European Young Leaders (#EYL40)

Pablo Álvarez Fernández is a Spanish aeronautical engineer who in April 2024, successfully completed the European Space Agency’s demanding basic astronaut training programme and obtained official certification as an astronaut. Having previously worked in structural design and engineering, most recently as a Project Manager for Airbus operations in Spain supporting different industrial projects across several Airbus plants. Becoming only the second astronaut of Spanish origin, Álvarez Fernández is passionate about working closely with the recently established Spanish Space Agency in developing Spain’s space programme.

Lithuanian publisher Ūla Ambrasaitė has been on a mission to produce books that bring authors and readers together in a living social network. She founded the LAPAS publishing house in 2013 with a focus on architecture, humanities, arts and literature, providing opportunities for young authors and creating books that enrich the space around them. Ambrasaitė is a Board Member at the Lithuanian Publishers Association. In 2013 she founded the EDIT Street Art Festival, the first of its kind in Lithuania. As curator and director, Ambrasaitė attracted top international artists to the festival in Vilnius and Klaipeda. She continues to curate while exploring creative financial and philanthropic investments in cultural enterprises.

Margarida Balseiro Lopes took over in April 2024 as Portugal’s Minister of Youth and Modernisation. Then 34, she is the youngest woman ever to hold ministerial office. During her first months in the job, Balseiro Lopes hit headlines introducing tax breaks and loan guarantees to help young people enter the housing market; reaching out to diaspora youth; promoting digital inclusion; and engaging media stars in campaigns against domestic violence and online bullying. Balseiro Lopes served as Member of Parliament from 2015-2022.

As Malta’s Parliamentary Secretary for Reforms and Equality since 2022, Rebecca Buttigieg has spearheaded the Labour government’s efforts to tackle inequality and promote gender rights. Her work has included launching the National Strategy against Domestic Violence, promoting distribution of free menstrual products in schools, strengthening legislation on LGBTQ+ rights, and introducing a law to outlaw virginity testing. Before her election to Parliament in 2022, Buttigieg served as a spokesperson at Malta’s Economic and Home Affairs ministries. During Malta’s EU presidency in 2017, she was a policy officer at her country’s Permanent Representation in Brussels.

Maud Caillaux is Co-Founder of Green-Got, a French neo-bank that channels funding towards the green transition. Customers get ecological bank accounts where savings contribute to ocean clean-up, re-forestation, sustainable agriculture, renewable energies and other environmental projects. The goal is to empower all savers to make money while investing in transition. “No longer will a single cent go to finance fossil fuels,” affirms Caillaux. Founded in 2020, Green-Got is expanding rapidly, with €100mn under management and transactions totalling more than €1bn. The bank went international by moving into Belgium in 2023 and, in November 2024, raised €5mn in 148 minutes during a record-breaking crowdfunding drive.

Currently serving as Ireland’s Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, Jack Chambers is also Deputy Leader of Fianna Fáil and played a leading role in the party’s success in legislative elections held in November 2024. Previously, he was notably appointed as Ireland’s youngest Minister for Finance in over a century. A medical doctor, Chambers was first elected to Parliament in 2016 at 25, its youngest member. He has held ministerial positions in the departments of transport, defence, and environment, climate and communications, as well as serving in Government.

Maria Nefeli Vasiliou Chatziioannidou is a social entrepreneur and member of the Greek Parliament since 2023, representing the governing New Democracy party. In 2019, she created “Great Women” as the first online women’s community in Greece. It has grown to comprise 200,000 members across its platforms with a mission to empower women to take positive action in fields such as work, power, knowledge and skills, health and inequality. Chatziioannidou’s first social enterprise “Code it Like a Girl” (CLG), founded in 2013, focused on overcoming gender inequality in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. She collaborates with several organisations and start-ups on social innovation and entrepreneurship.

Robert Dacešin is a Bosnian author, travel guide and blogger. In 2022, his short video “Why Bosnia and Herzegovina can be the number one tourist destination in the world”, which he created with minimal funding, won the award for World’s Best Tourist Film by the International Committee of Tourism Film Festivals (CIFFT). With a background in digital marketing, Dacešin has penned five books: three guides to Bosnia and Herzegovina, including one about his hometown of Banja Luka, and two travel novels about his trips through South America and Asia. Dacešin regularly shares his travel stories with a wide audience through his blog and social networks, including a YouTube channel with over 200K subscribers. In addition, he officiated at more than 20 international tennis tournaments, featuring renowned players such as Nadal, Murray, Del Potro, and others.

