European Young Leaders (#EYL40)

Initiative

About Meet the EYL40 Events Insights Selection process Partners

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

Leading view

Policy Voices | Are we alone in the universe?

Start playback

Leading view

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

Start playback

Leading view

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

Start playback

Leading view

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

Start playback

Listen to more podcasts

Continue to Meet the EYL

Meet the EYL40

Filter by

Sectors

Current filter: Academic

All sectors Academic Business Civil Society Culture Media Other Politics

Countries

Current filter: All countries

All countries Albania Austria Belgium Bosnia and Herzegovina Bulgaria Canada China Croatia Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Egypt Estonia Finland France Germany Greece Hungary India Ireland Israel Italy Jordan Kosovo Latvia Lebanon Libya Lithuania Luxembourg Malta Montenegro Morocco North Macedonia Palestine Poland Portugal Romania Russian Federation Saudi Arabia Serbia Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden Syria The Netherlands Tunisia Ukraine United Kingdom United States of America

Years

Current filter: 2023

All years 2024 2023 2022 2020-2021 2019 2018 2017 NA Young Leader 2017 MENA Young Leader 2017 2015-2016 2014 2013 2012

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.

A British academic, Eleanor Carter is a Research Fellow at the University of Oxford Blavatnik School of Government and the Research Director of the Government Outcomes Lab (GO Lab). GO Lab is a research and policy centre that considers, designs and evaluates new approaches to improve social outcomes. Addressing challenges in public service outsourcing and the structure of partnerships between the government, private sector and other organisations, her research explores the potential of novel contracting arrangements, such as social outcomes contracts and impact bonds, in order to facilitate purposeful partnerships and effective services. A former policy advisor to the United Kingdom’s Cabinet Office on social investment and finance, Carter has also undertaken collaborative research projects with the Department for Work and Pensions. Her research has influenced policy design and evaluation strategies of government departments, and her work has also been published in leading policy journals.

An ed-tech entrepreneur from Belgium, Gauthier Van Malderen is disrupting the traditional academic publishing industry. He is the Founder and CEO of Perlego, the world’s first digital, subscription-based service for textbooks. Inspired by popular online streaming services, Perlego is a ‘Spotify for books’, offering a library of over one million e-textbooks, plus additional learning resources. The affordable alternative to traditional textbooks breaks down barriers to education for students and also supports the publishing industry’s digital transition. Van Malderen has previously founded several other innovative businesses, including Iconic Matter, a marketing company for university-branded merchandise, and the Teenage Tourist social platform for students to exchange travelling tips. A champion of entrepreneurial ventures beyond his own, Van Malderen continues to support the Belgian early-stage tech ecosystem through investment, knowledge sharing and mentorship as a Member of Syndicate One, a group of experienced start-up stakeholders.

Continue to Events

The challenge of identities

Past event In person

Area of Expertise: Democracy

Extremities! – European Young Leaders Paris seminar

Past event in person

Area of Expertise

Democracy is hard work

Past event IN PERSON

Area of Expertise: Democracy

The emperor has no clothes

Past event Dublin, Ireland

Area of Expertise

view more events

Continue to Insights

Fostering youth engagement and democratic revitalisation, while addressing…

30 Oct 2023

Category: #CriticalThinking
Author: By Rim-Sarah Alouane

A roadmap for channelling investments in the new programmatic period in…

25 Oct 2023

Category: #CriticalThinking
Author: By Dimitris Kalavros-Gousiou

From farm to fork, let’s unite against food waste

28 Sep 2023

Category: #CriticalThinking
Author: By Selina Juul

view more insights

Continue to Selection process

Selection process

CALL FOR APPLICATIONS/NOMINATIONS FOR THE EYL CLASS OF 2026 – 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 1986).

Candidates must be a national of an EU member state, Moldova, the UK, Ukraine or of 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 2026 that will give you an idea of the process and will provide you with link to nomination/application form.

Please note that the deadline for the nominations/applications is Monday, May 5, 2025.

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.

Continue to Partners