Post by Prof. Dr. Anabel Ternès von Hattburg

Space for Risk? Yesterday, in the sun, on a public square: Five twelve year olds on BMX bikes. Full speed. Racing each other. Flying down stairs. Sharp turns between pedestrians. People stepping aside. Some shaking their heads in annoyance. My first thought: This is dangerous. My second: This is engagement, courage, and raw energy. Aliveness. Risk taking. Instinct. So I asked the five boys why they were doing this here. Their answer: “This is our hobby. We test our limits. But we are careful and wear protective gear.” What is fascinating is this: At 12, many people call this “too wild.” At 32, companies search for exactly these people in leadership programs. We constantly talk about entrepreneurship, resilience, courage, out of the box thinking, and high performance. But where are young people actually supposed to develop these qualities? Between screen time, rigid school systems, old rules, fear of conflict, and constant regulation? Of course public spaces need consideration. Nobody should be endangered. But we have a deeper problem: We constantly suppress energy instead of learning how to channel it meaningfully. We expect children and teenagers to sit still for hours every day, stare forward, follow instructions defined by one authority figure, and even move according to prescribed structures. Societies rarely fail because of too much potential. They fail because they do not create enough space for it. We need more places for movement, risk, creativity, and real world experience. Young people need more places for getting experiences, figuring out, where they are and what they want to do, for themselves and for the world. Because every generation says: “Young people are difficult.” But this, translated, is often just: "Why don't they just behave as I expect them to, why can't they just follow rules and be quiet?" And ten years later, the same generation asks: “Where did all the courageous people go? The ones who dared to stand up, experiment, create change, and move things forward?” Jana Krotsch Stefan Berndt Brendan Nerbonne Sabine Buch Kiez Connection Holger Holland Daniela Schwerdt Saschalobo.com Simon Sinek Thomas Sattelberger Silke Müller Stephan Grabmeier Philipp Westermeyer Christoph Magnussen