Benjamin Haddad is a prominent leader in European and international affairs, known for his expertise in diplomacy, politics and transatlantic relations. Currently serving as France’s Minister Delegate for European Affairs, Haddad is a vocal advocate for Europe’s global role. He previously served in the National Assembly as a member of the Foreign and European Affairs committees, and chaired the French-Ukrainian parliamentary friendship group. As former director of the Europe Center at the Atlantic Council in Washington, D.C., he was an advocate for a stronger and more responsible Europe in world affairs. A skilled communicator, Haddad regularly contributes to major media outlets and public debates, underscoring his commitment to informed, forward-thinking leadership that bridges diverse perspectives for a more united and resilient world.

Marek Hattas is the Mayor of his hometown of Nitra. He sat in Slovakia’s Parliament from 2020 to 2023. Hattas’ victory in Nitra’s 2018 municipal election was a major upset. With little political experience and a largely self-funded campaign, the youthful activist defeated a longstanding incumbent from the nationalist Direction (Smer) party. Hattas built a groundswell of support in the city of 78,000 inhabitants: he organised anti-racism marches as a teenager; founded the popular Hidepark cultural space; and – as a keen cyclist – was a high-profile campaigner for green mobility. After a first term committed to community development, Hattas was re-elected in 2022.

Philipp Heimberger is a senior economist at the Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies. He leads research on fiscal policy and macroeconomic governance. His work is influential in EU fiscal reform debates, particularly regarding the impact of fiscal policy on economic and social outcomes. Heimberger regularly collaborates with European institutions, and he has been ranked among the top five most-influential economists on social media in Germany.

Aslak Holmberg is a salmon fisher, teacher and former president of the Saami Council, an international body made up of nine Saami member organisations from Finland, Norway, Russia and Sweden. A former member of the Saami Parliament of Finland, Holmberg has for the past decade been involved in Saami activism, working with various processes dealing with indigenous Saami knowledge and rights. Holmberg is currently working with research ethics and has led the Saami Council’s work on biodiversity for several years. Safeguarding healthy and productive ecosystems and their sustainable use is essential for Saami culture and identity. He has taught North Saami language at the Saami University of Applied Sciences and holds an MA degree in Indigenous Studies from UiT, the Arctic University of Norway.

Daria Kaleniuk is co-founder and executive director of the Ukrainian non-governmental organisation, the Anti-Corruption Action Centre, an influential force behind Ukraine’s drive against graft. Founded in 2012, AntAC has played a key role in shaping the country’s powerful anti-corruption apparatus, including the National Agency on Corruption Prevention (NACP), National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU), the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO), High Anti-Corruption Court (HACC). AntAC has also been instrumental in adopting legislation on open property registers and electronic asset declarations. Such measures have been hailed internationally, and AntAC is credited with saving the state billions. In response to Russia’s 2022 invasion, Kaleniuk co-founded the International Centre of Ukrainian Victory to promote her country’s interests abroad.

Djarah Kan is an Italian-Ghanaian writer, feminist and cultural activist whose work sheds light on race, gender and social justice in Italy. Raised in the south of Italy, she gives voice to stories of marginalisation and resilience often overlooked in mainstream narratives. Kan is the author of “Ladri di denti” (Tooth Thieves), a celebrated collection of short stories addressing the impact of everyday racism and systemic inequality. Her writing appears in leading outlets like La Repubblica, L’Espresso and Jacobin Italia, and her participation in the International Writing Program underscores her commitment to decolonising cultural discourse and amplifying underrepresented perspectives.

Kosta Karakashyan is a Bulgarian-Armenian director, choreographer, writer and activist. Karakashyan’s work includes film, video, dance, theatre and immersive performances that often confront social issues including LGBTQ+ rights in Eastern Europe, mental health and the climate. His Studio Karakashyan made the award-winning documentary dance film “Waiting for Color” about LGBTQ+ persecution in Chechnya. He is the creator of Bulgarian LGBTQ+ community platform Out.bg. As a dancer and choreographer, Karakashyan has collaborated with singer Rita Ora, worked with clients from Calvin Klein to Disneyland, and performed on TV and stage around the world.