Press release | What does a Syrian refugee turned mayor of a German town have in common with Roberta Metsola and Kaja Kallas?

Brussels, 22 January 2024 – The answer is: they’re all European Young Leaders (EYL40). Ryyan Alshebl is the first mayor of Syrian origin in Germany and part of the 2024 Class of EYL40 launched by the think tank Friends of Europe. This year’s class includes a winemaker, an Olympic swimmer, a glaciologist, green tech entrepreneurs, an award-winning Roma actress, politicians from all levels of government and national parliaments, unicorn and start-up founders, CEOs, award-winning journalists, and artists that have established themselves at the highest levels in their fields.

The 2024 Class of European Young Leaders includes, among others:

• Valeriya Ionan, Deputy Minister at the Ukrainian Ministry of Digital Transformation, where she oversees European integration
• Jason Arday, learned to talk at 11, read at 18, then became Cambridge’s youngest Black professor
• Alina Șerban, Roma actress pioneering feminist political theatre and addressing the taboo topic of Roma slavery
• Ryyan Alshebl, Syrian refugee turned Mayor of the German town of Ostelsheim
• Anna Jørgensen, winemaker championing reduced watering practices in the face of water scarcity
• Luka Mesec, Slovenian Deputy Prime Minister who established the Ministry of Solidarity-Based Future
• Heïdi Sevestre, French glaciologist, explorer and “glacier doctor”
• Ari-Pekka Liukkonen, Finnish Olympic swimmer who came out as gay in protest of Russia’s anti-gay legislation
• Zarah Bruhn, founder of SocialBee, a non-profit supporting companies in hiring refugees and migrants
• Tobias Stüber, CEO of Flibco, the first company in Luxembourg to launch the four-day work week
• Rodrigo García González, co-founder of Notpla, a start-up striving to make packaging disappear with seaweed-based products and an Earthshot prize winner

To see the complete class, please click here.

“With 2024 being the biggest election year in history, which could herald a major shift in the face of Europe and beyond, we look forward to welcoming this new class of young leaders whose commitment to changing the world and tackling key challenges of the 21st century through leadership is enlightening”, says Co-Founder and Secretary-General of Friends of Europe, Geert Cami.

Motivated by the urgent need to tackle the increasing disconnect between citizens and policymakers, and to rebuild the trust that is vital to democracies, Friends of Europe launched the EYL40 leadership programme in 2012. The European Young Leaders represent a new generation of leaders from all over the continent and various backgrounds, including politics, business, civil society, academia, arts, science and the media.

Today, the EYL40 network includes 400+ trailblazers from 35 countries, including exceptional business and civil society leaders, politicians, entrepreneurs, academics, artists, scientists, journalists, athletes, among many others, including:

• Roberta Metsola, President of the European Parliament
• Kaja Kallas, Estonian Prime Minister
• Ilhan Omar, United States Representative for Minnesota
• Bastian Obermayer, Pulitzer-winning journalist & author of the Panama Papers
• Oleksandra Matviichuk, Ukrainian Nobel Peace Prize Laureate
• Antonio Zappulla, CEO of the Thomson Reuters Foundation
• Mehdi Hasan, journalist and broadcaster
• Matthew Caruana Galizia, lead engineer for the Paradise Papers Investigation
• Francesca Cavallo, bestselling author of “Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls”
• Juan Mata, Spanish professional footballer
• Raphaël Liégeois, career astronaut at the European Space Agency
• Fabio Mancini, Italian supermodel
• Marija Vuković, Montenegrin high jump and Olympic athlete
• Justas Janauskas, co-founder of Vinted
• Eneko Atxa, three-Michelin star chef

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Contact us

For more information or to request an interview, please contact:

Catarina Vila Nova
Press and Communications Officer
catarina.vilanova@friendsofeurope.org
press@friendsofeurope.org