fact about germany for you
TRANSCRIPT
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For you
FACTSA B O U T G E R M A N Y
The book foryoung people
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10 x GermanyCulture, history, sports,
tourism: there is a lot
to discover in Germany.
Beaming World ChampionsIn July 2014 a dream came true:
the German football team won the
World Cup for the fourth time.
Hip capital cityHistory, culture, parties:
a weekend in Berlin is not enough.
Hot music sceneDJs such as Felix Jaehn and
Robin Schulz are shaking upthe international music scene.
Cultural treasuresThe German museum world
is quite unique: there are
more than 630 art museums.
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Protected natureGermany is a green country
forests account for a third
of its territory.
Clean energyGermany leads the way
internationally in the field of
renewable energies.
Green mobilityBy 2020 the plan is to have no
less than one million electric
vehicles on the road in Germany.
Popular holiday destinationsWindsurfing in the Baltic Sea,climbing in the mountains, skiing
in the Alps: Germany has a lot
to offer as a holiday destination.
Delicious discoveriesGerman cuisine is inter-
national and innovative. It even
includes vegan sausages.
International starsActors such as Diane Kruger
and Daniel Brhl are stars of
the screen all over the world.
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CONTENTS
Welcome 2Democracy, political system, language
Open society 12Commitment, integration, history
Endless opportunities 28Education, study, professional life
New ideas 42Innovation, research, green technologies
Creative minds 52Culture, media, creative industries
Global living 64Digitalisation, urban life, sports
Imprint 72
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.de+49
The .de domain is the most wide-spread in Germany and the most popu-lar country-specific domain worldwide.
The international dialling code for
Germany is +49.
Since 1 January 2002 the euro
has been the sole currency in
Germany. You can also use it in
18 other EU member states.
Domain
Currency
Theres nowhere higher in Germany
the Zugspitze is the countrys highest
mountain peak. The mountain lies in
the eastern Alps.
Many people like to holiday on the
North Sea and Baltic Sea coasts.
Germanys biggest island goes by the
name of Rgen and is located in
the Baltic Sea.
The Rhine is Germanys longest river.
Its source is in Switzerland, and it
flows all the way to Rotterdam in the
Netherlands on the North Sea coast.
Zugspitze
Mainland coast
Rhine
2,962 m
865 km 1,200 km
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4 | 5 W E L C O M E
Germany is a liberal, stable
democracy, but the country
has a tumultuous history.
In 2015 the country celebrated an im-
portant anniversary: 25 years of Ger-
man unity. Between 1949 and 1990 the
country was divided into the Federal
Republic of Germany and the German
Democratic Republic (GDR). This div-ision was a consequence of the Second
World War (1939-1945), which was
started by the Nazis during the Third
Reich (1933-1945). The later peaceful
revolution, which is the name given
to the peoples movement in the GDR,
and the Fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989
made reunification possible.
Germany lies atthe heart of Europe and
has nine adjoining states, more than
any other country in Europe. A total of
81.2 million people live in Germany,
making it the most populous country in
the European Union. Germany is a feder-ation and consists of 16 federal states.
Berlin is its capital.
A modern country at theheart of Europe
C O U N T R Y & P E O P L E
Great diversity
20.3 percent of people (16.4 million) in Ger-
many have a migrant background. Of them,
9.2 million hold German passports.
High life expectancy
Never before have people in Germany lived
as long as they do today. The average life
expectancy for women is 82 and for men 77.
More immigration
At the end of 2014, 81.2 million people
lived in Germany. That was 430,000 more
than in 2013. This growth is primarily theresult of immigration.
20%
81.2
82/77
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State capital
H E S S E N
N O R T H R H I N E -W E S T P H A L I A
R H I N E L A N D -P A L A T I NA T E
S A A R L A N D
B A D E N -W R T T E M B E R G
L O W E R S A X O N Y
S C H L E S W I G -H O L S T E I N M E C K L E N B U R G -
W E S T P O M E R A N I A
B R A N D E N B U R G
SAXONY-A NH A L T
T H U R I N G I A S A X O N Y
B A V A RI A
B E R L I N
Potsdam
H A M B U R G
Wiesbaden
Dsseldorf
Hanover
B R E M E N
Kiel
Schwerin
Magdeburg
Erfurt Dresden
Mainz
Munich
StuttgartSaarbrcken
Federal Republic
The Federal Republic of
Germany is a federation and
consists of 16 federal states.
Federation means that the
individual states have united
to form one big federal state.
This federal principle has deep
roots in the nations history
and is anchored in the German
Constitution.
Committed Europeans
In Germany, one of the found-
ing members of European
integration, the EU is often
rated more positively than
negatively. As a glance at the
Eurobarometer shows.
ec.europa.eu/COMMFront
Office/PublicOpinion
A popular tourist destination: the capital city Berlin attracts many young visitors
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6 | 7
18
W E L C O M E
Every four years the political parties
stand in the general elections to the
German Bundestag. All citizens over
18 are eligible to vote. They choose their
delegates in general, direct, free, and
equal elections by secret ballot. In the
Bundestag elections all voters can cast
two votes. The first vote is to select can-
didates in one of the 299 constituencies,and the second vote is cast for a party list.
This decides how strongly a party is rep-
resented in parliament. The Bundestag
elects the German Chancellor. One of
the most important tasks of the mem-
bers of parliament is legislation. The
Bundesrat, which represents the federal
states, is involved in legislation. Its
69 members are representatives of the
16 state governments. The Federal Presi-
dent is the Head of State. This role is pri-
marily a representative one and is filled
in an election every five years by the Fed-
eral Assembly (combining the Bundestag
and other outstanding members of civilsociety appointed by the state parlia-
ments).
Liberal democracy withequal rights for all
P A R L I A M E N T & P O L I T I C A L P A R T I E S
The Constitution
The written Constitution comprises
146 articles, including the fundamental
rights of citizens. Article 1 guarantees
the inviolability of human dignity and
emphasises the legally binding nature
of basic rights.
The Electorate
Men and women aged 18 and over may
vote in general elections. For elections
to the city parliaments, for example,
some federal states allow those aged
16 and over to vote.
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The Left Party
64 seats
The Greens
63 seats
CDU
254 seats
CSU
56 seats
SPD
193 seats
630 seats
The Reichstag building in Berlin: it is here that the members of the Bundestag, the German parliament, meet
The Parliament
The Bundestag is the parliament of
the Federal Republic of Germany.
It currently has 630 members from
five parties. Only parties that get
more than five percent of the vote or
win three direct seats in an election
may send delegates to the parlia-ment. The Bundestag has its seat
in the historic Reichstag building
in Berlin. The majority of members
of the 18th German Bundestag
(2013-2017) are from the Christian
Democratic Union (CDU), together
with its sister party the CSU, which
only exists in Bavaria, and the Social
Democratic Party of Germany (SPD).
Together they form the so-called
Grand Coalition. The oppositon ismade up of The Left Party and Al-
liance 90/The Greens. All parties in
the Bundestag engage in debate with
and respect one another.
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8 | 9 W E L C O M E
Since the Bundestag elections
of 2013 Germany has been
ruled by a Grand Coalition
of the major parties, the CDU/CSU and the
SPD. Coalition governments are a feature
of the German political system. Up to now
it has only once been possible for just one
party to form a government alone, and
that was back in the early 1960s. Since 2005Dr. Angela Merkel, leader of the CDU
party, has headed the German govern-
ment as Federal Chancellor; she is now in
her third term. Her role is to shape the
principles of German politics. Angela Mer-
kel is the first woman in the history of the
Federal Republic of Germany to hold this
office. She grew up in East Germany and
holds a PhD in Physics.
The cabinet consists of 14 ministers as
well as the Head of the Federal Chancel-
lery. The SPD provides certain key indi-
viduals, including the Deputy Chancellor
in the person of Sigmar Gabriel, who is al-so the Minister for Economic Affairs and
Who governs Germany andwhat is important in politics
P L A Y E R S & C H A L L E N G E S
Dr. Angela Merkel has been German Chancellorsince 2005 and is the head of government
Joachim Gauck has been Germanys Federal Presidentsince 2012; his role is primarily a representative one
Dr. Frank-Walter Steinmeier has been FederalForeign Minister since 2013. He previously held therole between 2005 and 2009
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Key political issues
Energy reform
Germany wants to leave the age of fossil
fuels and nuclear energy behind. It is
committed to fostering renewable ener-
gies through the energy reform, as it is
known. The last nuclear power station
is due to be decommissioned in 2022.
