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🙏🏽 In the "hot seat" at the N5 Symposium – and right in the middle of a discussion about how we can shape the East together. Having grown up in Plauen in the Vogtland region, trained as a civil engineer at the TU Dresden, and now serving as a member of parliament for Saxony and East Germany – my political roots are firmly planted in the East German region. That's precisely why it was so important for me to speak openly about my work in the Bundestag again this year at the N5 Symposium: about the opportunities we need to utilize more effectively in the East, about the challenges we face – and how we can tackle them together. ℹ️ The N5 Symposium is a conference by young people for young people. Panels, workshops, and coffee chats address the issues that will shape our future – especially in the East German states. 💭 I hope that even more young people in the East will use their voices, get involved, demand spaces, and help shape their future. 🙌🏽 Thank you to N5 for the space, the energy, and the clear perspectives! #N5Symposium #EastGermany Photos: Uwe Loescher and Tim Hertel

At the Top40 Summit hosted by @capitalmagazin in Berlin on Friday, young talents from business, politics, academia, and society came together – diverse in background, experience, and career path, united by their drive to shape the future. A connection of key players that is more important than ever in these times. "Navigating with stability and conviction" was the motto – and that perfectly describes my own journey: from the football pitch in Plauen to studying civil engineering at TU Dresden and now to the German Bundestag. I am delighted to receive this year's #Top40under40 award. This award also belongs to those who have supported, encouraged, and accompanied me. Thank you for your trust. I look forward to the momentum we can continue to build together. And I am grateful for this motivating and inspiring network that I have now had the opportunity to get to know. #Capital #Top40under40 Photos: Peter Oliver Wolff

At the Rudolf-Harbig-Stadium of @sgdynamodresden, I learned what solidarity means. The proposed changes from the Conference of Interior Ministers from December 3rd to 5th jeopardize our fan culture, unnecessarily interfere with club structures, and threaten a unique fan landscape that has developed over years. The current proposals—personalized tickets, stadium bans based on suspicion, and AI surveillance—destroy trust and place dedicated fans under general suspicion. Yet, for years, clubs, fan projects, and their partners have been doing reliable and successful work for social cohesion. Fan culture is part of our democracy. It deserves respect and solidarity. We need open, honest, and constructive dialogue with fans, clubs, and associations, instead of distrust towards the 12th man and, of course, the 12th woman.

“We are only truly dead when we are forgotten.” – This statement belongs to Ferhat Unvar, who was murdered in the racist attack in Hanau on February 19, 2020. His mother, Serpil Temiz Unvar, subsequently founded the Ferhat Unvar Educational Initiative to fight against racism together with people around the world. We must take Ferhat's words to heart. Our society can only grow together if we acknowledge the suffering of others and remember it together. This is especially true now, in these difficult times. As a politician, I demand: Our civil society needs financial support to fight racism and right-wing extremism, and to foster an open, tolerant, and inclusive society.

📰 Every year, @capitalmagazin – Germany's most widely read business magazine – recognizes a number of people as #Top40under40. This year, I'm among the nominees. 💭 At the age of ten, my family and I moved from Iraq to Plauen in the Vogtland region of Saxony. I learned the language and culture of this country on the local football pitches. My parents always wanted me to learn "something sensible," so I studied civil engineering at the TU Dresden, later obtained German citizenship after many years, and was elected to the German Bundestag for the first time in 2021. There, as one of the few civil engineers, I have the privilege of contributing to making construction more sustainable and equitable. 💚 Being recognized by a major magazine today was unimaginable for me in the past. It honors my work—and the work of all the people who have accompanied me on my journey: mentors, teachers, friends and family, foundations like START, colleagues, my team, and many more. Thank you for the award. I'm looking forward to everything that's to come. 🙏🏽 Photo: @thomas_k 📸

First, he marginalized migrants, then he exploited women – it wasn't the first time Friedrich Merz tried to pit people in our country against each other. But Germany is diverse, and it will remain diverse, and that's a good thing. We all enrich the cityscape. Join the campaign: https://wir-sind-das-stadtbild.de/

🤔 To be honest, it felt really good to be back in #Dresden. I've just finished two weeks in my constituency, packed with diverse appointments. From #business to the urban planning demonstration, to unions and the party base: the events in Saxony give me the compass I need for my political work in Berlin, outside the bubble. Would you have imagined a constituency week to be so varied? Here's a small selection of my appointments from the last two weeks: 🎉 The awarding of the Marwa El-Sherbini Scholarship 🙏🏽 A discussion about an individual case involving deportation to Vietnam I want to offer my political support wherever I can. 💭 Speech at the "Urban Planning Demonstration" 📕 The presentation of the Library of the Year award 📰 An interview about a research project. 🔬 An event about Silicon Saxony and the semiconductor industry 🌻 Our general meeting of the Dresden Green Party – with my report from the Bundestag. 💚 A meeting with the company Sunfire, which is working on the energy transition. So – really busy weeks between culture, party politics, climate, and business. Thanks to everyone who shared these insights with me. 📸 Cover photo: Holm Helis / Slide 3: Silicon Saxony

Football fans, East Germans, members of parliament – @maja_wallstein and I will be playing live on #Twitch next week! 🎮 Tune in! #KassemPlays #Bundestag #Greens #EastGermany

Next week is another session week, which means we'll be live on #twitch again! This time, @boris.mijatovic will be our guest. Let's see how he does with the controller. See you on Tuesday (November 4th).

I was born in Zakho in northern Iraq and grew up in Plauen in the Vogtland region. I'm Saxon, I'm Kurdish, and I represent Dresden in the German Bundestag. And yet, according to our Chancellor, I don't fit into the cityscape. Many were shocked by his statement—not me. Because anyone who has experienced racism knew immediately what he meant. We remember: the "little pashas." He doesn't talk about the violence against women that happens at home or the lack of women's shelters. Not about the women who have to live in fear because they or their families are racially attacked. Because men like Merz only discover feminism when they can use it to perpetuate racist stereotypes. What scares me: These words came from a Chancellor. From someone who should speak for all Germans—but certainly not for me. And not for the many Dresdeners who took to the streets today to protest his statement about the cityscape. 💚