.

“My house, my savings account, my pension”: What can you do if interest rates stay low? – this was the question posed by ZEW researchers to the Richard Müller School in Fulda. The team took up the urgent issue of sustainability and linked it to retirement provision. They called their idea “Financetree”. One euro out of eleven euros that a young person pays into ethical and sustainable funds per month as a safeguard in old age flows into concrete projects for environmental protection.

The next topic was also put forward by ZEW: “Facts instead of fake news – Why science communication in the digital space is becoming increasingly important”. The team from the Goethe-Gymnasium in Freiburg called their approach “Wikicheck”. With their platform, which provides volunteers and researchers together as reviewers, they wanted to uncover fake news quickly and reliably.

Group picturer with the European Flag and the winning teams. Foto: (c) YES! – Young Econmic Summit

In the orange group, the European School RheinMain from Bad Vilbel was first on the list. Their topic: “How can we measure the value of marketing? What is a brand worth?”, provided by the Leibniz Institute for Financial Market Research SAFE. With an app and a sophisticated system, they wanted to allow smaller companies to sound out and evaluate their marketing options more precisely to be more visible on the market.

“Access the German labour market: How can we strengthen the integration of refugees”, suggested by the ZEW. Lise-Meitner-Gymnasium from Maxdorf tried to answer this question. Their target group were young women who came to Germany but were not actively looking for work because they lack the information to do so. A volunteer “companion” should approach them, helping them to get to know the options they have on the job market. This is the core of their “Shajara System”.

The team from the Saarpfalz Gymnasium in Homburg also devoted itself to the same topic. Their approach was to bring Germans and migrants together through language courses, improved information and joint sports activities.

“SuSTravel – We have a dream, travel green” – this was the motto of the idea of the BSZ Leonberg. The young people linked the concept of sustainability with school trips and developed an idea of how school groups can make their trips more environmentally friendly. Their challenge from the ZEW was “Founders’ Day, now! Through innovative start-ups to the “Green Economy”.

The winner in the green group was the Albertus-Magnus-Gymnasium from Stuttgart. In orange, the European School RheinMain from Bad Vilbel came out on top. Congratulations to both teams and we look forward to seeing you at the National Final!

Now we have a little breather until 14 July, until the last round this year in the south-east region.

Until then,

your YES! team

Regional Final West, June 24 2020

There was some action in the West

In the third regional final, the teams from the Western Region gathered in our video conference – sometimes from home, sometimes from school – to determine which of them had developed the best solution idea. And the winners were the Konrad-Adenauer-Gymnasium from Langenfeld and the Regiomontanus Gymnasium from Hassfurt.

It would have been crowded on stage if all our guests had presented their greetings personally. But, in Corona style, we could only play videos. Prof. Dr Thomas Bauer, Vice President of the RWI – Leibniz Institute for Economic Research, would have liked to have been there as he had been in previous years and congratulated the YES! organisation for the Meritum Award of the Deutsche Aktieninstitut.

Yvonne Gebauer, Minister for Education in North Rhine-Westphalia, was also very impressed with how well the teams coped with the corona period and was looking forward to many great new ideas.

Third in the group of greeters was Thomas Kufen, Lord Mayor of Essen. He also praised how well the teams had been able to switch over to the digital version of the YES!

Afterwards, we went back to our now well-known mini regional finals Orange and Green, which were led by our two hosts Svenja Heber and David Patrician in their usual entertaining way.

But the same rules still applied: 10 minutes of presentation, which the teams had made appealing by sharing their screens. This was followed by a 10-minute discussion – perhaps not quite as intensive as in an analogue meeting, but still with critical questions and competent answers.

The Konrad-Adenauer-Gymnasium Langenfeld started in the green group. Their topic was “The Economy and I – Economic education as a prerequisite for our participation in a democratic society”, provided by the iwp Institute for Economic Policy from Cologne. For them, people needed to have access to more economic education, which is why they designed an app to make it easier for citizens.

A critical topic, which also affects them, was worked on by the group of the Konrad-Klepping-Berufskolleg from Dortmund. “Learning together – How the integration of refugee children in German classrooms can succeed” – that was the challenge RWI faced. The team developed a timetable that would combine the advantages of individual learning in regular classes with those of a community in an international group.

