European Young Leaders (#EYL40)

Steve Zammit Lupi is a Councillor at the Ħaż-Żebbuġ Local Council in his hometown, elected as an independent candidate at the age of 23. He champions initiatives that seek to protect the environment and promote sustainable transport and mobility. Zammit Lupi is well-known for cycling 4,400km across Europe from Malta to Stockholm in 41 days in summer 2023. Raising awareness about embracing greener lifestyles and reducing carbon footprints, his journey showcased the potential for cycling as an alternative mode of transportation on his home island. Zammit Lupi was involved with Rota, a local bicycle advocacy group, and active with Birdlife Malta, an organisation which strives to protect birds and their habitats on the island.

Adele is an expert in strategic cognitive skills, advanced theory of mind, and applied physics. Her research focuses on operators in time-limited, life-critical, restricted communication environments and how they employ Theory of Mind (ToM) in their mission. Adele’s previous experience includes working as a NASA Flight Controller/Astronaut Instructor, in which role she provided support for over 90 US Space Shuttle, International Space Station (ISS), and Russian spacewalks, and trained five Shuttle crews and two ISS increments in Extra Vehicle Activity (EVA). In addition to her current work as a Research Affiliate at MIT, she has also recently been appointed by the United States of America as a technical team member to North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Science and Technology Organization through its Collaborative Support Office.

Magid Magid is a Somali-British race and climate justice activist, organiser and author, who moved to the United Kingdom as a refugee at the age of five. He is the Founder and Director of Union of Justice, an independent European people of colour-led organisation dedicated to racial and climate justice. He is also the Co-Chair of the refugee charity, City of Sanctuary Sheffield. Magid served as a Green Party member of the European Parliament, representing Yorkshire and the Humber for nearly two years until the UK’s exit from the EU. He is the former lord mayor of Sheffield, the youngest person ever and the first Green Party councillor to hold the office. Squatting on a staircase in Sheffield town hall and sporting a pair of Dr Martens, Magid’s inaugural portrait became an internet sensation. Magid was named one of TIME’s 100 rising stars shaping the future of the world.

Sammy, the son of an Iraqi political refugee and a Belgian mother, has become the first ever Chairman from Brussels to lead the Flemish ‘Jong CD&V’ party. He has previously served as a parliamentary assistant and writes a regular column for the Belgian newspaper De Morgen. Passionate about issues related to integration and equality, Sammy is viewed as a bridge builder between Belgium’s Muslim and non-Muslim populations.

Mika Mäkeläinen was the Founder of Taivas + helvetti, the Co-Founder of Rainmaker Business and a Partner at Boardman, the leading network of corporate governance specialists in Finland. He was also a member of the Finnish Association of Professional Board Members and sat on the board of Sifter Capital. He was the former CEO of GTW Group, a management company that regroups a wide range of companies specialising in diverse fields, such as sales, consultancy, web services, e-commerce, marketing and IT services. In recognition of his work as a successful entrepreneur, Mika was named the Young Entrepreneur of the Year in Finland and among the 100 most influential opinion leaders in Finland.

Fabio Mancini is an Italian supermodel. Recruited while strolling through the streets of Milan at the age of 21, he has achieved many industry firsts since his modelling debut on a Giorgio Armani runway. Mancini represented the Giorgio Armani and Emporio Armani brands for a record-breaking 15 consecutive years both on the runway and in advertising campaigns. Most notably, he was the face of the Emporio Armani underwear and Armani jeans collections. He is represented by international agencies in New York, Paris, London, Milan, Los Angeles, Barcelona, Hamburg, Vienna and Tokyo. Having modelled for the likes of Dolce & Gabbana, Vivienne Westwood, Christian Dior and Massimo Dutti, he has also posed for covers and editorials for top magazines, including Vanity Fair, Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, GQ and Cosmopolitan. An unofficial ambassador of the Italian fashion industry, Mancini is also a philanthropist, who regularly volunteers at children’s hospitals and also tours schools to discuss issues surrounding body shaming and social media networks with younger generations.

Christian is the owner and Chairman of Maporama Solutions, a company specialising in the visualisation of enterprise data on maps. He became a well-known after co-founding Central Europe’s first low-cost airline, SkyEurope, in 2001. He took SkyEurope to the stock market in 2005, staying on to manage the firm until 2007 when he exited to focus on new ventures. He is also Managing Director of Danube Consulting, a company that provides advisory services to investors in Central and Eastern Europe. He is involved in the development of several projects, including the establishment of a venture capital fund to promote R&D in Slovakia, as well as renewable energy initiatives.

