European Young Leaders (#EYL40)

Monica is a Luxembourgish TV presenter and politician, and was elected as a Member of the European Parliament in 2019. Having worked as a journalist and TV presenter for over two decades, Monica is well-known amongst Luxembourg’s public. Having won a seat in the European Parliament for Luxembourg’s Democratic Party and serving as a full member of the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs, Monica has expressed her intent to prioritise equal opportunities for children and young people in particular as well as an equal platform for entrepreneurs. Monica has been actively engaged in charity work, including for cancer research and as a former ambassador for SOS Children’s Villages and Fairtrade.

Baiba is an award-winning Latvian classical violinist who performs around the world with prestigious orchestras and renowned conductors. Baiba regularly performs with Berliner Philharmoniker, Boston Symphony Orchestra and London Symphony Orchestra, amongst others. In 2019 she played with Gewandhausorchester Leipzig and Orchestra Symphonique de Montreal and gave her debut with Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra in early 2020. An internationally sought-after chamber musician, Baiba commits to the long-established duo with her sister Lauma and tours worldwide with the Skride Quartet. She recently released a recording of Mozart Violin Concertos with the Swedish Chamber Orchestra and Eivind Aadland.

Diva is an Italian scientist and entrepreneur with a fervent interest in robotics and sustainability. She channelled her passion by creating a home robotics start-up Solenica and developed an AI-powered smart mirror that reflects natural light around the home. The idea to transform indoor spaces came to Diva while working towards her doctorate in Computational Biology in Cambridge, where she spent much of her days inside craving sunshine. Diva is also a graduate of the Singularity University programme on exponential technologies at NASA in 2010. She was awarded the Premio Giovane for the Environment and the Young Global Innovator Award by the MIT Tech Review for Italy, as well as the Pleiade International Award for Innovation and New Technologies.

Małgorzata is one of the first members of the Green Party to be elected to the Polish parliament. In her role as Co-Chair of the Green Party, she has successfully promoted a stronger climate agenda, most notably through her actions for cleaner air and the reduction of smog in Polish cities, as well as raising citizen awareness about environmental issues. A strong advocate of equality, democracy and the rule of law, Małgorzata is a vocal activist for the rights of women and minorities. She is a member of the women’s rights movement, Committee Ratujmy Kobiety (“Let’s save women”), which led the first against the national abortion ban from 2016 through 2018. She is also a member of the Polish Women’s Congress and Ecological Association EKO-UNIA.

Kristina currently works in customer experience and enterprise transformation at MURAL, where her role is to help customers scale their innovation culture and accelerate their digital, design and enterprise transformation. As the co-inventor of BLITAB, the world’s first tactile tablet for blind and visually impaired people, Kristina has drawn the world’s attention to the role of digital innovation in easing people’s lives. She also serves as a judge of MIT Inclusive Innovation Challenge, an initiative of MIT Solve which seeks to find global solutions through entrepreneurship. Kristina has previously served as an innovation consultant to the G7 in the area of Technology, Research & Innovation. Having cemented herself as a leader in the digital field, while simultaneously promoting the needs of children, women and people with disabilities, Kristina has received worldwide recognition for her work. She was named Rising Innovator by the EU Prize for Women Innovators and the European Laureate of the Cartier Women’s Initiative Awards.

Wietse is an award-winning Dutch social entrepreneur and conservationist, pioneering regenerative blue economy ventures. Wietse has received wide recognition for his innovative approach to mobilising businesses, governments and citizens to form uncommon partnerships for the social, economic and ecological regeneration of European coastal and ocean areas. His current venture, the Sea Ranger Service, trains unemployed young people from port cities with the help of navy veterans to manage Marine Protected Areas in European seas. A new type of professional sailing vessel has been developed for the Sea Rangers, with cost-effective sea operation and zero emissions.

Dobrica Veselinovic has been active in the civil sector in Belgrade for the past decade, working for various NGOs and jumpstarting projects related to urban development and education. It is his mission to advocate for public spaces and mobilise citizens to participate in decision-making processes. Dobrica is a co-leader of the citizen movement, ‘Don’t Let Belgrade D(r)own’, an initiative opposing the Belgrade Waterfront redevelopment project with broader aims to encourage sustainable development and give citizens voice to influence their urban environments. He is also the Founder of the collective Ministry of Space, the Institute for Urban Policy and the new political network, Civic Front, a network of grassroots initiatives and organisations from over 10 cities in Serbia.

Vlad is a Romanian politician, health policy expert and patient advocate, who until recently has served as the minister of health. After pursuing a career in finance, Vlad became active in public service, serving as the Romanian Finance Minister’s chief of staff before becoming the minister of health in the Dacian Cioloș government. Since 2008, Vlad has been involved in patient advocacy, both at the national and European level. He is the founder of an international network of volunteers that helped over 2,500 cancer patients receive essential medicines that were missing in Romania, a story that featured in the HBO documentary The Network’. Vlad is also the Co-Founder of MagiCAMP, which seeks to provide support to children diagnosed with cancer and other serious illnesses. For this work, the European Parliament awarded Vlad its ‘European Citizen’s Prize.’

Lea is a Danish politician, currently member of the parliament where she sits on the Business Committee, as well as the Climate, Energy and Supply Committee. She has served as the Danish Minister for the Environment in the Mette Frederiksen government. She describes herself as a ‘classic Social Democrat’ who strongly believes in equality and the power of community. As the daughter of a primary school teacher, she is passionate about the role of education as an instrument for social change. Lea became a passionate environmental advocate growing up in Bornholm, a community-tight Danish island with leading policies on circular economy, waste reduction and recycling. She has been involved in politics for the past decade, originally serving as a Board Member of the youth wing of the Social Democratic party. She has also worked in Tanzania on local democracy projects.

Chanyu is a German serial entrepreneur, passionate foodie and start-up mentor from Berlin. In 2009 she co-founded her first successful ‘software as a service’ (SaaS) start-up Customer Alliance which is currently used by over 3,500 hotels in 35 countries. Chanyu has since co-founded several food-tech start-ups, including eating.de backed by star investor Peter Thiel and her1, which offers tips and products for a healthy and nutritious lifestyle. Her latest start-up, ONO LABS, provides women with 100% natural nutrition before, during and after pregnancy.

Darya is an Irish entrepreneur and influential global pioneer of the role that ‘augmented reality’ (AR) can play in education. She recently created CleverBooks to provide personalised educational content for students by utilising three-dimensional AR technologies. Darya has been widely recognised for her work, having won the Digital Female Leaders Award in Entrepreneurship as well as being named an Innovator by the Irish Times and a Young Irish Entrepreneur. She has been featured in Inc.com, Forbes, CBS and many other global media platforms for her efforts to bridge the technology gap in classrooms around the world and boost student outcomes.