For the Gymnasium Petrinum from Brilon, the team also went into economic literacy, but with a focus on school, proposed by the ECONtribute cluster of excellence: “My house, my pension, my mobile phone – how do I make sensible financial decisions?” Their idea Educonomy involved using a digital budget to go through increasingly complex financial topics from grade 5 to grade 12.

The Orange group had with four teams. Two of them had worked on the same topic at RWI: “Climate change is costly, but so is mitigation: What policies are most cost-effective?”

“Work from home, save the climate” was the proposal of the first team from the Integrierte Gesamtschule Bonn Beuel. With a seal of approval for companies that are committed to offering home office, employees should directly recognise that a potential employer is open to such a work option.

In their presentation, Rudolph-Brandes-Gymnasium mentioned a fictional brewery that produces YES! beer. And here it is. Photo: (c) YES! – Young Economic Summit

The idea of the Rudolph-Brandes-Gymnasium Bad Salzuflen was quite different. With their approach “Phase X takes an economical approach to tackle climate change and enhances the EU Emission Trading System”, they wanted to improve Europe-wide certificate trading for emissions.

For the Regiomontanus Gymnasium from Hassfurt, the topic was on donations and taxes: “Donations and social policy: Do we need taxes or are voluntary donations the better way to finance public goods”, a topic provided by the Düsseldorf Institute for Competition Economics (DICE). Their answer was a – restricted – co-determination for everyone, what the government should do with their taxes.

The fourth team from Engelsburg Gymnasium Kassel presented their idea Greenpare – Sustainable and responsible banking. Their suggestions are unambiguous guidelines on how banks should behave sustainably, ethically and environmentally consciously in their investments. The cluster of excellence ECONtribute provided their topic: “Can the financial sector help to solve global problems?”

After the one-minute pitches, the teams retreated to discuss and cast their vote.

The winner in the green group was Konrad-Adenauer-Gymnasium Langenfeld. In orange the Regiomontanus Gymnasium prevailed. Congratulations!

That’s how to celebrate online. The YES! organisers with the two advancing teams. Photo: (c) YES! – Young Economic Summit

We have now finished three out of five regional finals. It’s still exciting, even digitally, and the ideas of the teams are on the same level as we’ve seen in previous years. Kudos to all our young participants out there!

On July 1, we will move on to the south-west region. The region has been part of the competition since 2017 and has provided the winner of the national final three times in a row. So we expect great solutions!

See you soon,
your YES! team

Regional Final North, June 15th, 2020

The North has voted

Only five days after the first regional final, we were already heading north, where the YES! once had its origins. Six teams had survived the corona months, continued working despite school closures and were finally allowed to present their ideas. The Gymnasium Buckhorn Hamburg and the Immanuel Kant School from Neumünster prevailed.

Usually, the regional final in Kiel is a home game for us. And although we all could only meet at the screen, it almost felt like it. Maybe it was also due to the comparatively small group because we only had two mini finals of three, from which the two representatives for the northern region should arise.

The IfW president sent a video to the school teams with words of warning for the world economy and encouragement for the youths. Photo: (c) YES! – Young Economic Summit

The IfW president sent a video to the school teams with words of warning for the world economy and encouragement for the youths. Photo: (c) YES! – Young Economic Summit

Although we did not have any live guests, the line-up of greetings to the students was impressive. Prof. Gabriel Felbermayr, Ph.D., President of the IfW Kiel Institute for the World Economy, emphasised in his video that especially in the current times when states are once again more often concerned about their advantage, it is enormously vital to focus on solutions. Karin Prien, Minister of Education of Schleswig-Holstein, clearly spoke out in favour of thinking these difficult weeks behind the young people as a new beginning that extends across all areas of society – and the input of the young people, in particular, is critical here. And Renate Treutel, the Mayor of Kiel, also took the opportunity to pay tribute to the enthusiasm and stamina of the teams with a video message.

But then things moved on quickly. Our two hosts Svenja Heber and David Patrician took over their mini regional finals orange and green again.

Our rules: 10 minutes of presentation, which the teams had made appealing by sharing their screens. This was followed by a 10-minute discussion – thoroughly critical, but always with appreciation for the work of the others.

Even digitally you can deal with serious topics and have fun doing so . Photo: (c) YES! – Young Economic Summit

The Orange group contained two teams that had worked on the same topic: What will we do tomorrow? The future of work, provided by the ZBW. It showed once again how different approaches to solutions could be in the YES! The RBZ Wirtschaft . Kiel wanted to unearth hidden treasures with their idea “Enrichment through self-efficacy”. Their strategy: Employees have hidden talents or knowledge that a company should find out in workshops and use in daily work.

