Successful YES! Regional Final in Mannheim – Two ZEW Teams Take the Lead
Dates and NewsInnovative Solutions for “Green Cities” and Improving Public Investment
A full house at ZEW and many happy faces: On 24 June 2025, the preliminary round for the South-West region of Germany’s largest school competition for students in Years 10-13 took place at ZEW for the ninth time. In summery weather, over 130 young people engaged in discussions on climate change and the energy transition, economic education and public infrastructure in Germany, presenting solutions they had developed themselves. As always, they were supported in advance by researchers from the participating institutes. After an intense and exciting day, two teams mentored by ZEW came out on top, securing their tickets to the national final in Hamburg, which will take place from 23 to 25 September 2025.
Albertus-Magnus-Gymnasium from Stuttgart impressed with a sophisticated website on the topic GreenCity?! – What can cities do to fight climate change? They were supported academically by ZEW researchers Dr. Anna Straubinger and Dr. Oliver Schenker. The students addressed climate change as an ever-present issue with a plan for greening urban areas. Positive effects include, for example, improved quality of life and enhanced thermal insulation for buildings. A website with a matching system connects businesses and individuals with partner companies that respond to enquiries and implement greening solutions. Options for financing and a reward system to create incentives were also incorporated. With this approach, the students convinced their fellow participants and were selected for the final.
The Internatsschule Schloss Hansenberg from Geisenheim tackled the topic “Public investment – A sustainable strategy instead of short-term spending?” under the guidance of ZEW experts Jan Kemper and Paul Steger. The school team presented their online platform InvestmentRadar as a solution to Germany’s investment problem: Despite available funds, public investments often lack quality and transparency. The platform makes all public investments visible, facilitates exchange and provides information material, aiming to enhance networking between the public and policymakers and better align investments with actual needs. With this innovative idea, the school also qualified for the final.
is a recap of the day, with images and impressions from the YES!-perspective.
ZEW congratulates Albertus-Magnus-Gymnasium from Stuttgart and Internatsschule Schloss Hansenberg from Geisenheim! We wish both teams every success in Hamburg for the final – where they will have to prove themselves against the finalists from other regions of Germany.
![[Translate to English:]](/fileadmin/_processed_/3/c/csm_YES_2025_Albertus_Magnus_Gymnasium_Stuttgart_6e82317ca5.jpg "Albertus-Magnus-Gymnasium")
About YES!
The YES! - Young Economic Solutions (formerly Young Economic Summit) is a joint project of the ZBW - Leibniz Information Center for Economics and the Joachim Herz Foundation from Hamburg. YES! is one of the largest school competitions on global future issues in Germany. During a six-month mentoring program, school groups work on issues relating to the future. Pupils independently develop solutions for global economic, ecological and social challenges and present these at a school congress, the YES! - Young Economic Solutions in English. Experts from various research/Leibniz economic research institutions provide them with scientific support.
