About

Meet the new EYL40 Class of 2024!

This year’s EYL40 Class of 2024 includes an Olympic swimmer, a glaciologist, politicians from all levels of government and members of national parliaments, a winemaker, green tech entrepreneurs and social activists, prize-winning journalists, Unicorn and start-up founders and CEOs, a pioneering playwright of Roma feminist theatre and many more!

 

 


Bold leadership, ground-breaking ideas, unparalleled passion …

We’ve learned time and again that the challenges of the 21st century and of our ever complex world cannot be addressed using the rulebooks of the past. The world is screaming for a new type of leadership and a Renewed Social Contract in which the private sector, local and multilateral institutions, and citizens can collaborate and drive change.

Today’s leaders may look back in time for inspiration, but they must lead with innovation.

The European Young Leaders represent an alternative infrastructure of leadership – a new generation of leaders able to inspire action and generate change. Together, their passion, diversity of backgrounds and opinions, and innovative thinking create the right formula for generating fresh ideas to build a more forward-thinking Europe.

Our European leaders are scientists, artists, journalists, entrepreneurs and astronomers. They are citizens and their thinking is not bound by local and multilateral institutions, traditional political frameworks or bureaucracy. They provide alternative perspectives to EU decision-makers and challenge the status quo.

They help take Europe out of Brussels. In their own countries, cities and communities, the European Young Leaders also play an essential role in reconnecting people with and rebuilding trust in politics by engaging a wider community around key EU policy issues that need a whole-of-economy, whole-of-society approach to progress more quickly. They are facilitating citizens’ participation in the creation of a more equal, innovative and inclusive Europe and helping build a European identity.

The programme in the next years will take a new localism lens, bringing together these thinkers and leaders to act on some of the key issues affecting Europe’s future: supporting the green and digital transformation, strengthening our democracy, improving relations with our neighbours, increasing power sharing and building a more diverse Europe.

Succeeding in these policies and getting more citizens engaged in European elections will be our litmus test.


Tune in to the EYL40s on Friends of Europe’s podcasts

Policy Voices | Are we alone in the universe?

Leading view

Policy Voices | Are we alone in the universe?

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Policy Voices | Like Goebbels: Polish propaganda and the demise of democracy

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Policy Voices | Like Goebbels: Polish propaganda and the demise of democracy

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Policy Voices | The Netherlands chose the far-right. What happens next?

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Policy Voices | The Netherlands chose the far-right. What happens next?

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Policy Voices Podcast | Keeping the human in the loop: How to make a success story of AI in health

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Policy Voices Podcast | Keeping the human in the loop: How to make a success story of AI in health

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Continue to Meet the EYL

Meet the EYL40

Madeleine Darya Alizadeh
Madeleine Darya Alizadeh

Founder & CEO of dariadéh, author, activist and 2024 European Young Leader (EYL40)

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Madeleine Darya Alizadeh, known as dariadaria, is an Austrian content creator and entrepreneur.  She founded dariadéh, a fashion label trying to be more size-inclusive and sustainable. The company also hosts a second-hand platform for customers to resell their ‘preloved’ purchases. She wrote a green lifestyle column for Wienerin magazine and produced and hosted a mindful mess podcast, which discussed personal development and sustainable living. She authored the book, “Starkes weiches Herz” (“Strong soft heart”), which ranked on a Literatur-Spiegel bestseller list, among others. Now with over 335k followers on Instagram, Alizadeh became a leading voice in the world of sustainable fashion through her popular fashion blog, dariadaria.

Photo of Lina Almaeena
Lina Almaeena

Co-founder & Director of Jeddah United (JU), 2017 MENA Young Leader

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Lina is a leading figure in the sport industry in Saudi Arabia, who co-founded Jeddah United (JU), the first Saudi private sports company to train girls and boys in team sports to promote sports culture. Lina was captain of the Jeddah United Women’s basketball division up to 2012, columnist for Almadina newspaper, and climbed the Everest Base Camp as part of a breast cancer awareness campaign. Her efforts are an example of grassroots challenging of strict gender rules in Saudi Arabia, and Lina has been listed as one of the 200 Most Powerful Women in the Middle East by Forbes Magazine 2014.