The Kurt-Körber-Gymnasium took a different approach. For them, the focus was on the unfair conditions for gig workers, i.e. people who take short-term jobs and are often poorly paid. With their Fair Gig platform, they wanted to create a way to evaluate companies and find jobs with fair conditions.

The third team from the Immanuel Kant School in Neumünster dealt with the topic of “Multilateralism in the crisis – How can we save international cooperation?” from the IfW. Their answer was information and transparency so that the population understands the importance of global alliances. Your App MUTE is at the centre of this.

Even digitally you can deal with serious topics and have fun doing so. Photo: (c) YES! – Young Economic Summit

The green group started with the presentation of the Gymnasium Buckhornfrom Hamburg. Their slogan “RETHINK YOUR FUTURE & “SWIPE” FOR A BETTER TOMORROW” describes the idea of a social network that aims to promote awareness of the CO2 consumption of each individual. Their topic was “How much CO2 is still allowed to enter the atmosphere, and how do we get it out again?” from the IfW.

The second team, Don Bosco Gymnasium from Essen, which was allowed to move to the north due to scheduling constraints, examined the situation in the care sector. Their subject was “Sick, old, left alone? How can the healthcare system cope with demographic change?” from RWI in Essen. They advocated the establishment of a profession that is located between nurses and doctors, to distribute medical tasks on more shoulders and also to financially upgrade the care sector.

The Globalization of Work: Meeting the Challenges of the 21st Century was the task of the IfW for the Sophie-Scholl-Gymnasium from Itzehoe. They took a closer look at the parcel market and developed a concept of deposit packaging instead of throw-away boxes.

After the presentations, each team was then allowed to discuss the other solution ideas in a digital room.

The two winners were the Gymnasium Buckhorn Hamburg and the Immanuel Kant School from Neumünster.

It was again a lot of fun with everyone, and of course, we congratulated the winning teams.

We’re going to blow the whistle for now before we continue in the west on 24 June – even if only digitally for all of us.

Your YES! team

Regional Final South-West, July 1st, 2020

South-West region – a close race for the top spots

In our second home, the south-west region, which has been part of the YES! for four years now, we encountered a discussion-packed round. The teams voted for the Albertus-Magnus-Gymnasium Stuttgart and the European School RheinMain from Bad Vilbel as representatives of the area at the National Final.

We were delighted to have the President of the ZEW – Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research, Prof. Achim Wambach, Ph.D., as a guest again. He joined us live and emphasised how great he thought it was that so many teams, so many teachers and researchers have continued despite the circumstances.

Volker Schebesta, State Secretary in the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports in Baden-Württemberg, had a similar opinion. In his video statement, he said to deliver all the tasks in digital form was a great achievement of the young people for him.

We continued with our presenters Svenja Heber and David Patrician and our mini regional finals orange and green.

In the green group, the Albertus-Magnus-Gymnasium from Stuttgart started.  Their topic was “Efficiently organising the allocation of day-care places”, submitted by ZEW. In many cities, as in their example Stuttgart, the allocation of day-care places is very complicated for parents, day-care centres and the city administration. With their approach to using an algorithm-based ranking system, the process should not only be standardised and simplified, but the actual number of unfilled day-care places should decline.

“My house, my savings account, my pension”: What can you do if interest rates stay low? – this was the question posed by ZEW researchers to the Richard Müller School in Fulda. The team took up the urgent issue of sustainability and linked it to retirement provision. They called their idea “Financetree”. One euro out of eleven euros that a young person pays into ethical and sustainable funds per month as a safeguard in old age flows into concrete projects for environmental protection.

The next topic was also put forward by ZEW: “Facts instead of fake news – Why science communication in the digital space is becoming increasingly important”. The team from the Goethe-Gymnasium in Freiburg called their approach “Wikicheck”. With their platform, which provides volunteers and researchers together as reviewers, they wanted to uncover fake news quickly and reliably.

Group picturer with the European Flag and the winning teams. Foto: (c) YES! – Young Econmic Summit

In the orange group, the European School RheinMain from Bad Vilbel was first on the list. Their topic: “How can we measure the value of marketing? What is a brand worth?”, provided by the Leibniz Institute for Financial Market Research SAFE. With an app and a sophisticated system, they wanted to allow smaller companies to sound out and evaluate their marketing options more precisely to be more visible on the market.