Family
Helping families with children is an
important concern for the German
government. This means, for example,
enabling men and women to balance
work and family life.
Digital agenda
Digital networking is changing the world.
The German government wants to play
an active role in this transformation.
This not only revolves around technol-
ogy, but also issues such as freedom, dig-
ital self-determination, and democracy.
Foreign policy
Germany enjoys close international
relations with a broad network of
countries. Together with its partners,
Germany endeavours worldwide to
achieve peace, democracy, human
rights, and security.
One of the tasks of the Bundestag is to pass laws
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10 | 11 W E L C O M E
Energy, and the Foreign Minister in the
person of Dr. Frank-Walter Steinmeier.
Steinmeier is one of Germanys most ex-
perienced politicians and served a previ-
ous term as Foreign Minister between
2005 and 2009. The Coalition Agreement
titled Shaping Germanys Future forms
the basis for the tasks the Grand Coali-
tion seeks to tackle up to 2017. Coalition
governments use such agreements to
reach an understanding on the political
objectives of the legislative period before
they enter into government together.
German politicians face huge challenges.
Alongside social and environmental policy,
one of the most important tasks is to man-
age the huge influx of refugees. In 2015
well over 800,000 people came to Germany
seeking asylum. They came mainly from
crisis and conflict regions, primarily from
Syria. Germany recognises its humanitar-
ian responsibilities towards people who are
forced to flee their homelands. The Ger-
man Federal Government is working at
many levels to achieve an international
and specifically a pan-European solution
as part of its immigration and refugee
policies. At the same time, German polit-icians are working to rectify the situations
that cause such flows of migrants.
227
159Goethe Institutes
The 159 Goethe Institutes in 98 countries
promote the German language abroad and
seek to improve international cultural
cooperation.
Deutsche Welle
Deutsche Welle (DW) is Germanys inter-
national broadcaster. It provides news and
background reports on the television, radio,
and Internet in 30 languages.
International representation across the globe
Germany maintains relations with 195 states
and is represented worldwide by 227 diplo-
matic missions, of which 153 are embassies.
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One of the tasks of the Federal For-
eign Office, alongside diplomacy, is
to drive Germanys international
cultural and education policy. A large
part of this involves promoting the Ger-
man language all over the world. Cur-
rently 15.4 million people study German
as a foreign language. German is the
most widely spoken mother tongue in
the European Union. The task of lan-
guage education is carried out, for ex-
ample, by the Goethe Institutes, but also
by 140 German schools abroad and al-
most 2,000 other schools that offer in-tensive German tuition. These are linked
by the Schools: Partners for the Future
initiative, or PASCH for short.
Schools: Partners for the Future
The PASCH network links upstudents of German around
the world.
pasch-net.de
Learning German in thenetwork of partner schools
L A N G U A G E
Studying German is very worthwhile it is the most widely spoken mother tongue in the European Union
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12 | 1312 | 13
2
O P E N S O C I E T Y
OPEN SOCIETY
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Cosmopolitan Germany young people have numerousopportunities to apply themselves
I N T R O
Rights, duties, and volunteer-
ing: anyone living in Germany
is free to decide how he or she
wishes to live. People have many
freedoms that enable them to
help shape the country.
Germany is a peaceul, democratic
country. Men and women have the
same rights, and all inhabitants
and the state must comply with the
law in this state under the rule o law.
You are ree to choose your opinion and
your religion: the constitution guaran-
tees these rights and they are valued
particularly highly. Civil society also
defines modern Germany. Millions o
young people are active in their ree
time in clubs, church or political asso-
ciations, and non-governmental organ-
isations.
Germany is a country o immigration.
Since the 1960s people have come here
to live and work. Those who are well-
educated have many opportunities to
move here. One in five people in Ger-
many has an immigrant background.
For political reugees, the right to asy-
lum is anchored in the constitution.
Particularly high numbers o reugees
arrived in 2015. In many towns and cit-
ies volunteers helped those arrivingrom war zones and crisis regions.
However, hostile tendencies were vis-
ible in the debate on reugees and im-
migration.
Open society
Follow the link for the video on the topic
tued.net/en/vid52
V I D E O & A R A P P
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14 | 15 O P E N S O C I E T Y
D I D Y O U K N O W . . .
1
. . . that 16.4 million of 81.2 mil-
lion inhabitants in Germany have
a migrant background?
2
. . . that more than a million
people are active in the volun-
tary fire fighting services and
are everyday heroes?
3
. . . that every year between90,000 and 100,000 people do
voluntary work?
4
. . . that government does not in-
terfere in such things as whether
you are religious or what religion
you have?
5
. . . that the history of the Third
Reich (19331945) is taught in
schools?
6
. . . that there are many memori-
als to the victims of Nazism?
7
. . . that many friendships come
about through the Franco-
German Youth Office and theGerman-Polish Youth Office?
8
. . . that young people with a mi-
grant background are eligible for
dual citizenship?
9
. . . that half of all students are
female?
10
. . . that a good family life is im-portant for 90 percent of young
people in Germany?
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Idid my Abitur at a bi-lingual sixth-orm col-
lege in Freiburg. The dual qualification was
really hard work. Many students took a gap
year aterwards. I didnt want to go straight touni, but didnt want to just have the time or my-
sel either. While looking or voluntary work
with a political and historical ocus, I came
across the Action Reconciliation Service or
Peace. A perect choice. For a period o 12 months
I worked in the Illinois Holocaust Museum and
Education Center in Chicago, one o the most
important Holocaust memorial and education
centres in the United States.
I had already had some exposure to Jewish his-
tory and culture in the orm o books by Franz
Kafa, music by Asa Avidan or travels with my
amily. I wanted to deepen my knowledge while
in the USA. I would definitely recommend a vol-untary year abroad. It is the best way to prevent
racism and prejudices.
W H A T M O V E S M E
The best wayto preventprejudicesVincent Falasca, 20,
voluntary service worker
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16 | 17 O P E N S O C I E T Y
Many young people in Ger-
many are choosing to do
something or the good o soci-
ety in their ree time. There are count-
less opportunities and lots o people
taking part. In 2014 hal o all 12-to-19-
year-olds said that they do something
or others on an unpaid and charitable
basis. This also fits with the values that
are important to young people and arepart o their personal liestyles. For ex-
ample, 60 percent comment: It is im-
portant to me to help those who are so-
cially disadvantaged. For 32 percent,
political involvement is a high priority,
as the Shell Youth Study 2015 shows.
The figure is almost a tenth more than
in the year 2010 and shows that interest
in politics is on the rise again.
Sports, the church,culture, and the res-
cue services are among the most com-
mon fields chosen by those who want to
make a dierence. Environment, animal
protection, and conservation are like-wise very popular. Many young people
are active in new social movements
fighting to give globalisation a just side
and warning against the negative social,
economic, and environmental conse-
quences o global capitalism. Overall,
many are committed to issues that take
an international perspective and aim to
create a better world. They find direction
in non-governmental organisations like
Amnesty International, Greenpeace,oodwatch, or Friends o the Earth Ger-
many (BUND). Incidentally, 66 percent
o young people also believe it is impor-
tant to be environmentally aware. The
youth wings o political parties, trade
unions, and the churches oer no end o
Active leisure time helpingothers as a volunteer
E N G A G E M E N T & V O L U N T E E R I N G
Peaceful understanding
Theatre workshops, sports competitions, en-
vironmental projects: the Franco-German
and the German-Polish Youth Offices bring
young people together and promote
exchange.
G L O B A L
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possibilities or getting involved. It ap-
pears, however, that young people oten
find traditional organisations not spon-
taneous enough or too rigid.