Rim-Sarah Alouane
Rim-Sarah Alouane

Legal scholar and commentator and 2023 European Young Leader (EYL40)

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Rim-Sarah Alouane is a French legal scholar and commentator. Her research focuses on religious freedom, civil liberties, constitutional law and human rights across Europe and North America, with a special focus on France. Alouane has explored these issues as a guest lecturer at Georgetown University, Harvard Law School, Sorbonne and Sciences Po, among others. Her works have been published by the Atlantic Council, the Brookings Institution, The New York Times and Foreign Policy magazine. Alouane also regularly appears on TV and radio outlets worldwide, including NPR, Al Jazeera, BBC and France24, to discuss issues such as discrimination, human rights and politics. Notably, she has been vocal about the rise of far-right politics and anti-Muslim hatred, specifically providing her expert commentary on bodily autonomy given policy developments regarding bans on hijabs and burkinis in France.

Ryyan Alshebl
Ryyan Alshebl

Mayor of Ostelsheim and 2024 European Young Leader (EYL40)

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Ryyan Alshebl is the Mayor of the village of Ostelsheim and the first mayor of Syrian origin in Germany. Having left his home country of Syria and sought asylum in Germany, Alshebl’s pursuit of a career in politics has challenged traditional notions of integration. As mayor, the progressive, independent local politician prioritises digital access to public administration services, as well as early childhood, public transport and environmental protection. Upon his arrival in Germany, Alshebl completed a vocational programme on government administration and an internship at the Althengstett town council, in which role he was responsible for day care management and digitalisation.

Ines Amri
Ines Amri

Senior Researcher at Einstein Center Digital Future and Technical University of Berlin, 2017 MENA Young Leader

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Ines is a Berlin-based Senior Researcher at the Einstein Center Digital Future (ECDF) and the Technische Universität (TU) Berlin, working mainly in the field of platform economies and digitization in North Africa, with a focus on Tunisia. An Award-winning social impact entrepreneur and Innovation consultant, Ines has extensive experience in international development, public policies, and managing cooperations. Before joining TU Berlin, she was the Director of Strategic Partnerships at Amparo GmbH, a Berlin-based start-up revolutionizing prosthetics and health care access to amputees. She is now acting as an advisor to the startup mission in bringing Amparo technology to low-middle income and humanitarian contexts. Before moving to Berlin, she worked as a Senior consultant to prominent Tunisian and international organizations in the fields of management, innovation, democracy, elections, innovation and entrepreneurship. She was also the Managing Director of the Maghreb Economic Forum (MEF), a think tank in Tunis.

Guillem Anglada-Escudé
Guillem Anglada-Escudé

Astrophysicist and Exoplanet Discoverer; Ramón y Cajal Research Fellow at the Institute of Space Sciences (IEEC-CISC) and 2018 European Young Leader

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Guillem Anglada-Escudé is a well-known astrophysicist and scientist, whose current work focuses on exoplanet detection and planetary exploration. Most notably, Guillem and his team discovered the Proxima b exoplanet orbiting Proxima Centauri, our closest neighbouring star and the nearest star to the Sun. He- has previously worked as a postdoctoral researcher at the Carnegie Institution for Science, University of Goettingen, as well as Queen Mary University of London, where he became a reader in astronomy. He has conducted research in several countries and has been actively engaged with space agencies, such as NASA and the European Space Agency. In 2016, Guillem was named among the ten most prominent scientists worldwide by Science Magazine and one of TIME Magazine’s 100 most influential people in the world.

Ana Antunes
Ana Antunes

Head of Scientific Events and Communication at MabDesign and 2015-2016 European Young Leader (EYL40)

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Ana is microbiologist and currently works in the field of therapeutic antibody and immunotherapy at MabDesign. Prior to her current role, she was a postdoctoral fellow at the Institut Pasteur and a visiting scientist at Novartis Vaccines and Diagnostics. While completing her PhD in microbiology, Ana was awarded the Marie Cure Fellowship and the PhD Fellowship by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT). Additionally, she has received various grants and nominations over the course of her academic career. Ana has lectured in vaccinology and pharmaceutical clinical development, been published in peer-reviewed journals and spoken at numerous international conferences. Ana is the Co-Founder and President the Association des Diplômés Portugais en France (AGRAFr), which brings together Portuguese expats and French nationals. She is also a member of Native Scientists, a non-profit organisation that connects children with science in their native languages, and Conto-Contigo, which provides Portuguese reading sessions for children.