“Access the German labour market: How can we strengthen the integration of refugees”, suggested by the ZEW. Lise-Meitner-Gymnasium from Maxdorf tried to answer this question. Their target group were young women who came to Germany but were not actively looking for work because they lack the information to do so. A volunteer “companion” should approach them, helping them to get to know the options they have on the job market. This is the core of their “Shajara System”.

The team from the Saarpfalz Gymnasium in Homburg also devoted itself to the same topic. Their approach was to bring Germans and migrants together through language courses, improved information and joint sports activities.

“SuSTravel – We have a dream, travel green” – this was the motto of the idea of the BSZ Leonberg. The young people linked the concept of sustainability with school trips and developed an idea of how school groups can make their trips more environmentally friendly. Their challenge from the ZEW was “Founders’ Day, now! Through innovative start-ups to the “Green Economy”.

The winner in the green group was the Albertus-Magnus-Gymnasium from Stuttgart. In orange, the European School RheinMain from Bad Vilbel came out on top. Congratulations to both teams and we look forward to seeing you at the National Final!

Now we have a little breather until 14 July, until the last round this year in the south-east region.

Until then,

your YES! team

Regional Final West, June 24 2020

There was some action in the West

In the third regional final, the teams from the Western Region gathered in our video conference – sometimes from home, sometimes from school – to determine which of them had developed the best solution idea. And the winners were the Konrad-Adenauer-Gymnasium from Langenfeld and the Regiomontanus Gymnasium from Hassfurt.

It would have been crowded on stage if all our guests had presented their greetings personally. But, in Corona style, we could only play videos. Prof. Dr Thomas Bauer, Vice President of the RWI – Leibniz Institute for Economic Research, would have liked to have been there as he had been in previous years and congratulated the YES! organisation for the Meritum Award of the Deutsche Aktieninstitut.

Yvonne Gebauer, Minister for Education in North Rhine-Westphalia, was also very impressed with how well the teams coped with the corona period and was looking forward to many great new ideas.

Third in the group of greeters was Thomas Kufen, Lord Mayor of Essen. He also praised how well the teams had been able to switch over to the digital version of the YES!

Afterwards, we went back to our now well-known mini regional finals Orange and Green, which were led by our two hosts Svenja Heber and David Patrician in their usual entertaining way.

But the same rules still applied: 10 minutes of presentation, which the teams had made appealing by sharing their screens. This was followed by a 10-minute discussion – perhaps not quite as intensive as in an analogue meeting, but still with critical questions and competent answers.

The Konrad-Adenauer-Gymnasium Langenfeld started in the green group. Their topic was “The Economy and I – Economic education as a prerequisite for our participation in a democratic society”, provided by the iwp Institute for Economic Policy from Cologne. For them, people needed to have access to more economic education, which is why they designed an app to make it easier for citizens.

A critical topic, which also affects them, was worked on by the group of the Konrad-Klepping-Berufskolleg from Dortmund. “Learning together – How the integration of refugee children in German classrooms can succeed” – that was the challenge RWI faced. The team developed a timetable that would combine the advantages of individual learning in regular classes with those of a community in an international group.

For the Gymnasium Petrinum from Brilon, the team also went into economic literacy, but with a focus on school, proposed by the ECONtribute cluster of excellence: “My house, my pension, my mobile phone – how do I make sensible financial decisions?” Their idea Educonomy involved using a digital budget to go through increasingly complex financial topics from grade 5 to grade 12.

The Orange group had with four teams. Two of them had worked on the same topic at RWI: “Climate change is costly, but so is mitigation: What policies are most cost-effective?”

“Work from home, save the climate” was the proposal of the first team from the Integrierte Gesamtschule Bonn Beuel. With a seal of approval for companies that are committed to offering home office, employees should directly recognise that a potential employer is open to such a work option.

In their presentation, Rudolph-Brandes-Gymnasium mentioned a fictional brewery that produces YES! beer. And here it is. Photo: (c) YES! – Young Economic Summit

The idea of the Rudolph-Brandes-Gymnasium Bad Salzuflen was quite different. With their approach “Phase X takes an economical approach to tackle climate change and enhances the EU Emission Trading System”, they wanted to improve Europe-wide certificate trading for emissions.

