Phorms Campus Berlin Mitte – Heavyweight round

Appearing on the podium were candidates for Berlin-Mitte Dr Eva Högl (SPD), Frank Henkel (CDU), Özcan Mutlu (Bündnis 90/Die Grünen), Stephan Rauhut (Die Linke) and the candidate for Steglitz-Zehlendorf Hartmut Ebbing (FDP).

The event was presented by Alma (16) and Marcus (17), two students from the year 11 Politics classes at the Phorms Campus Berlin Mitte.

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The debate covered such subjects as refugee policy, full employment vs. social justice, and young people’s scope for decision-making in Germany’s politics and future. The students selected these topics together and discussed them in advance.

Following the debate, each candidate got to ask another candidate of their choice a question, before the secondary school students addressed what they saw as outstanding points. They asked the politicians very direct questions, such as ‘if your party didn’t exist, which one would you vote for?’ and ‘which party would you definitely not enter a coalition with?’.

‘The discussion with the students was really great,’ said Özcan Mutlu (Die Grünen) after the event. ‘You could see they were really well prepared. That makes this type of event much more fun, of course.’ Stephan Rauhut (Die Linke) also praised the young voters. ‘What I was most excited about was how professional and committed the students were when they were presenting and taking part in the discussion.’

‘In September, the under-18 youth elections took place,’ says Violette Weyer, Politics teacher at the Phorms Campus Berlin Mitte. ‘The students had to decide who to vote for and make their own judgement based on the talk.’ So the event gave the students an insight into the policies of the various parties and created a basis for socially and politically responsible conduct.’