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Camilla Appelgren

Chief Patrolling Ranger at the Heritage Parks Federation and 2023 European Young Leader (EYL40)

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Camilla Appelgren is an environmental activist, who hails from Sweden but has called Malta home for over two decades. She founded Malta Clean Up to inspire citizen climate action by organising monthly clean-ups in different locations across the island, as well as to mobilise public support for clean-up and waste reduction efforts in the face of environmental degradation. Appelgren also built up the patrolling ranger unit at the Majjistral National Park. Her role is to ensure adherence to the park’s site regulations and documentation of environmental crimes, such as poaching and dumping of waste. A strong advocate against single-use plastics, she strives towards a zero-waste lifestyle and encourages others to adopt sustainable practices in their everyday lives. Appelgren ran as a Democratic Party (PD) candidate in the 2019 European elections. Although she was not elected to the European Parliament, the support she received from voters defied expectations, in no small part due to her passion for the environment and commitment to her community.

Andreas Araouzos
Andreas Araouzos

Founder & Creative Director at Alpha Square and 2017 European Young Leader (EYL40)

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Andreas completed courses at the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London. In 2002, he founded a theatre productions company, Alpha Square, to enhance theatre in Cyprus and provide spectators with an inspirational selection of plays. Andreas has already directed 14 stage productions in his country, including several award-winning plays and his own musical-comedy adaptation of Cinderella, which will tour Greece in 2017. Andreas has also written several plays, such as ‘The Rich Also Cry’, which was staged by Theatro Ena in 2007. He has translated numerous theatre texts from English to Greek and published a collection of articles in Phileleftheros, the biggest-selling newspaper in Cyprus.

Lefteris Arapakis
Lefteris Arapakis

Co-Founder & Director of Enaleia and 2024 European Young Leader (EYL40)

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A Greek social entrepreneur, Lefteris Arapakis founded Enaleia to improve the sustainability of the marine ecosystem and fishing industry. Enaleia is at the helm of Greece’s first-ever fishing school, which aims to strengthen the fishing sector and empower fishers through the provision of eco-friendly, ethical training and education. Enaleia’s Mediterranean CleanUp collects and facilitates the upcycling of plastic bycatches from fishers in return for compensation, incentivizing sustainable fishing and supporting local economies, while also preventing further pollution through collecting their used fishing gear. Working with over 3,000 fishers in the Mediterranean, the programme has collected over 1M kilogrammes of marine plastic. Arapakis is a UNEP Young Champion of the Earth and Ambassador for the Mediterranean Coast.

Jason Arday
Jason Arday

Professor of Sociology of Education at the University of Cambridge and 2024 European Young Leader (EYL40)

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A British sociologist and scholar of race, inequality and education, Jason Arday is a Professor of Sociology of Education at the University of Cambridge. He is one of the youngest people ever appointed to a professorship at the prestigious institution. Growing up unable to speak, read and write, Arday is committed to tackling the systemic inequalities that Black, Asian and minority ethnic students often face in education. Acclaimed for his research on race and structural racism, Arday’s work aims to overcome the underrepresentation of people from disadvantaged backgrounds in higher education. He is also a longstanding Trustee of the Runnymede Trust, a leading race equality think tank. Outside of academia, Arday has raised over £5 million pounds for charity over a 20-year period.

Martijn Arets
Martijn Arets

International expert and thinker in the field of emergence and development of the collaborative economy and 2013 European Young Leader (EYL40)

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Martijn Arets is an international independent platform expert and has been exploring the rise of the platform economy and its impact on society from his role as ‘professional outsider’ for over a decade. He talks to all stakeholders involved, conducts research and takes an active role in the (public) debate. He gathered his knowledge by talking to more than 500 stakeholders in 15 countries. He shares his insights through presentations, consultancy, his weekly newsletter and contributions in the (international) media. He wrote the book ‘Platform Revolution – From Amazon to Zalando, the impact of platforms on how we work and live’ (in Dutch). Arets is the Founder of GigCV, a data sharing standard that allows 100,000 platform workers to access their data. He is also associated with the WageIndicator Foundation, where, among other things, he collaborated on a ‘living tarif’ for platform workers. Last, Arets has been part of the Platformeconomy lectorate at The Hague University of Applied Sciences.