For the Regiomontanus Gymnasium from Hassfurt, the topic was on donations and taxes: “Donations and social policy: Do we need taxes or are voluntary donations the better way to finance public goods”, a topic provided by the Düsseldorf Institute for Competition Economics (DICE). Their answer was a – restricted – co-determination for everyone, what the government should do with their taxes.

The fourth team from Engelsburg Gymnasium Kassel presented their idea Greenpare – Sustainable and responsible banking. Their suggestions are unambiguous guidelines on how banks should behave sustainably, ethically and environmentally consciously in their investments. The cluster of excellence ECONtribute provided their topic: “Can the financial sector help to solve global problems?”

After the one-minute pitches, the teams retreated to discuss and cast their vote.

The winner in the green group was Konrad-Adenauer-Gymnasium Langenfeld. In orange the Regiomontanus Gymnasium prevailed. Congratulations!

That’s how to celebrate online. The YES! organisers with the two advancing teams. Photo: (c) YES! – Young Economic Summit

We have now finished three out of five regional finals. It’s still exciting, even digitally, and the ideas of the teams are on the same level as we’ve seen in previous years. Kudos to all our young participants out there!

On July 1, we will move on to the south-west region. The region has been part of the competition since 2017 and has provided the winner of the national final three times in a row. So we expect great solutions!

See you soon,
your YES! team

Regional Final North, June 15th, 2020

The North has voted

Only five days after the first regional final, we were already heading north, where the YES! once had its origins. Six teams had survived the corona months, continued working despite school closures and were finally allowed to present their ideas. The Gymnasium Buckhorn Hamburg and the Immanuel Kant School from Neumünster prevailed.

Usually, the regional final in Kiel is a home game for us. And although we all could only meet at the screen, it almost felt like it. Maybe it was also due to the comparatively small group because we only had two mini finals of three, from which the two representatives for the northern region should arise.

The IfW president sent a video to the school teams with words of warning for the world economy and encouragement for the youths. Photo: (c) YES! – Young Economic Summit

The IfW president sent a video to the school teams with words of warning for the world economy and encouragement for the youths. Photo: (c) YES! – Young Economic Summit

Although we did not have any live guests, the line-up of greetings to the students was impressive. Prof. Gabriel Felbermayr, Ph.D., President of the IfW Kiel Institute for the World Economy, emphasised in his video that especially in the current times when states are once again more often concerned about their advantage, it is enormously vital to focus on solutions. Karin Prien, Minister of Education of Schleswig-Holstein, clearly spoke out in favour of thinking these difficult weeks behind the young people as a new beginning that extends across all areas of society – and the input of the young people, in particular, is critical here. And Renate Treutel, the Mayor of Kiel, also took the opportunity to pay tribute to the enthusiasm and stamina of the teams with a video message.

But then things moved on quickly. Our two hosts Svenja Heber and David Patrician took over their mini regional finals orange and green again.

Our rules: 10 minutes of presentation, which the teams had made appealing by sharing their screens. This was followed by a 10-minute discussion – thoroughly critical, but always with appreciation for the work of the others.

Even digitally you can deal with serious topics and have fun doing so . Photo: (c) YES! – Young Economic Summit

The Orange group contained two teams that had worked on the same topic: What will we do tomorrow? The future of work, provided by the ZBW. It showed once again how different approaches to solutions could be in the YES! The RBZ Wirtschaft . Kiel wanted to unearth hidden treasures with their idea “Enrichment through self-efficacy”. Their strategy: Employees have hidden talents or knowledge that a company should find out in workshops and use in daily work.

The Kurt-Körber-Gymnasium took a different approach. For them, the focus was on the unfair conditions for gig workers, i.e. people who take short-term jobs and are often poorly paid. With their Fair Gig platform, they wanted to create a way to evaluate companies and find jobs with fair conditions.

The third team from the Immanuel Kant School in Neumünster dealt with the topic of “Multilateralism in the crisis – How can we save international cooperation?” from the IfW. Their answer was information and transparency so that the population understands the importance of global alliances. Your App MUTE is at the centre of this.

Even digitally you can deal with serious topics and have fun doing so. Photo: (c) YES! – Young Economic Summit

The green group started with the presentation of the Gymnasium Buckhornfrom Hamburg. Their slogan “RETHINK YOUR FUTURE & “SWIPE” FOR A BETTER TOMORROW” describes the idea of a social network that aims to promote awareness of the CO2 consumption of each individual. Their topic was “How much CO2 is still allowed to enter the atmosphere, and how do we get it out again?” from the IfW.