Ever since militaryservice was abolished
in Germany, volunteer assignments with
a posting abroad are becoming increas-
ingly attractive. Examples include the
state-financed programme kulturweit
run by the German UNESCO Commis-sion or the weltwrts developmental
volunteer service.
Helping other people getting involved in social projects is very important for many young people
D I A G R A M
Digital natives
80 percent of 18-to-24-year-olds and 60 per-
cent of 14-to-17-year-olds believe that they are
better at using the Internet than their parents.
60 80
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18 | 19 O P E N S O C I E T Y
Germany has around 81.2 million
inhabitants. Some 16.4 million o
these are migrants or have parents
who come rom abroad: in other words
more than one in five. Over hal o all
people with a migrant background hold
a German passport. Since 2000, children
who have oreign parents and were born
in Germany are citizens not only o the
country o origin o their parents
but are also German citizens i their par-
ents have legally lived in Germany or at
least eight years. Since the end o 2014
they no longer have to choose between
the two citizenships on reaching the age
o majority i they have grown up in
Germany. Facilitating dual citizenship is
just one example o how Germany en-deavours to integrate people rom other
nations and to recognise cultural diver-
sity. The government promotes equal
opportunities, and the General Anti-
Discrimination Act aims to prevent
discrimination. More acceptance or
migration is important; 15 percent o
participants in the Shell Youth Study
2015 agree with this statement, com-
pared to only five percent in 2006.
While considerable progress has been
made in integration, there is still room
or improvement, for example as re-
gards education and training for youngpeople. Those with a migrant back-
ground oten have ewer opportunities
Open for new citizens language, the key to success
M I G R A T I O N & I N T E G R A T I O N
L I S T
People with a migrant background in
Germany today
Turkey: 2,859,000
Poland: 1,617,000
Russian Federation: 1,188,000
Kazakhstan: 921,000
Italy: 764,000
Romania: 593,000
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than their ellow students. Those with
poor German reading and writing skillsare at a disadvantage when embarking
on a career. Specifically, over 30 percent o
the 20-to-29-year-old oreigners have no
vocational qualifications. And only 13 per-
cent gain a high school certificate com-
pared with 34 percent o German youth.
Language is the key to integration and
success.Which is why language evaluation
tests and additional coaching begin in kin-
dergartens. Over two thirds o migrantsare happy living in Germany. According to
the opinion pollsters such as the Allens-
bach Institute most (58 percent) see
themselves as part o German society. On-
ly 5 percent do not eel they belong. Over
hal o migrants would like their children
to grow up in Germany. They see their u-
ture here.
Often young people with a migrant background do not enjoy such good opportunities as those without
a situation politicians seek to change
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20 | 21 O P E N S O C I E T Y
There are many dierent liestyles
and ways o lie in Germany. You
can either remain within the main-
stream or be outside o it. Alternative
concepts or lie are accepted as are di-
erent sexual orientations. The govern-
ment does not interere in such things as
whether you are married to your part-
ner or not, whether you live together, ori you want to have children. In all other
areas o lie people are likewise given the
space or sel-development.
What is a family?The classic amily model
still involves a ather, a mother, and chil-
dren. But many other orms o amily have
developed, too, such as same-sex parent
amilies, patchwork amilies, bi-national
amilies or single-parent amilies. Moreo-
ver, it is oten the case that the ather and
mother are not married. Every tenth cou-
ple with children in Germany has no mar-
riage certificate. And in an increasing
number o amilies, children live alonewith a mother or ather.
The relationship between parents
and children is largely very good. Nat-
urally, there are conflicts, but oten par-
ents are like older riends or pals or
their children. 40 percent o the young-
sters polled in the Shell Youth Study
2015 say: My relationship with my
parents is really good.Having a good
amily lie is one o the most import-ant values or young people. Indeed,
one in three even say the way their par-
ents raised them is a model or how
Diverse ways of living living at home with your parents
F A M I LY & F R I E N D S H I P
D I A G R A M
The value of family
70 percent of young women believe that you
need your own family for personal happiness.Only 57 percent of young men believe this, or
so the Shell Youth Study shows.
57
70
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International generation
Since 2013, 37 percent of students from
Germany have gone abroad for a semester,
an internship or a language course. And the
trend is increasing!
G L O B A L
they will educate their own children.
For their part many parents understand
that encouragement, motivation, and
teaching someone to be independent
are more eective than being overly
authoritarian and imposing bans.
At some point the time comes or kids
to leave home. Young women usually
manage this earlier than their male
counterparts. At age 25 only one in fivewomen still lived with their parents in
These days families take many forms apart from the classic mother, father child(ren). German society reflects this
2014 while 36 percent o the sons had
yet to leave the nest.
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22 | 23 O P E N S O C I E T Y
Shell Youth Study
What makes young people in Germany tick?
What values are important to them? How do
they spend their leisure time? The 17th Shell
Youth Study, published in 2015, tells you.
shell.de/aboutshell/our-commitment/
shell-youth-study-2015.html
In Germany, men and women are
equal beore the law. However, it
has taken a long time or this to be-
come a reality in everyday lie. Since the
1960s, several generations o women have
ought or equality and emancipation,
leading to many barriers being torn down
that previously made it hard or girls and
young women to determine their own u-
tures. By way o example: in Germany to-day just as many young women complete
high school as do young men.The picture
is similar in higher education, where hal
o all students in Germany are women.
Things are notquite so balanced between
the sexes when it comes to the choice o
subject. Most significantly, young men are
traditionally more interested in the so-
called STEM subjects, which are defined as
science, technology, engineering, and
maths. However, these days around
29 percent o students in STEM subjects
are emale, whilst in medicine 65 percent
o all students are now women. In the vet-erinary sciences, the figure is as high as
85 percent. To give another example:
at the Luthansa Group, o 5,500 pilots,
300 are women.
Although more and more women work
in proessions that require academic quali-
fications, in the job market men still have
better chances o climbing the career lad-
der. The higher you go in management,
the ewer women there are. Only 21.4 per-cent o the members o the supervisory
boards o publicly-listed companies
which monitor the actions o the execu-
tives were women in June 2015. This is
set to change: rom 2016 there is to be a
minimum quota o 30 percent women on
Opportunities for all prospects in the world of work
W O R K & E Q U A L I T Y
I N F O
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D I A G R A M
Expectations of the world of work
71 percent of young people in Germany
see job security as their top priority.
48 percent want to have ample leisure
time alongside work.
the supervisory boards o 108 publicly
listed corporations. I the company can-
not find a woman to fill the role, then the
position remains vacant.
Alongside this womensquota, there are
urther regulations aimed at promoting
equal opportunities in the job market.
One example is a quota or the integra-
tion o disabled people: employers who
have over 20 employees must allocate
five percent o their jobs to severely
disabled people.
Although 50 percent of students today are women, when it comes to executive positions they still have some catching up to do
71
48
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24 | 25 O P E N S O C I E T Y
The Third Reich rom 1933 to 1945, the
Second World War, the Holocaust,
and also Communist rule in the or-
mer East Germany all play a very impor-
tant role in the collective memory o the
German people. The primary ocus here
is remembering the victims o Nazism.
And the brave people who were members
o the resistance to Adol Hitler. Preserv-
ing the accounts o contempo-
rary witnesses in the orm o videos or
transcripts is particularly important.
This way, an awareness o the crimes o
the Second World War can be kept
awake in uture generations. Even those
born 50 years ater the end o the Sec-
ond World War must be able to learn
about peoples experiences o the periodbetween 1939 and 1945. There are many
sites and monuments commemorating
the dierent groups o victims in Ger-
many. In the heart o Berlin, the Memo-
rial to the Murdered Jews o Europe
commemorates the six million Jewish
victims o the Holocaust.
Many people ofyour age are committed
to keeping these memories alive and to
shaping a peaceul world. The Action
Reconciliation Service or Peace works
to ensure critical and sensitive engage-
ment with the consequences o Nazi
crimes. Every year several hundredyoung people complete voluntary assign-
ments in Europe, the USA, and Israel.
