European Young Leaders (#EYL40)

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.

Born in Israel to an Italian mother and Libyan father, Liel Maghen has spent years exploring his identity, which has led him to his active involvement in peace building activities in the Middle East. After co-directing the Israel/Palestine Centre for Research and Information (IPCRI), a partnership-building NGO and think tank, he co-founded Elham – the Day After, bringing together Israeli and Palestinian artists to sow seeds of hope in a shared future. Maghen also acts as a consultant on programmes across the Middle East promoting community building, intercultural dialogue and non-violent communication. In 2022, he was awarded the IIE Victor J. Goldberg Prize for Peace in the Middle East. He is currently making his first feature-length documentary to inspire hope in the war-torn region.

Jamie Susskind is a British barrister and an award-winning non-fiction author whose books explore the interface between technology, politics and the law. “The Digital Republic: On Freedom and Democracy in the 21st Century,” published in 2022, examines how democracy can survive in a world of omnipresent digital technologies. It argues for new rules, rights and institutions to curb the power of digital technology. His 2018 book “Future Politics: Living Together in a World Transformed by Tech” won the Estoril Global Issues Distinguished Book Prize. Susskind has been described as “one of the leading intellectuals of the digital age.”

Jan-Willem van Putten is a Dutch social entrepreneur and policy expert. He is co-founder of both The School for Moral Ambition and Training for Good, which focus on priming a new generation of leaders to confront pressing global challenges and make a lasting impact on society. Through his work, he strives not only to talk about a better world, but also to take action towards one. As Fellowship Director at The School for Moral Ambition, van Putten manages programmes that empower individuals to drive change in sustainable food production and tobacco industry control. Training for Good works to equip young European policymakers and journalists to recognise and reduce risks from emerging technologies.