The second team, Don Bosco Gymnasium from Essen, which was allowed to move to the north due to scheduling constraints, examined the situation in the care sector. Their subject was “Sick, old, left alone? How can the healthcare system cope with demographic change?” from RWI in Essen. They advocated the establishment of a profession that is located between nurses and doctors, to distribute medical tasks on more shoulders and also to financially upgrade the care sector.

The Globalization of Work: Meeting the Challenges of the 21st Century was the task of the IfW for the Sophie-Scholl-Gymnasium from Itzehoe. They took a closer look at the parcel market and developed a concept of deposit packaging instead of throw-away boxes.

After the presentations, each team was then allowed to discuss the other solution ideas in a digital room.

The two winners were the Gymnasium Buckhorn Hamburg and the Immanuel Kant School from Neumünster.

It was again a lot of fun with everyone, and of course, we congratulated the winning teams.

We’re going to blow the whistle for now before we continue in the west on 24 June – even if only digitally for all of us.

Your YES! team

Regional Final South-West, July 1st, 2020

South-West region – a close race for the top spots

In our second home, the south-west region, which has been part of the YES! for four years now, we encountered a discussion-packed round. The teams voted for the Albertus-Magnus-Gymnasium Stuttgart and the European School RheinMain from Bad Vilbel as representatives of the area at the National Final.

We were delighted to have the President of the ZEW – Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research, Prof. Achim Wambach, Ph.D., as a guest again. He joined us live and emphasised how great he thought it was that so many teams, so many teachers and researchers have continued despite the circumstances.

Volker Schebesta, State Secretary in the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports in Baden-Württemberg, had a similar opinion. In his video statement, he said to deliver all the tasks in digital form was a great achievement of the young people for him.

We continued with our presenters Svenja Heber and David Patrician and our mini regional finals orange and green.

In the green group, the Albertus-Magnus-Gymnasium from Stuttgart started.  Their topic was “Efficiently organising the allocation of day-care places”, submitted by ZEW. In many cities, as in their example Stuttgart, the allocation of day-care places is very complicated for parents, day-care centres and the city administration. With their approach to using an algorithm-based ranking system, the process should not only be standardised and simplified, but the actual number of unfilled day-care places should decline.

“My house, my savings account, my pension”: What can you do if interest rates stay low? – this was the question posed by ZEW researchers to the Richard Müller School in Fulda. The team took up the urgent issue of sustainability and linked it to retirement provision. They called their idea “Financetree”. One euro out of eleven euros that a young person pays into ethical and sustainable funds per month as a safeguard in old age flows into concrete projects for environmental protection.

The next topic was also put forward by ZEW: “Facts instead of fake news – Why science communication in the digital space is becoming increasingly important”. The team from the Goethe-Gymnasium in Freiburg called their approach “Wikicheck”. With their platform, which provides volunteers and researchers together as reviewers, they wanted to uncover fake news quickly and reliably.

Group picturer with the European Flag and the winning teams. Foto: (c) YES! – Young Econmic Summit

In the orange group, the European School RheinMain from Bad Vilbel was first on the list. Their topic: “How can we measure the value of marketing? What is a brand worth?”, provided by the Leibniz Institute for Financial Market Research SAFE. With an app and a sophisticated system, they wanted to allow smaller companies to sound out and evaluate their marketing options more precisely to be more visible on the market.

“Access the German labour market: How can we strengthen the integration of refugees”, suggested by the ZEW. Lise-Meitner-Gymnasium from Maxdorf tried to answer this question. Their target group were young women who came to Germany but were not actively looking for work because they lack the information to do so. A volunteer “companion” should approach them, helping them to get to know the options they have on the job market. This is the core of their “Shajara System”.

The team from the Saarpfalz Gymnasium in Homburg also devoted itself to the same topic. Their approach was to bring Germans and migrants together through language courses, improved information and joint sports activities.

“SuSTravel – We have a dream, travel green” – this was the motto of the idea of the BSZ Leonberg. The young people linked the concept of sustainability with school trips and developed an idea of how school groups can make their trips more environmentally friendly. Their challenge from the ZEW was “Founders’ Day, now! Through innovative start-ups to the “Green Economy”.

The winner in the green group was the Albertus-Magnus-Gymnasium from Stuttgart. In orange, the European School RheinMain from Bad Vilbel came out on top. Congratulations to both teams and we look forward to seeing you at the National Final!