Learning from the past living history
H I S T O R Y & R E M E M B R A N C E
Museums in Berlin addressing
German history
Jewish Museum
Topography of Terror Documentation Center
Checkpoint Charlie Museum
Berlin Wall Memorial
The DDR Museum (The GDR Museum)
The Berlin-Hohenschnhausen Memorial
German Historical Museum
L I S T
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They work at memorial sites, support
Holocaust survivors, and work towardsa more tolerant society. Peace work is
an important basic focus of youth
work.The Franco-German Youth Ofice
and the German-Polish Youth Ofice
promote exchange between young
people, or example, through interesting
programmes and projects.
Remembrance of theCommunist dicta-
torship in East Germany rom 1949 to1990 is also kept alive. In the ormer East
German Security Service HQ in Berlins
Hohenschnhausen district visitors can
learn about the work o the Stasi (the
ormer Ministry o State Security),
which spied on, monitored, intimidated,
and incarcerated citizens.
Keeping memories alive: the Holocaust Memorial in the heart of Germanys capital, Berlin
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26 | 27 O P E N S O C I E T Y
Open to other religions in schools, too
R E L I G I O N & B E L I E F
People in Germany enjoy ree-
dom o speech and reedom o
religion. These are among the key
human rights. Article 4 o the German
Basic Law protects reedom o religion.
It reads: Freedom o aith and o con-
science, and reedom to proess a reli-
gious or philosophical creed, shall be
inviolable. The undisturbed practice oreligion shall be guaranteed. In practice
this means nobody may be discriminat-
ed against on account o their religious
belies; there is no state church, politics
and religion are kept separate; religion is
a private matter. People o dierent reli-
gious belies live in Germany peaceully
alongside one another. Migration has
created a more diverse religious world.
Some 47 million people belong to one othe Christian denominations. O them,
around 24 million are Catholics, and
some 23 million are Protestants. An-
other third do not belong to any religion.
Many have also let the Church. This op-
tion is open to anyone in Germany over
the age o 18. The majority o people in
east Germany are atheists. The largest
religious communities include our to
five million Muslims, 200,000 Jews, and
members o the Orthodox Christian
aith and o Free Churches. In everyday
lie a persons religion does not play
much o a role. Government schools are
obliged to oer religious instruction;some states also oer instruction in the
Islamic religion.
Religious instruction for all
The city state of Hamburg is blazing its
own trail in terms of religious instruction:
here pupils of different faiths are taught
altogether in Religious instruction for all.
I N F O
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Do you wish to know more about society
and engagement? Then youve come to
the right place.
C O M P A C T
Volunteer organisations that
deploy young people abroadand information on a year
spent in social volunteering.
weltwaerts.de,
kulturweit.de, bafza.de,
bundesfreiwilligendienst.de
Fluter, the youth magazine
from the Federal Agency for
Civic Education, addresses nu-
merous current social themes.
fluter.de
Youth Offices promote ex-
change between young people
in Germany and other
countries.
dfjw.org, dpjw.org, dtjw.de
English-language website on
living, working, and studying inGermany.
young-germany.de
The association DeutschPlus
Initiative for a Plural Republic
is designed to be a network
centred on the theme of mi-
gration.
bpb.de
Both the Protestant and
Catholic Churches are
committed to youth work.
bdkj.de,
evangelische-jugend.de
The Young Islam Conference
offers religious and non-reli-
gious young people a platform
for exchange.
junge-islamkonferenz.de
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28 | 2928 | 29
3
E N D L E S S O P P O R T U N I T I E S
ENDLESSOPPORTUNITIES
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Entering training and theworld of work many roadslead to Rome
I N T R O
School, degree course, profes-
sion: in our globalised world, agood education is the spring-
board to the future. The education
system in Germany represents a
good launch pad in this regard.
For young people in Germany, educa-
tion and training is very important.The education system offers them
numerous opportunities. Generally there
is not just one route by which they can
progress, but rather interesting alterna-
tives and side routes. Firstly, as every-
where, there are different types of school
qualification. In formal terms the highest
qualification from a school is the Abitur,
or Abi for short, equivalent to a high
school certificate. Anyone who has this
under their belt can study at a university
and an increasing number of young
people are doing just that. In Germany
there are no fewer than 415 higher educa-
tion institutions! They guarantee academiceducation at the highest international
levels, which is one reason why Germany
is the third most popular country among
international students after the USA and
the UK. However, anyone who doesnt
complete the Abi or does not wish to study
at university still has a good chance of en-
tering a skilled profession. The dual educa-
tion model combines work and training
and has been so successful for so long that
other countries are now adopting it as amodel.The fact that so many young people
in Germany have jobs is also down to the
fact that they are educated so well and to
the very latest standards.
Endless opportunities
Follow the link for the video on the topic
tued.net/en/vid53
V I D E O & A R A P P
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30 | 31 E N D L E S S O P P O R T U N I T I E S
D I D Y O U K N O W . . .
1
. . . that there are around 415
higher education institutions
in Germany?
2
. . . that for international stu-
dents Germany is the most popu-
lar host country after the United
States and Great Britain?
3
. . . that you can train for some330 vocational programmes in
Germany?
4
. . . that there are 140 German for-
eign schools and another 870
schools offering the Deutsches
Sprachdiplom (DSD) / German
Language Diploma?
5
. . . that the universities offer
1,381 international courses and
courses in foreign languages?
6
. . . that there are over 301,000 for-
eign students in Germany today?
7
. . . that you can study for an in-
ternationally recognised Bachelor
or Masters degree in Germany?
8
. . . that there is compulsory
schooling for all children in Ger-
many?
9
. . . that no fees are charged for
attending state schools or most
of the universities in Germany?
10
. . . that Germany ranks amongstthe countries with the highest
employment rates in the EU?
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W H A T M O V E S M E
Everything issuperblyorganisedAnastasiia Petrova, 21, student at
TH Mittelhessen, Campus Giessen
Biology is my great passion. I was born in the
Ukraine and attended school there. After
graduating from high school I knew for sure
I wanted to work in biology later on. When I foundout you could study bioinformatics in Germany I
knew straight away: thats what I want to do.
I wrote to several German universities and got a
reply from each with a lot of useful tips. That was
a wonderful experience. I decided on Technische
Hochschule Mittelhessen (THM). Everything is
superbly organised. The curriculum is well-struc-
tured, and the content is exciting. There is a bud-
dy programme under which students who have
studied longer help the newcomers both with
their studies but also outside university. Next se-
mester I would also like to help someone who is
new to the THM. I share accommodation with six
other girls, and we get on really well. I am happyI have found a new home here.
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32 | 33 E N D L E S S O P P O R T U N I T I E S
Open school system first-class education
S C H O O L & T R A I N I N G
German international schools
The 140 German international schools in
72 different countries provide a first-rate
education. These are attended by 20,800
German and 61,000 non-German pupils.
The initiative Schools: Partners for the Fu-
ture (PASCH) links a further 2,000 schools
that teach German.
auslandsschulwesen.de
Some 11 million children and
young people attend school in
Germany. Whether you enjoy go-
ing to school or not: all children must
attend a school for at least nine years.
Compulsory education starts at the age
of six. Incidentally, no fees are charged
for attending government schools. And
in contrast to several other countries
only around 10 percent of students inGermany attend a private school.
What you need to know: in Germany
each federal state is responsible for its
schools each federal state enjoys inde-
pendence in educational matters. In
practice this means school systems may
differ from one state to the next; and to
some extent where you live determines
the kind of school you attend. However,
all pupils begin by attending primary
school,usually for four years. There are
four types of secondary school known
as Hauptschule, Realschule, Gym-
nasium, and Gesamtschule. The lat-ter integrates the other three under a
single roof. Children wishing to go on
to study at a university typically attend
a Gymnasium. It is the most popular
type of high school. Pupils can get a
high school certificate, the Abitur, af-
ter 12 years of schooling (G8) or after
13 (G9). Incidentally, the last two years
at a Gymnasium differ from the years
before. Students now have options and
many choose to spend a year at a schoolabroad. The Abi qualifies you to study
at university.
