The third round of the Zuversicht project once again brought together the winning teams from previous ideathons at the rheingold salon to develop their Zuversicht ideas into actionable concepts.

Our underlying study on the topic of confidence from 2025 showed that 78% of respondents believe we are driving the country into the ground, whilst at the same time 85% state that they and their families are doing well. The feeling of being unable to make a difference in the country leads to a retreat into the private sphere.

Lönneker and his co-initiators Meinolf Ellers (Managing Director of UseTheNews) and Manfred Kluge (co-founder of Initiative 18) saw these findings as a reason to strive for real change and, with the help of young people’s creative ideas, to restore a sense of self-efficacy and confidence to the country.

Nine teams from the fields of politics, media and business came together here in Cologne over two days, refined their concepts and pitched them to a ten-member jury of experts from various sectors. The result? Innovative ideas, team spirit, infectious inspiration and, above all: CONFIDENCE!

The project selected by the jury is called “Reversed Politics”. The concept is similar to that of a panel discussion, with the key difference being that young people speak on stage whilst politicians listen. A lottery system in schools is designed to enable young people from a wide variety of backgrounds to participate in politics. “What do you need to get involved in society?” is the central question here.

However, it is not only the winning team’s project but also the other projects that are to be implemented in the future, so that we can all look to the future with a more optimistic outlook.

You can read more about the Zuversicht project and the concepts presented here.