Now we have a little breather until 14 July, until the last round this year in the south-east region.

Until then,

your YES! team

Regional Final West, June 24 2020

There was some action in the West

In the third regional final, the teams from the Western Region gathered in our video conference – sometimes from home, sometimes from school – to determine which of them had developed the best solution idea. And the winners were the Konrad-Adenauer-Gymnasium from Langenfeld and the Regiomontanus Gymnasium from Hassfurt.

It would have been crowded on stage if all our guests had presented their greetings personally. But, in Corona style, we could only play videos. Prof. Dr Thomas Bauer, Vice President of the RWI – Leibniz Institute for Economic Research, would have liked to have been there as he had been in previous years and congratulated the YES! organisation for the Meritum Award of the Deutsche Aktieninstitut.

Yvonne Gebauer, Minister for Education in North Rhine-Westphalia, was also very impressed with how well the teams coped with the corona period and was looking forward to many great new ideas.

Third in the group of greeters was Thomas Kufen, Lord Mayor of Essen. He also praised how well the teams had been able to switch over to the digital version of the YES!

Afterwards, we went back to our now well-known mini regional finals Orange and Green, which were led by our two hosts Svenja Heber and David Patrician in their usual entertaining way.

But the same rules still applied: 10 minutes of presentation, which the teams had made appealing by sharing their screens. This was followed by a 10-minute discussion – perhaps not quite as intensive as in an analogue meeting, but still with critical questions and competent answers.

The Konrad-Adenauer-Gymnasium Langenfeld started in the green group. Their topic was “The Economy and I – Economic education as a prerequisite for our participation in a democratic society”, provided by the iwp Institute for Economic Policy from Cologne. For them, people needed to have access to more economic education, which is why they designed an app to make it easier for citizens.

A critical topic, which also affects them, was worked on by the group of the Konrad-Klepping-Berufskolleg from Dortmund. “Learning together – How the integration of refugee children in German classrooms can succeed” – that was the challenge RWI faced. The team developed a timetable that would combine the advantages of individual learning in regular classes with those of a community in an international group.

For the Gymnasium Petrinum from Brilon, the team also went into economic literacy, but with a focus on school, proposed by the ECONtribute cluster of excellence: “My house, my pension, my mobile phone – how do I make sensible financial decisions?” Their idea Educonomy involved using a digital budget to go through increasingly complex financial topics from grade 5 to grade 12.

The Orange group had with four teams. Two of them had worked on the same topic at RWI: “Climate change is costly, but so is mitigation: What policies are most cost-effective?”

“Work from home, save the climate” was the proposal of the first team from the Integrierte Gesamtschule Bonn Beuel. With a seal of approval for companies that are committed to offering home office, employees should directly recognise that a potential employer is open to such a work option.

In their presentation, Rudolph-Brandes-Gymnasium mentioned a fictional brewery that produces YES! beer. And here it is. Photo: (c) YES! – Young Economic Summit

The idea of the Rudolph-Brandes-Gymnasium Bad Salzuflen was quite different. With their approach “Phase X takes an economical approach to tackle climate change and enhances the EU Emission Trading System”, they wanted to improve Europe-wide certificate trading for emissions.

For the Regiomontanus Gymnasium from Hassfurt, the topic was on donations and taxes: “Donations and social policy: Do we need taxes or are voluntary donations the better way to finance public goods”, a topic provided by the Düsseldorf Institute for Competition Economics (DICE). Their answer was a – restricted – co-determination for everyone, what the government should do with their taxes.

The fourth team from Engelsburg Gymnasium Kassel presented their idea Greenpare – Sustainable and responsible banking. Their suggestions are unambiguous guidelines on how banks should behave sustainably, ethically and environmentally consciously in their investments. The cluster of excellence ECONtribute provided their topic: “Can the financial sector help to solve global problems?”

After the one-minute pitches, the teams retreated to discuss and cast their vote.

The winner in the green group was Konrad-Adenauer-Gymnasium Langenfeld. In orange the Regiomontanus Gymnasium prevailed. Congratulations!

That’s how to celebrate online. The YES! organisers with the two advancing teams. Photo: (c) YES! – Young Economic Summit

We have now finished three out of five regional finals. It’s still exciting, even digitally, and the ideas of the teams are on the same level as we’ve seen in previous years. Kudos to all our young participants out there!