The dual education system offers an
alternative to studying. As an intern
(Azubi) you are both a student and
G L O B A L
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employed by a firm. You receive a
monthly salary and pay into the social
security system. Depending on your
chosen career, training lasts between
two and three and a half years. There are
330 vocational programmes to choose
from in this regard. You attend vocation-
al school or college on one to two days
a week and spend the rest of the week
in a firm learning what is importantin practice.
Successful German model: the dual training scheme combines college and work, theory and practice
D I A G R A M
Popular careers
In 2014 a total of 37,116 women trained as
medical assistants, whilst 60,738 men chose
vocational programmes as automotive
mechatronics engineers.
37,116
60,738
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34 | 35 E N D L E S S O P P O R T U N I T I E S
Colourful, international, diverse:
Germanys student landscape truly
has a lot to offer. If you want to
study in Germany you can choose from
among 415 universities. Basically, there
are three kinds: applicants who con-
sider themselves scientific and ana-
lytical normally choose one of the
106 universities, while those with
stronger practical skills find a
suitable course at one of the 207 uni-
versities of applied sciences. And for
students with creative talents there are
51 universities specializing in film, art
or music. Moreover, there are six teach-
er-training colleges, 16 theological
colleges and 29 public administration
colleges. Together they offer some18,000 courses, of which about 1,400
have an international focus and are
held in a foreign language.
Word has spreadamong the world stu-
dent community that Germany is a
great place to study. After the United
States and Great Britain, Germany is
the most popular choice. In a global
comparison of universities four Ger-
man universities ranked in the top 100
in 2015, and seven made it to the top
200. The universities of the excellence
initiative are the lighthouses of the
university scene. Graduates of Germanuniversities are very sought after by
Excellent research andteaching top unis
S T U D Y I N G & U N I V E R S I T I E S
L I S T
Oldest university: Heidelberg University
(founded 1386)
Newest university: Medizinische
Hochschule Brandenburg (founded 2014)
Largest mainline university: Ludwig-
Maximilians-Universitt Mnchen
(50,327 students)
University that appeals most to leading
international scientist and new talents:
Freie Universitt Berlin
(Humboldt Ranking 2014)
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employers, especially the scientists, en-
gineers, and doctors among them.
Those that donot speak much Germangenerally manage well with English in
everyday life as many people speak the
language. However, apart from the
international courses, German is often
used in lectures and seminars. This
means you need to prove you have a
good knowledge of German to be admit-
ted to certain subjects. Which is why
many students from abroad first take a
preparatory or intensive language course
at a university. Good German courses
abroad are also offered by the 159 GoetheInstitutes in 98 countries.
Provided you passthe relevant exams
you will be entitled to use the title
Bachelor or Master at the end of your
studies. A Bachelors course generally
lasts three years and is modular in
structure. For a Masters degree you
Centre of exchange and knowledge: German universities stand for a first-class education
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36 | 37 E N D L E S S O P P O R T U N I T I E S
have to study an additional two to four
semesters. Incidentally, in Germany anacademic year consists of two semes-
ters. The degrees are recognised inter-
nationally. The European Credit Trans-
fer System (ECTS) means qualif ications
within the European Union education
system are readily comparable. This
makes things easier should you move
to another university. And for those
with greater academic ambitions there
are attractive options for doing a PhD.
There is a clear emphasis on inter-
nationality at German universities as
increasing numbers of young people
are flocking to Germany to study. Of
the 2.7 million students in 2014 around
301,300 were foreign students. Today,every German university has an Inter-
national Office. The latter provides stu-
dents from abroad with tips and
information on such important topics
as residence requirements, accommo-
dation, and life in Germany. Moreover,
German students are cosmopolitan
and keen to spend time abroad. Since
2013 the number of students going
abroad to study for a semester or do
an internship has risen from 32 to 37 per-
cent. In particular the EUs Erasmus+
programme helps many students gain
an international perspective. If you are
interested in studying in Germany youcan contact DAAD, the German Aca-
demic Exchange Service. It coordinates
exchanges between students and aca-
demics, is committed to the inter-
nationalisation of universities, and
awards many interesting scholarships.
Germany has an excellent education
system in which it invests heavily. The
amount rose to a good 120 billion Eu-
ros in 2014. By contrast, studying in
Germany is not too expensive. And
typically students attending state uni-
versities must not pay fees.
Exciting metropolises, idyllic towns
You can study practically everywhere in Ger-
many. There is always a lot going on in the
big cites, while smaller towns often score for
their special student atmosphere.
I N F O
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Lively: There is an enormous
choice for students in German cities.
In Berlin alone there are four
universities from which to choose.
Highly traditional: Many uni-
versities can look back on
long traditions, but are all the
more innovative in the range
of subjects they offer and the
research they do.
Inventive: Research is also
conducted outside universities.
In Germany there are four large
research organisations who
work on theoretical and practical
solutions for the future.
Charming: Few inhabitants,
many students: Mnster,
Freiburg, or Gttingen are
real student towns with aspecial campus flair.
Technical: They enjoy world
renown for their excellent
research and teaching; Ger-
manys technical universities
attract students from all over
the world.
Huge selection, many offers every university is different
M A P
Hamburg
Kassel
Mnster
Berlin
DresdenAachen
Frankfurt
Heidelberg
Munich
Nuremberg
Innovative: It need not always
be the really big universities.Often smaller unis offer interest-
ing and innovative combinations
of subjects.
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38 | 3938 | 39 E N D L E S S O P P O R T U N I T I E S
When it comes to vocational training
there are two alternatives: a vocational
training course or training at a vocational
college.
9 yearsHauptschule second-
ary school qualification
10 yearsRealschule secondary
school qualification
11/12 yearsVocational diploma
12/13 years*Abitur high school
certificate and university
entrance qualification
After primary school, children move on to a secondary
school. There are various types of schools to choose from these lead to various different qualifications.
*Duration of education including primary school
Signpost to success theGerman education system
I N F O G R A P H I C
School
ainingTr
duration
23.5years
12 days(per week)
attending a
vocational college34 days(per week) working in a company
2,455vocational colleges
vocational programmes
in Germany
approx.
330
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Research, practical emphasis, or a focus
on the arts: in Germany there are three
types of university. 106universities
207universities of applied sciences
51film, art or
music colleges
415higher education
institutions
17,731study courses
At the start of the millennium the old
Diploma and Magister qualifications
were abolished in favour of degree
qualifications that are now recognised
internationally.
Most popular subject groups (winter semester 2014/15, number of students)
Sources:GermanFederalMinistryofLabour,destatis,
GermanRectorsConference
7,833Masters degree
courses
7,817Bachelors degreecourses
Law, economics, and social sciences 822,745
Engineering 545,408
Languages and cultural studies 499,561Mathematics, natural sciences 490,433
Life sciences / health sciences 157,166
Also: 6 teacher-training colleges,
16 theological colleges, 29 pub-
lic administration colleges
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40 | 41 E N D L E S S O P P O R T U N I T I E S
Prime career prospects attractive employmentopportunities
W O R K & Q U A L I F I C A T I O N S
The prospects for young people
in the job market are good.
Qualified skilled workers are most
in demand in medical and technical/
scientific professions. For engineers
and technicians, the opportunities are
similarly plentiful: Germany is one of
the countries with the highest rates of
employment in the EU and has thelowest percentage of youth jobless
among EU member states. Skilled
young workers from non-EU coun-
tries can also seek work in Germany.
Of course many of them wish to work
for one of Germanys global players,
but medium-sized firms in the auto-
motive, energy, and mechanical engin-
eering industries are also looking for
new employees. Many of these com-panies are innovative world market
leaders with successful products. Promis-
ing start-ups are also being set up all
over Germany, most significantly in the
capital Berlin.
Most companies scorepoints for their
good work environments, and more
and more young workers place great
emphasis on a good work-life balance.
Young mothers and fathers too can
now shape their careers differently
than earlier generations. Migrants rep-
resent an important economic factor:
more than 700,000 people with a mi-grant background own a business.
Career Compass Germany
The free Career Compass Germany app gives
information in German and English on edu-
cation/training, studying, and working in
Germany. deutschland.de
I N F O
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C O M P A C T
Be it school, university, or the job market:
there are plenty of experts to help you.
