Leuphana students win Movers of Tomorrow Award

‘You can give a reading at Utopia if you like,’ says Martin Auer at the end of the interview. Keziah-Naomi Tsagli nods and smiles: ‘Great, good idea.’ The student teacher is currently working on her first book – the first in a series about people of colour in Germany. ‘Children have so many dreams, but they often become disillusioned at school. That's why they need role models who show them that they can achieve anything.’

It was this vision that won Keziah-Naomi Tsagli the Movers of Tomorrow Award. The Allianz Foundation's engagement award honours young people who are committed to a more just and sustainable future. Together with Martin Auer, she is one of this year's winners of the audience award, which comes with a prize of 1,500 euros each.

Martin Auer's story is also impressive. The 24-year-old has just completed his studies in International Business Administration & Entrepreneurship at Leuphana University and is fully committed to increasing youth participation. As co-founder of the non-profit association ‘Youth Lead the Change Germany e.V.’, he and his team are bringing the US concept of ‘participatory budgeting’ to Germany. This allows young people to submit their own ideas for urban design and vote democratically on their own budget. ‘We want to get young people excited about democracy,’ explains Martin Auer. Last year, the association was able to support Cologne as a cooperation partner in the HEY Nippes project, for which the city provided 113,000 euros – children and young people decided for themselves what to do with it: more trees in Nippes, a new shelter in the park and an oversized play elephant are becoming reality. ‘Young people are experiencing that their voice makes a difference,’ explains Martin Auer.

In addition to the association, he founded the start-up club ‘Ignite’ at Leuphana University and helped establish the transformative start-up centre Utopia in Lüneburg – a place where social and sustainable projects can grow.

Keziah-Naomi Tsagli and Martin Auer got to know each other through a similar format: both are incubatees of the Körber Foundation.

While Martin Auer initiates projects, Keziah-Naomi Tsagli works on her book at the Körber StartHub in Hamburg – with a view of the Elbphilharmonie concert hall. ‘I applied for the grant, but didn't think I would be selected,’ she says. Networking, workshops, writing – and all this alongside her master's degree in English and chemistry. 

But it's not too much for Keziah-Naomi Tsagli: ‘For me, Leuphana is an inspiring place. Many people are involved here and I want to be a role model too,’ she explains. Keziah-Naomi Tsagli also volunteers as a tutor at Stadtinsel e.V. and is a trained paramedic.

In the first volume of her children's book series, she introduces Lucy Larbi. She is a Hamburg-based entrepreneur who, among other things, runs a restaurant serving Ghanaian cuisine. Future editions will feature portraits of Germany's first black bus driver and a well-known TV presenter, among others. The first volume will be published in autumn – and there are reading requests not only from Utopia: together with illustrator Lana Boden, Keziah-Naomi Tsagli will also be represented at the ‘fluctoplasma’ art festival in Hamburg.

Before that happens, it's time to keep our fingers crossed again: after the public vote, the jury decision for the Movers of Tomorrow Award is now pending. But one thing is already certain: the two of them have already made a big difference.