DEUTSCHLAND25

When you hear the word “home”, you can’t help but immediately think of the phrase: “Home is where the heart is.” – no matter how cheesy it may seem. For most of us, home is where we were born. Home is language, culture, and everything that has shaped your identity, character, attitudes and worldviews.

Germany's economy is booming, the unemployment rate is lower than ever before, and Germany's national soccer team won the World Cup in 2014 yet again. And yet, 25 years after the fall of the wall and German reunification, the subject of national pride remains a difficult one; or at least that is how it seems. Are you allowed to be proud about being German today in the year 2015? And if you are, what is it that makes you proud?

What freedoms do I enjoy as a person? How do I recognize my potential? How can I develop fully? Can I even develop at all?Power, passion and talent are things that lie within each of us. It’s just that some people need a little longer to recognize their strengths. And they need support to do so.

We don’t have new bodies in our closets. Nor do we have a new world. We have to be good to ourselves and to the world. We have to make the right decisions, say, “Yes,” to the things that are worthwhile, protect them, and live conscientiously. Living conscientiously also means shopping conscientiously.

If a language is not maintained, it quickly goes extinct. There is at least one dialect in every German state. In the north, it’s Plattdeutsch, “which is not only dusty and dead, but sexy, too.” At least that’s what Torben, 29, and Jakob, 29, from Bremen think.

Nothing gets young people going like sport. Moving around frees the mind, brings fun to the community, encourages creativity and enthusiasm to run wild, and sets ideas in motion. That could be the motto for Generation25. But that's actually the motto for Philipp and his initiative 'Kinder. Skaten. Lassen.' (Let Kids Skateboard).

It’s hard to look at the bigger picture. Especially in everyday life, when the normal scheduled flow leaves little room for the unfamiliar wider world. Integration and how we interact with refugees and migrants are topics that are now more important in Germany and Europe than they ever have been before. We need to open ourselves up.

There are children with two mothers or two fathers, parents who aren't married and even live-in grandmothers. Family doesn't just mean mom, dad and the kids anymore. Or he works, while she stays at home. Over the past few decades, the family structure has changed so much more than any other social institution.Since then, there are many gay and lesbian people with children, known as rainbow families, whether as a couple, a single parent or another combination.

Sometimes life in the big city can be quite exhausting. Too many people in too small a space, fighting battles on the streets with their cars during rush hour. Not to mention the air pollution this generates. That’s what Elias and Pascal thought. While studying abroad in Asia, they realised that quick and user-friendly mobility has the potential to enormously improve quality of life. They were especially fascinated by the electric scooter in Beijing.

Coming out – something that is still a big step, even in 2015. It’s become easier for young people to come out today than it was 25 years ago. And in terms of legal equality, those identifying as gay or transsexual have achieved significant gains. But even today, coming out can be challenging for young people, and often feels like a kind of stigma you’re forced to admit.

In this day and age of continuous technological advances that make our lives easier, more efficient and more environmentally friendly, squandering stuff away should be a distant memory. In the food chain, this doesn't quite seem to be the case. Practically a quarter of our food ends up as waste. And the same goes for resources that ultimately keep us and our planet alive.

You've graduated high school, planned and been on a graduation trip – but then what? When you're finally allowed to decide what you want to do with the rest of your life after twelve years of school, many high school graduates draw a blank. There are so many careers that sound fascinating in theory, but only in practice can you find out what job is and isn't right for you. All school students had to complete a two-week internship, but most of them saw this as just an extension of their vacation instead of an opportunity to gain an insight into the working world. At 16 years old, you don't think about your future or realise just how quickly time flies.

In a time when everything is happening faster and faster and slowing down is becoming harder and harder, we don’t just need time outs, “digital detoxes”, or “recovery weekends”. Above all, what we need is alternative work arrangements to fit our lives.

Memorising historical facts, cramming vocabulary, practicing arithmetic: it’s inconvenient. We all know that. We put it off, forget about it, and suddenly find more important things to do. Like doing the laundry or the absolute desperate need to get a glass of milk right this second. But simple solutions can often be found.

Generation25 firmly believes that this culture of sharing will only gain importance in the future. Not just because it makes life easier, but because it’s about owning less and saving money, time and resources.

In an increasing number of areas, not having access to the Internet risks being left behind. Job advertisements, for example, are now often only posted online, and social media, information, online communication or organizational tools such as online banking are all continually on the increase. In today's world, people without Internet access are quickly marginalized and disadvantaged.

Putting things into practice rather than keeping them just as ideas. This is a principle that we learnt from Generation25: Skilled manual jobs and the issue of "DIY" are currently experiencing a revival amongst young people, and making things yourself is even nicer, more creative and more productive when you do it with other people.

The world of fashion is all about perfection, beauty and flawlessness. People with disabilities are often not catered for in this exclusive world, despite there being a great demand for beautiful, well-made and perfectly fitting clothes. After all, being stylish and fashion-forward have nothing to do with an individual's body shape.

People power has long been under-estimated. That is, until a referendum was held and the population of Berlin showed themselves to be very interested in urban spaces such as the Tempelhofer Feld and communal areas of land. The German capital city contains a larger number of unused corners just waiting to be used by people with ideas. A few years ago, there was a boom in community houses, urban gardening projects started to spring up from the soil – or from roofs – and people started to want to get to know their neighbours once more.

Spinach makes you strong. Too much bread makes you bloated. Carrots are good for your eyes, and blueberries help with hangovers. A grapefruit contains a huge amount of vitamin C, and vegetables are great for the figure. Burgers make you fat, as does pizza and any other fast-food. We've all heard these clichés, yet continue to eat whatever we fancy. Because we can, and because there's so much choice.

Nowadays, having something that looks nice is no longer important. Instead, it is about being part of a process and making things yourself. It does not matter whether it is sewing, knitting or crocheting: handiwork is experiencing a revival and a reinterpretation, driven by Generation25. Why? Because Generation25 is looking for a remedy to the quick and restless world of work. Working with your hands brings about calm and deceleration, and handiwork is good for mind and soul.

Programming language, websites, and HTML – terms that men tend to deal with rather than women. That's the assumption, at least. That's why Julia, 26, and Natalie, 29, think it's crucial for women especially to have a basic grasp of how the digital world that we encounter every day actually works. That's why the two young ladies from Leipzig started 'Code Girls', a course for girls and women to learn programming easily and a safe place to ask silly questions. Julia says, "It would be great if women were and could be more involved in the digital world." And she's right.

We all know what is good and bad for our environment. Sometimes all that is needed is a stimulus to behave appropriately. Unfortunately, in the stress of daily life, the environment is not always the top of our priorities. This is precisely where the project "Ecotastic" from Fabian, Anna, and Ralf comes in. This is because these three and their generation firmly believe in a green future and want to ensure that our planet is and stays healthy.

Germany in the summer of 2015. Pegida demonstrations, xenophobic slogans, attacks on refugee shelters. Racism in Germany is back with us again and, unfortunately, has meant more than just combat boots, skinheads, and cries of "foreigners out!" for some time. Today racism means: We are normal, all others are alien. Luckily by no means all people think this way; especially not Generation25, such as Andreas, for example.

"Are you really Turkish? You don't look Turkish at all!" Melisa has heard this line a fair few times. This is because her name is not Ayse, and she does not fit the stereotype of a Turkish girl. Melisa, 25, is the editor of "renk.", a German-Turkish online magazine reporting on art, culture and creative minds. Generation25 only knows of a unified Germany. In their thinking there is no "east" or "west", and especially no "us" and "you".