The 140 German international
schools in 72 countries providean excellent education.
bva.bund.de
The PASCH Initiative links up
2,000 schools worldwide for
which German is an important
subject.
pasch-net.de
The Higher Education Com-
pass provides information on
German universities and inter-
national collaborations.
hochschulkompass.de
Tips on studying and living in
Germany are available from
the Deutsches Studentenwerk
(the German National Associ-
ation for Student Affairs).
internationale-
studierende.de
The DAAD is the largest or-
ganisation for the promotionof exchange among students
and academics.
daad.de, studieren-in.de
The 159 Goethe Institutes
worldwide promote German
as a language and cultivate
cultural cooperation.
goethe.de
The multilingual portal of the
Make it in Germany campaign
offers numerous tips.
make-it-in-germany.com
The German Federal Employ-
ment Agency provides
information on the topic of
employment.
arbeitsagentur.de
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42 | 4342 | 43
4
N E W I D E A S
NEW IDEAS
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Technology that benefits the en-
vironment, top-level research:
ideas for tomorrow are generated
day in, day out at corporations,
higher education institutions, and
research facilities in Germany.
Germany is a land of ideas. Thisis demonstrated by the fact that
more than 80 Nobel Prizes have
gone to Germans to date. In Chemistry,
for example, Stefan W. Hell was award-
ed the coveted prize in 2014 for develop-
ing super-resolution microscopy. The
many participants in the German youth
science competition Jugend forscht also
have a head for good ideas. School pu-
pils can submit their science inventions
for this competition, for instance, gen-
erating electricity from yoghurt or
transforming straw into paper in an en-
vironmentally friendly way. More than
235,000 aspiring scientists have takenpart over the last 50 years.
Future issues andinnovations good ideasmade in Germany
I N T R O
Nowadays developments that are good
for the environment are particularly
popular. Germany is among the leading
countries in terms of green technolo-
gies,which promote environmental pro-
tection or the use of renewable energies.
Two million people in Germany work in
the field of environmental technology to-
day. Germany is among the pioneers ininternational climate policy. With a raft of
initiatives, it aims to prevent the advance
of global warming and the associated de-
struction of livelihoods.
New ideas
Follow the link for the video on the topic
tued.net/en/vid54
V I D E O & A R A P P
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44 | 45 N E W I D E A S
D I D Y O U K N O W . . .
1
. . . that more than 80 Nobel Prizes
have gone to Germans?
2
. . . that Germany is considered the
European champion in inventions?
3
. . . that there are 360,900 research-
ers working in Germany?
4. . . that Germany is among the
worlds three largest exporting
nations?
5
. . . that Germany is the fourth
largest economic power in the
world?
6
. . . that the German electricity
grid is 1.79 million kilometres
long? That is enough to circle the
Equator 45 times.
7
. . . that in 2014, 26 percent of
electricity in Germany was al-
ready generated by renewable
energy sources?
8. . . that the plan is for around
80 percent of electricity in Ger-
many to come from renewable
energy sources by 2050?
9
. . . that Germany is one of the
most sustainable industrialised
nations?
10
. . . that each year 18,000 new
jobs are created by the energyreform alone?
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You can sense thecreative atmosphereeverywhereAlexander Meiritz, 27,
co-founder of eMio-Sharing
W H A T M O V E S M E
My friends Hauke and Valerian and I registered
with a car-sharing service in Berlin some time
ago. It didnt take long for us to get annoyed
with the idea: there are simply not enough parkingspaces. Which is why we founded eMio, a sharing
service for scooters. The three of us developed a pro-
totype and purchased a small test fleet of four
scooters. We opted for e-scooters, because they are
fun to drive and environmentally friendly. At night
our student assistants replace the empty batteries
on the scooters with fully charged ones. Our app
shows where there is a scooter that is not in use and
unlocks it for the new users. A total of 150 of our
scooters have been flitting about Berlin since June
2015. Seeing people using them is a fantastic feeling.
We were able to realise our idea because we won an
EU competition and received scholarships. Lots of
start-ups get help from their professors. You can feelthis vibrant atmosphere of creativity in the air all
over Berlin. A great many start-ups make their
dreams reality here.
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46 | 47 N E W I D E A S
Strong brands andsuccessful products
B U S I N E S S & T E C H N O L O G Y
Jeans, phone, car, computer,
MP3 format, beer: everyone
knows these inventions. They all
come from Germany or Germans
helped develop them. There is a long list
of innovative ideas and inventions from
Germany and the products they have
resulted in. The quality seal Made in
Germany stands for originality and
quality. Another reason that Germanfirms are so innovative is that around
80 billion euros are invested in research
and development annually. Many com-
panies are already on their way to
Industry 4.0, also known as the fourth
industrial revolution, because the ma-
chines of the future will be able to make
decisions on their own and will be
closely networked.
Germany is thesingle largest economy
in the European Union and after the
USA, China, and Japan number four in
the world. Naturally there are numer-
ous major corporations and global play-ers in Germany. But more than 99 per-
cent of firms are small and medium-
sized companies. Most people also work
in the SME sector, and it is also where
most young people learn a profession.
Given that the economy is so successful,
unemployment is low in Germany. The
automobile industry is one of the trend-
setters in the economy. Audi, BMW,
Mercedes, Volkswagen, and Opel are
major employers: 775,000 people workfor the German automobile industry. The
latest trend is self-driving cars, where
you dont need to steer or change gear.
German manufacturers aspire to lead
the field in automated vehicle functions
Wellspring of ideas
Source of new ideas Germany is considered
the European champion in inventions: in
2014, German companies submitted around
32,000 patent applications to the European
Patent Office. Innovations are a key basis for
the economys competitiveness.
G L O B A L
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and are investing a great deal in their
development. German companies are
also sector leaders in mechanical en-
gineering, not to mention in the chem-
icals and optical industries.
Innovations are theengine driving the
economy. Without them there would be
no progress. There are 605,000 people
working in research and development
in Germany. In total, in 2014 exactly116,702 German patents were in force.
Plenty of good ideas: in Jugend forscht school pupils show, for instance, how gas is made from green electricity
D I A G R A M
Fully networked
Germany exports a great deal and is the most
strongly networked country in the world. The
top articles exported are motor vehicles
(17.9 %) and machines (14.5 %).
14.5
17.9
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48 | 49 N E W I D E A S
Famous institutes,international teams
E X C E L L E N C E & R E S E A R C H
Their passion is new ideas, unknown
territory: scientists in Germany
research the body, plants, animals,
virtual space, the oceans depths, and
outer space. They advance knowledge in
every aspect of life. Research has a long
tradition in Germany and offers excel-
lent opportunities including for young
scientists from abroad. Industry pro-
vides the lions share of research
spending. However, the Federal Govern-
ment also funds education and research
to the tune of no less than 15.3 billion
euros in 2015. With a high-tech strategy,
it supports researchers in finding an-
swers to important questions and in
quickly implementing their ideas, in
fields such as digitalisation, sustainabil-ity, the working world, healthcare, mo-
bility, and civil security.
Universities play a key role in the Ger-
man research world. Alongside teach-
ing, basic research is the second pillar
of the universities.There are numerous
familiar names: 15 large and research-
focussed universities are affiliated in the
German U15 initiative. They include
Heidelberg University and Ludwig-Maxi-
milians-Universitt in Mnchen. These
universities and Technische Universitt
Munich are often among the frontrun-
ners in international rankings. Numer-ous top researchers work at one of the
very many internationally-renowned
L I S T
The very first Nobel Prize in 1901 went to
Wilhelm Conrad Rntgenfor his discovery
of X-rays.
The only woman among German scientists
who have won a Nobel Prize is biologist
Christiane Nsslein-Volhard(1995).
One of the best-known German Nobel Prize
laureates isAlbert Einstein(1921). He emi-
grated to the USA in 1933.
The most recent Nobel Prize winners are
neuroscientist Thomas C. Sdhof(2013) and
Stefan W. Hell(2014).