Photo of Inés Arrimadas García
Inés Arrimadas García

Chief ESG & communications officer at Recurrent Energy, former leader of the Citizens Party in the Spanish Parliament and 2017 European Young Leader (EYL40)

Show more information on Inés Arrimadas García

Inés Arrimadas currently holds the role of the Chief ESG and Communications Officer at Recurrent Energy, one of the world’s largest and most geographically diversified utility-scale solar and energy storage project development, ownership and operations platforms. She is responsible for the company’s ESG strategy, communications, public affairs and institutional relations. Over the past ten years, Arrimadas has had a successful political career in Spain, serving as a deputy and opposition leader in the Parliament of Catalonia, a member of the Spanish Congress of Deputies, the parliamentary spokesperson in that Chamber and president of the Citizens (“Ciudadanos”) Party. Under her leadership, the Citizens Party became a major contender and won a majority in the Catalonian Parliament. Before her political career, she worked in the private sector on numerous consulting projects related to European funds, territorial and industrial development, and new technologies, among others.

Anna Ascani
Anna Ascani

Vice-President of the Italian Chamber of Deputies and 2024 European Young Leader (EYL40)

Show more information on Anna Ascani

Currently serving as the Vice-President of the Italian Chamber of Deputies, Anna Ascani is an Italian politician whose career is best defined by her successes in European affairs, education and youth policies. The former Democratic Party vice-president has also served as the state secretary for economic development and the deputy education minister, in which role she tackled inequality between schools in different regions through peer-to-peer exchange and through building and digital infrastructure investments. When first elected to the national parliament, Ascani was among its youngest members and served on the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.

astolfi
Charles-Pierre Astolfi

Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer at Pemier Voisin and 2020-2021 European Young Leader (EYL40)

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Charles-Pierre is Chief Technology Officer at Premier Voisin, a company he co-founded. Previously, he worked as advisor on regulations and digital commons to the French Minister of State for Digital Transition and Affairs. He also served as director in charge of the project ‘Vaccination Information Systems” at the French Ministry of Health and Solidarity. He is a French engineer and cybersecurity specialist leading the organisation that advises the French government on digital matters. Previously, seeking to combine his technical skills with public service, Charles-Pierre worked at the French National Cybersecurity Agency (ANSSI), where he was tasked with finding offensive viruses, tracing their source, and identifying contaminated computers to neutralise the threat. Charles-Pierre’s diverse career also includes his supervision of the deployment of an electric vehicle (EV) fleet in the United States and co-authoring a book on 3D printing.

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Selection process

CALL FOR APPLICATIONS/NOMINATIONS FOR THE EYL CLASS OF 2025 IS NOW OPEN

The European Young Leaders (EYL40) programme is a unique, inventive and multi-stakeholder programme that aims to promote a European identity by engaging the continent’s most promising talents in initiatives that will shape Europe’s future.

The European Young Leaders represent a new generation of European leaders from all over the continent and various backgrounds, including politics, business, civil society, academia, arts, science and the media.

The programme acts as a forum for those who have already established themselves at the forefront of their professions to meet, discuss and collaborate with their counterparts from other fields of expertise. Previous candidates include government ministers, CEOs, Michelin-starred chefs, international film directors and high-profile journalists.

Since the launch of the programme, we have gradually taken steps to ensure the diversity and exceptional quality of its selection process. We have made sure that its comprehensive and competitive nature ensures the identification and selection of remarkable individuals.

We aim to select 40+ European Young Leaders of diverse backgrounds to enable a broad exchange of ideas, creating the basis for a new generation of engaged European leaders.

SELECTION CRITERIA

  • Candidates must be between 30 and 40 years of age (born on or after 1 January 1985).
  • Candidates must be a national of an EU member state, the UK, Ukraine, Moldova or one of the 6 Balkan states currently on the path towards EU integration (Albania, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Kosovo*, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia).
  • Candidates should have established themselves at the highest levels of their chosen profession or be on track to do so.
  • Candidates must be committed to serve society at large through noteworthy contributions and have demonstrated a record of significant achievements and outstanding professional experience.
  • Candidates are also evaluated based on their ability to contribute to the enrichment of the programme as a whole.
  • Candidates are required to be fluent in English as it is the working language of the programme.
  • Candidates must commit to participating in at least one of the two EYL seminars during the programme year, usually scheduled for March and September.

Please click HERE for the Selection Guidelines 2025 that will give you an idea of the process and will provide you with a link to the nomination/application form.

Should you have any questions or need any additional information, please do not hesitate to contact us at eyl40@friendsofeurope.org.

We look forward to receiving your applications and nominations.

* References to Kosovo here are used without prejudice to positions on status and are in line with UN Security Council resolution 1244/99 and the International Court of Justice Opinion on the Kosovo declaration of independence.

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