A highly regarded Italian lawyer, Riccardo currently shares his time between Federturismo Confindustria and Ughi e Nunziante, where he’s an expert on employment law as well as privacy and data protection. Riccardo was previously Mayor of the city of Amelia in the Umbria region. At the time one of the youngest politicians in Italy, He was a member of the Democratic Party focussing on sustainable development and global governance. As an elected official, he took pride being in direct contact with citizens. He has published several articles on European social and labour regulations in labour law magazines and reviews.

A Montenegrin farmer-turned-agricultural entrepreneur, Marko Maraš founded Seljak.me, a ‘digital village’ platform for farmers to connect and share information, as well as buy and sell agricultural products and equipment. Maraš is on a mission to boost the farming sector and engage young farmers in agriculture production through innovation and sustainability. Welcoming over 60,000 visits per month, the platform seeks to increase the procurement of modern technologies, such as blockchain and GPS, that can enhance productivity and proximity to livestock markets. Seljak is famed for being the first to sell a farm asset of any kind for Bitcoin in the Western Balkans.

A Slovak parliamentarian, Vladimíra Marcinková, member of the Freedom and Solidarity parliamentarian club, is the vice-chair of the Committee for European Affairs. Under her leadership, the Committee for European Affairs was the first in EU member states to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and call for a unified EU response to support the independence and territorial integrity of Ukraine. A staunch supporter of human rights and the rights of the rights of minorities and other vulnerable groups, she has sponsored legislative initiatives to expand children’s rights and social assistance to mothers and families, as well as defended the expansion of the rights of the LGBTQIA+ community. Marcinková is also actively dedicated to improving the position of women and mothers in the labour market.

Radoslaw is a neuroscientist, leading the research group “Neural Dynamics of Visual Cognition” at the Free University Berlin. His main interest is human visual cognition – that is, the way the brain represents visual objects. Radoslaw has received numerous awards and grants from private and public funders for his ground-breaking research including from the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and, most recently, from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation. In addition to teaching and lecturing at various universities worldwide, he is also a regular on the conference trail in the US and Europe.

Elena is currently the Head of Data & Advanced Analytics, Client Solutions at BBVA and a member of the Digital Leaders Group Europe at the World Economic Forum. Elena formerly served as CEO of BBVA Data & Analytics and previously managed the innovation unit at BBVA, where she led a global initiative on big data and smart cities, which aimed to create new urban services based on smart data and information management. She gained international recognition for the initiative’s accomplishments. Prior to establishing herself as an expert in the field of innovation, Elena played an active role in the development of telecommunications in EMEA and LATAM in the business development area.

Arancha is a Spanish social innovator on a mission to maximise the impact of social projects. With 13 years of experience in the field of humanitarian aid, Arancha is tackling poverty through innovation and reshaping the world of philanthropy. She founded It-willbe.org to maximise aid and funds by leveraging data to understand the dimensions and significance of problems faced by vulnerable people. Its largest project, the People’s Protection App, promotes the right to identity by accurately identifying homeless minors through biometrical recognition and data processing software, making “invisible” people visible. Arancha is also the Co-Founder and CEO of The Common Good Chain, the first blockchain-backed platform to measure and report social impact across entire value chains, providing the social sector with the traceability and transparency it needs to transform society. In recognition of her work, she has received the European Commission’s EU Prize for Women Innovators and the Princess of Girona Social Award.

Michel is Professor of Industrial Relations and Labour Law at the Law Faculty of Teramo University, Professor at the Italian National School of Government and Visiting Professor of Labour Law at the Law Faculty of L.U.I.S.S. Guido Carli University in Rome. Michel was appointed Deputy Minister for Labour and Social Policy by Prime Minister Mario Monti in November 2011, a position he held until Spring 2013. He previously served as Legal Advisor to the Minister for Public Administration and Innovation and to the Minister of Employment and Social Affairs, and has represented Italy in the Board of Directors of Eurofound. He is a registered barrister at the Court of Rome, and in 2009 he and his brother founded the law firm Martone & Martone. Michel is a member of various think tanks, an editor for newspapers and specialised journals on labour and economic issues, and the author of many publications on labour law.

Kristjan Maruste, husband and father of three, is an Estonian mechatronics engineer by training and entrepreneur by profession. He founded Äike, a global e-scooter company, to reimagine micro-mobility by building safe, sustainable and emission-free mobility solutions. Having created the first USB-C chargeable e-scooter, Äike is also the first and only company that designs, manufactures and fully assembles its e-scooters in Europe. Championing sustainable practices, Äike opts to use recycled materials to construct its products and 70% of its supply chain comes from within a two-hour drive of its factory in Tallinn. Maruste is also the Co-Founder and former CEO of Comodule, an Internet of Things (IoT) and connectivity provider that was among the first to connect light motor vehicles to the internet. Both companies belong to the Kõu Mobility Group, of which Maruste is a Co-Founder and the CEO. He has also previously pursued entrepreneurial ventures in battery design, engineering and manufacturing, as well as electric racing cars.