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research institutes run by the Max Planck
Society, Helmholtz Association, Fraun-hofer Gesellschaft, and Leibniz Associ-
ation. There are also many interesting
opportunities here for up-and-coming
researchers from abroad, for instance,
doctoral studies. The DFG, the German
Research Foundation, is responsible for
promoting science. It is the largest organ-
isation of its kind in Europe.
It goes without saying that German
research is highly international. The bestresults are often the result of teamwork
with fellow researchers in other disciplines
and from all over the world. Today, ten
percent of employees at German higher
education institutions come from abroad.
And almost half of scientific publications
are written by researchers in Germany
working in international teams.
Diversity is the best basis for research: international teams, composed of both men and women, are standard
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50 | 51 N E W I D E A S
Green technologies,new mobility concepts
E N E R G Y & E N V I R O N M E N T
Out and about by bus, train or bicycle
In 2014, a good 81 percent of households
owned at least one bicycle. An alternative
means of environmentally friendly mobility:
buses and trains. In the first half of 2015,5.6 billion passengers used scheduled public
transport services.
If you travel around Germany you
will no doubt notice the countless
wind farms. In fact, today more than a
quarter of Germanys electricity is gener-
ated using renewable energy. And in the
cities the number of charging stations for
electric cars is increasing fast. Electric ve-
hicles are destined to become ever more
widespread. The Federal Government hasset a target of getting around one million
electric cars not powered by petrol or
diesel on the roads by 2020. This is also
intended to further reduce emissions of
environmentally harmful carbon dioxide.
Wind power and electro-mobility are
both core elements of the energy reform,
as Germany has a major objective: it is the
first industrialised nation to resolve tophase out atomic power. Gradually all the
nuclear power stations in Germany will
be decommissioned by 2022. The slack
will be taken up by expanding generation
using renewable energy and further en-
hancing energy efficiency. Germany is
making good progress in generating an
ever greater proportion of electricity using
wind power, biomass, solar energy, hydro-
electric power, and household waste. By
2025, 40 to 45 percent of electricity is in-
tended to come from renewables. With
this sustainable concept, Germany is also
making an important contribution to
achieving the United Nations climateprotection goals.
I N F O
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The Jugend forscht competi-
tion selects talented up-and-coming researchers every year.
jugend-forscht.de
The German Research Founda-
tion (DFG) promotes research
at higher education institutions
and research centres.
dfg.de
The Research in Germany
website provides an overview of
the German research world
and funding options for aspir-
ing researchers.
research-in-germany.org
Top-level research is conduct-
ed at the institutes run by theMax Planck Society, Fraun-
hofer Gesellschaft, Helmholtz
Association, and Leibniz Asso-
ciation.
mpg.de, fraunhofer.de,
helmholtz.de,
leibniz-gemeinschaft.de
Key industry associations are the
Association of German Cham-
bers of Commerce and Industry
(DIHK) and the Federation of
German Industries (BDI).
dihk.de, bdi.eu
C O M P A C T
Do you find the work done by German
companies exciting? Does research fascinate
you? More information is available here:
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52 | 5352 | 53
5
C R E A T I V E M I N D S
CREATIVE MINDS
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Cinema, art, games, music,
design: Germanys cultural scene
is rich, diverse, vibrant, full of
surprises and international
perspectives.
Most likely you have heard of the fam-ous composers Bach, Beethoven,
and Brahms, or of great writers
such as Goethe (Faust), Schiller (The
Robbers) and Thomas Mann (Budden-
brooks). Germany is proud of its clas-
sics. A typical feature of Germanys
cultural world has always been its rich
diversity. Today, completely different
currents keep evolving and exist along-
side one another. Classical music and
Rock music, Indie and Mainstream. Per-
haps you too like listening to the tunes
of German music producers and DJ Felix
Jaehn? Or you have witnessed live per-
formances by DJs Sven Vth, the God-father of Techno, or Paul van Dyk? In-
A booming creative scene a lab for budding talents fromthe world over
I N T R O
deed, today even computer games and
film animations are quite often made in
Germany, making its cultural and cre-
ative scene pretty cool and exciting. Ber-
lin is one of the worlds trendsetting
hubs for hip ideas. Mind you, creative
projects are also masterminded in Ham-
burg, Munich, and Frankfurt am Main.
In fact, Frankfurt-based companies ani-mated the dragons in Game of Thrones
and created the special effects for Martin
Scorseses award-winning movie Hugo
Cabret.
Creative minds
Follow the link for the video on the topic
tued.net/en/vid55
V I D E O & A R A P P
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54 | 55 C R E A T I V E M I N D S
D I D Y O U K N O W . . .
1
. . . that a Frankfurt-based com-
pany did the animation for the
dragons in the US fantasy series
Game of Thrones?
2
. . . that there are more than
500 music festivals in Germany?
3
. . . that 1.5 million people work
in Germanys creative industry?
4
. . . that many stars of youth
culture come from immigrant
families?
5
. . . that 14 million people in
Germany play music or sing in
a choir in their spare time?
6
. . . that young musicians all over
the world think very highly of
Germanys music academies?
7
. . . that the German book market
brings out some 80,000 newpublications each year?
8
. . . that there are 630 art museums
with fantastic collections?
9
. . . that Deutsche Welle radio
and TV station broadcasts its
programmes in 30 different
languages?
10. . . that German cultural insti-
tutes, i.e., the Goethe Institutes,
are represented in 98 countries?
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W H A T M O V E S M E
We would founda business againanytimeMengting Gao, 26, co-founder
of the App Kitchen Stories
As a student I already knew that I wanted to
launch my own company straight after col-
lege. Then I met Verena at university near
Koblenz. We had plenty of ideas for a start-up. Butit was only business models to do with food that
really grabbed us.
I used to watch a lot of cooking shows. Quite often
the dishes presented on TV are difficult to repli-
cate at home. People cannot remember some basic
steps, like how to blanch vegetables. This prompt-
ed us to develop the App Kitchen Stories. To real-
ise our idea we moved to Berlin, borrowed money
from our parents, I sold my car then we got
going. Berlin is very open to new ideas. People in
the start-up scene know and support one another.
With our app anyone can cook even the most bril-
liant of international meals. We make sure our
recipes are high quality and get top chefs on boardto test them. So far our App has been downloaded
by more than 7 million people worldwide. We
would found a business again anytime.
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56 | 57 C R E A T I V E M I N D S
Creative companies new perspectives
P R O J E C T S & S T O R I E S
First-year art students
Cosmopolitan and international: in 2013, the
number of foreign students who enrolled as
freshmen at German art academies was
greater than that for German new entrants
for the first time.
Computer games, animation,
the Internet, and apps: the cre-
ative industry is one of the most
exciting commercial sectors in Ger-
many. Living in a digitalised world, we
use the Internet and smartphones in
almost all areas of life. This kick-start-
ed and accelerated the creative indus-
trys rapid growth. Today there are
around 250,000 creative companies inGermany, including agencies, design
firms, and galleries. Plus music busi-
nesses, film, and post-production com-
panies. 1.5 million people work for a
creative company always on the look-
out for new talents. The creative scene
is not as rigidly structured as some other
sectors. Many creative minds do not
have fixed employment contracts but
tend to be freelancers or self-employed.
And they are always embarking on new
projects. 97 percent of companies in the
creative sector are small and micro-
enterprises. And because the sector is still
very young and receives funding, thereare creative clusters in many regions.
Mind you, theold-established art forms
have advanced further too. Today they
are more open to experimenting and
keen to bring together lots of different
facets. People with migrant backgrounds
are injecting new perspectives and stor-
ies into the scene, drawing inspiration
from the fact that they have feet in both
worlds. In Berlin Shermin Langhoffs
Maxim Gorki Theater is regularly settingnew benchmarks: many of the actors are
from families with migrant roots and the
plays are often told from their perspec-
tive. renk. online magazine, the first
German-Turkish medium for art and
culture, is also made in Berlin. Other
G L O B A L
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D I A G R A M
creative minds with a migrant back-
ground work in the film industry and
are highly successful, as German-Turkish
director Bora Dagtekin has demonstrat-
ed. Millions of people flocked to the cin-
emas to see his comedy Fack ju Ghte.