On July 1, we will move on to the south-west region. The region has been part of the competition since 2017 and has provided the winner of the national final three times in a row. So we expect great solutions!

See you soon,
your YES! team

Regional Final North, June 15th, 2020

The North has voted

Only five days after the first regional final, we were already heading north, where the YES! once had its origins. Six teams had survived the corona months, continued working despite school closures and were finally allowed to present their ideas. The Gymnasium Buckhorn Hamburg and the Immanuel Kant School from Neumünster prevailed.

Usually, the regional final in Kiel is a home game for us. And although we all could only meet at the screen, it almost felt like it. Maybe it was also due to the comparatively small group because we only had two mini finals of three, from which the two representatives for the northern region should arise.

The IfW president sent a video to the school teams with words of warning for the world economy and encouragement for the youths. Photo: (c) YES! – Young Economic Summit

The IfW president sent a video to the school teams with words of warning for the world economy and encouragement for the youths. Photo: (c) YES! – Young Economic Summit

Although we did not have any live guests, the line-up of greetings to the students was impressive. Prof. Gabriel Felbermayr, Ph.D., President of the IfW Kiel Institute for the World Economy, emphasised in his video that especially in the current times when states are once again more often concerned about their advantage, it is enormously vital to focus on solutions. Karin Prien, Minister of Education of Schleswig-Holstein, clearly spoke out in favour of thinking these difficult weeks behind the young people as a new beginning that extends across all areas of society – and the input of the young people, in particular, is critical here. And Renate Treutel, the Mayor of Kiel, also took the opportunity to pay tribute to the enthusiasm and stamina of the teams with a video message.

But then things moved on quickly. Our two hosts Svenja Heber and David Patrician took over their mini regional finals orange and green again.

Our rules: 10 minutes of presentation, which the teams had made appealing by sharing their screens. This was followed by a 10-minute discussion – thoroughly critical, but always with appreciation for the work of the others.

Even digitally you can deal with serious topics and have fun doing so . Photo: (c) YES! – Young Economic Summit

The Orange group contained two teams that had worked on the same topic: What will we do tomorrow? The future of work, provided by the ZBW. It showed once again how different approaches to solutions could be in the YES! The RBZ Wirtschaft . Kiel wanted to unearth hidden treasures with their idea “Enrichment through self-efficacy”. Their strategy: Employees have hidden talents or knowledge that a company should find out in workshops and use in daily work.

The Kurt-Körber-Gymnasium took a different approach. For them, the focus was on the unfair conditions for gig workers, i.e. people who take short-term jobs and are often poorly paid. With their Fair Gig platform, they wanted to create a way to evaluate companies and find jobs with fair conditions.

The third team from the Immanuel Kant School in Neumünster dealt with the topic of “Multilateralism in the crisis – How can we save international cooperation?” from the IfW. Their answer was information and transparency so that the population understands the importance of global alliances. Your App MUTE is at the centre of this.

Even digitally you can deal with serious topics and have fun doing so. Photo: (c) YES! – Young Economic Summit

The green group started with the presentation of the Gymnasium Buckhornfrom Hamburg. Their slogan “RETHINK YOUR FUTURE & “SWIPE” FOR A BETTER TOMORROW” describes the idea of a social network that aims to promote awareness of the CO2 consumption of each individual. Their topic was “How much CO2 is still allowed to enter the atmosphere, and how do we get it out again?” from the IfW.

The second team, Don Bosco Gymnasium from Essen, which was allowed to move to the north due to scheduling constraints, examined the situation in the care sector. Their subject was “Sick, old, left alone? How can the healthcare system cope with demographic change?” from RWI in Essen. They advocated the establishment of a profession that is located between nurses and doctors, to distribute medical tasks on more shoulders and also to financially upgrade the care sector.

The Globalization of Work: Meeting the Challenges of the 21st Century was the task of the IfW for the Sophie-Scholl-Gymnasium from Itzehoe. They took a closer look at the parcel market and developed a concept of deposit packaging instead of throw-away boxes.

After the presentations, each team was then allowed to discuss the other solution ideas in a digital room.

The two winners were the Gymnasium Buckhorn Hamburg and the Immanuel Kant School from Neumünster.

It was again a lot of fun with everyone, and of course, we congratulated the winning teams.

We’re going to blow the whistle for now before we continue in the west on 24 June – even if only digitally for all of us.

Your YES! team