While Tschick, a novel by Wolfgang
Herrndorf about the friendship between
two Berlin boys from different milieus,
enjoys cult status. The book has been
translated into 24 languages. The film,directed by German-Turkish star direc-
tor Fatih Akin, is set to be released in Ger-
man cinemas in 2016.
How to animate a doll? Nowadays you can find out exactly how at many German universities
Successful creative industry
In 2013, the creative industry booked total
sales of some 145 billion euros. The most im-
portant sector is Software and Games, which
alone accounts for sales of 31 billion euros.
14531
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58 | 59 C R E A T I V E M I N D S
Flashy faades andcritical overtones
S T R E E T A R T & R A P
No matter what German city you visit:
you will come across graffiti art on the
walls of buildings and underground
stations, lampposts adorned with pieces of
guerrilla knitting, rubbish bins with cookie
monster eyes, and noise protection barriers
sprayed with messages. Street artists trans-
form the public realm into exhibition
spaces. Of course you cannot simply spray
any wall you like as thats prohibited. Mind
you, many municipalities to-
day commission street artists
with pieces destined to embellish the city-
scapes. And whether their output is legal or
illegal, one thing is for sure: street artists
ideas are highly unusual and off the cuff.
And quite often they are critical in their
works or say what bothers them.
Social criticism also looms large on themusic scene. Most Hip Hop and Rap art-
ists have little in common with their
counterparts in the United States. Be it
Cro, Die Fantastischen Vier, Fettes Brot,
or the legendary Shne Mannheims with
frontman Xavier Naidoo: Rap made in
Germany is decidedly witty, has a fine
feel for the language and puts people in
a good mood.Many Rappers including
those with migrant backgrounds tend
to write their lyrics in German. And Ger-
man-language music is clearly gaining
sway amongst young people: in June 2015
three German-speaking stars made it
into the Top Ten album charts a first inGermanys music chart history.
L I S T
The Rap song that sold the most in Germany
is: Au Revoir by Mark Forster in cooperat-
ion with Sido
Germanys best-selling Rap album ever:
Stadtaffe by Peter Fox
The most-streamed song in Germany:
Cheerleader by OMI, in the Felix Jaehn
remix version
German-language artists with the most
no. 1 singles in the German charts:
Nena and Xavier Naidoo
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Many talents, cool ideas, andexciting projects
M A P
Beacon: Berlin is the heart of the
creative industry. It is here that
Artistic Director Shermin Langhoff
turned her vision of the post-
migrant theatre into reality.
Creative north: Hamburg is a cen-
tre of media and music production.
Major publishing houses and news-paper publishers are based here,
as are some leading ad agencies.
Centre of ad and creative agencies:
The financial capital of Frankfurt is
home to many international ad-
vertising agencies and successful
creative enterprises. Successful south: In Munich, as
many as 117,000 people work for
29,000 companies in the creative
industry. Thats 10 percent of all
companies in the region!
No. 1 TV hotspot: The most
minutes on air are produced inCologne as many as in Ham-
burg, Berlin, and all of Bavaria
taken together.
Upcoming location: IT, broad-
casting services, film, trade fairs,
and marketing in Leipzig the
cluster of creative industries
boasts an impressive seven sub-
sectors.Frankfurt
Hamburg
Cologne
Berlin
Leipzig
Munich
World Heritage Site:
The Bauhaus was one of the
key creative movements
in the 20th century. The
Bauhaus University con-
tinues this tradition today.
Weimar
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60 | 61 C R E A T I V E M I N D S
Facts and exciting storieson all channels
M E D I A & O P I N I O N
In Germany, everybody is free
to write and say what they want
provided they do not violate other
peoples basic rights. This is known as free-
dom of the press and freedom of expres-
sion. In Germany all citizens enjoy these
freedoms, which are guaranteed by the
constitution. Newspapers, radio, and tele-
vision broadcasters are not owned by the
government or by individual parties, butare regulated by private or public law. And
of course there is no censorship that tells
people what they ought to say and think!
Young people regard the media as part
and parcel of everyday life. Their no. 1
source of information is the Internet, fol-
lowed by radio and TV. And even though
90 percent of Germanys young popula-
tion uses social media such as Facebook,
WhatsApp, and the like, they still read
books, newspapers, and magazines, al-
though they spend less time with these
media. When it comes to political topics,
young people use different sources of in-formation: most of them watch Tages-
schau, one of the major evening bulle-
tins on TV. This is followed by the
website spiegelonline.de and the search
engine Google. In addition, there are chil-
drens TV news channels such as Kika, and
news broadcasts catering especially to a
young audience. And at the end of 2016
Germanys two main broadcasting sta-
tions, ARD and ZDF, will be launching a
special TV channel for young people onthe Internet.
Girls and boysdo not watch the same pro-
grammes: girls aged between 13 and 16
love soaps, while boys prefer to watch sit-
coms. Model Heidi Klum presents the
Deutsche Welle
Deutsche Welle (DW) is Germanys inter-
national broadcasting service. It broadcasts
via TV, radio, and the Internet in a total
of 30 languages. In 2015 Deutsche Welle
started its 24/7 English language programme.
dw.com
G L O B A L
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Young people in Germany use the Internet 24/7
show Germanys next Top Model, making
her the most important media idol for
girls. Boys like the presenter and comedian
Stefan Raab.
Perhaps you know the feeling that you
cannot believe everything you read on the
Internet? When 12 to 19-year-olds have to
decide on the reliability of one media
source over another, the majority of them
tend to opt for a traditional analogue me-dium: the newspaper (40 percent).
D I A G R A M
Facts from the Internet
The Internet is the single most important infor-
mation resource for young people. 90.2 percent
go online to obtain information, 72.6 percent
watch TV, 57.2 percent read the paper.
72.6
90.2
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62 | 63 C R E A T I V E M I N D S
IT trade fair CeBIT
What can the latest smartphone do?
How does a popular tablet PC lie in the hand?
The specialist trade fair CeBIT attracts more
than 200,000 interested visitors to Hanoverevery year. There you can try out the latest in-
novations, hands-on. cebit.de
Magic worlds, twisting laby-
rinths, strategic and tactical
moves: you have probably en-
joyed the one or other afternoon playing a
computer game developed and designed
in Berlin, Frankfurt, or Hamburg. Video
gamers around the world are very familiar
with the Made in Germany seal. Since
the 1990s the country has been a games
industry hub, employing internationallyacclaimed games developers who have
revolutionised gaming designs and bagged
a whole host of awards for their superb
graphic art. Today gaming is one of the
most important branches in the creative
industry, combining film, video, music,
text, and animation.
If you are interested in qualifying as a
games developer, then Berlin is the place to
go. It offers an excellent infrastructure, butalso universities and places of training. The
most important is the Games Academy,
a special school for games development.
Cologne, on the other hand, is the host city
of Gamescom the worlds biggest event
for computer and video games. In 2015,
the fair attracted 345,000 visitors from
96 countries. For some years now, the Fed-
eral Ministry of Transport and Digital In-
frastructure (BMVI) has selected the best
German computer game, together with
the professional associations and the Stif-
tung Digitale Spielekultur, the foundation
for digital gaming culture.
Fun and games successfulgames developers
G A M E S & A D V E N T U R E S
I N F O
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Courageous, migrant, refresh-
ingly different: the MaximGorki Theater in Berlin.
gorki.de
Berlins Haus der Kulturen
der Welt is a centre for inter-
national cultural exchange.
hkw.de
The Karlsruhe Center for Art
and Media (ZKM) provides in-
sights into art in the digital age.
zkm.de
Gamescom in Cologne is the
worlds biggest trade-fair for
interactive games and enter-tainment.
gamescom.de
The Games Academy is a school
for budding computer andvideo games designers and de-
velopers with offices in Berlin
and Frankfurt am Main.
games-academy.de
Ever since 2003 the Popakade-
mie Baden-Wrttemberg in
Mannheim has trained studentsin Pop music and the music
industry.
popakademie.de
With its Cultural and Creative
Industry initiative the Federal
Government encourages the