European Young Leaders (#EYL40)

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This year’s EYL40 Class of 2023 includes award-winning investigative journalists, a mega-star of modern-day football, politicians from all levels of government and speakers of national parliaments, a male supermodel and philanthropist, renowned scholars, innovators leading the green digital transition, as well as creative tech-based healthcare professionals.

In 2012, 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 crafted a leadership programme unlike any other: the European Young Leaders (EYL40) programme. To celebrate the programme’s 10th anniversary, we travelled through the past ten years to share ten inspiring stories.

An Italian professional volleyball player who played with her national team at the 2014 World Championship, Valentina Diouf’s career has seen a meteoric rise, being a true role model for girls and women in sport. Valentina, alumna of the EYL40 Class of this 2022, has won gold medals with the national Italian team at the U20 World Championship and Mediterranean Games. She currently sports the #7 jersey for LKS Commercecon Łódź in Poland, prior to which she played for Wealth Planet Perugia in Italy. (Image credit: Africa Nouvelles, 2016)

Selected as a 2015-2016 EYL40 member when he was a serial entrepreneur, Stefunko co-founded and became the first chairman of Progresivne Slovensko, a social-liberal pro-European political movement which saw the President of Slovakia and a European Parliament VP elected, as well as committed itself to transforming the education system, extending same-sex marriage rights, and introducing better well-being to Slovakia.

Lindsey-Nefesh-Clarke_EYL40 — Lindsey Nefesh-Clarke, alumna of the EYL40 Class of 2012, is a British CEO and Founder of the Women’s WorldWide Web (W4), an online crowdfunding platform dedicated to protecting girls’ and women’s empowerment in developing and developed countries around the world, promoting human rights and access to technology.

Christel Heydemann, alumna of the EYL40 Class of 2014, is the CEO of Orange renowned for her experience in the telecoms sector and in managing business transformations, and the second woman at this level of responsibility in the entire CAC 40 stock market.

Viktoria Modesta is a British Latvian-born bionic pop artist, futurist, and creative director. She has established herself as a multidisciplinary artist and a creative leader, connector, and innovator in the post-disability community—bridging pop culture and art with academia, medicine, and brands in hyper collaborative multimedia productions.

One of the youngest chefs to rise in the ranks of the restaurant world, and member of the EYL40 Class of 2017, Eneko Atxa has opened several restaurants in Spain, Japan, Portugal and Brussels, including the 3-star Michelin restaurant Azurmendi in Basque Country. His culinary endeavours champion sustainable practices, from rainwater collection to seed bank production, and have received distinctions from gastronomic gurus, including The World’s 50 Best Restaurants, Elite Traveler and Fourchettes, among others. (Image credit: Eneko restaurant)

Kaja Kallas, the first female Prime Minister of Estonia, is a stalwart of European values and solidarity. Named among the TIME100 Next rising individuals, she is a strong voice of support for Ukraine and champions ambitious climate and energy policies. She was nominated as a European Young Leader in 2017 while serving in the European Parliament.

Qëndron Kastrati, alumnus of the EYL40 Class of 2020-22, was elected the youngest mayor in Kosovo, leading the town of Kamenica at only 29. As mayor, he has been resolute in his mission to make his town a genuinely multi-ethnic community and to bridge existing ethnic divides. Now ex-mayor, his inclusive approach still earns him national attention. He continues to be a staunch advocate of constitutional rights to education in Kosovo.

Rokhaya Diallo, alumna of the EYL40 Class of 2013, is a journalist, filmmaker and human rights activist committed to anti-racism work. She hosted and co-edited “Egaux, mais pas trop” (“Equal, but not too much”), a series of reports on diversity issues in France, and has previously held a number of noteworthy positions in the television field. Widely lauded for her work in favour of racial and gender equality, and exposing injustices in these and other areas, Diallo has become one of France’s most prominent figures in this space. (Image credit: Rokhaya Diallo)

Bastian Obermayer, alumnus of the EYL40 Class of 2018, is a Pulitzer Prize-winning German investigative journalist with the Munich-based newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung (SZ) and the reporter who received the Panama Papers from an anonymous source in 2016 and the Paradise Papers. Obermayer was part of the ICIJ’s Offshore Leaks, Luxembourg Leaks, China Cables, and other projects. After the Knight-Wallace Fellowship in Ann Arbor, MI, Obermayer helped found the investigative non-profit newsroom Forbidden Stories in 2017.

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Our anniversary celebration features volleyball player Valentina Diouf; Rokhaya Diallo, a journalist, filmmaker and human rights activist; Christel Heydemann, CEO of Orange; renowned chef Eneko Atxa; serial entrepreneur Ivan Stefunko; bionic pop artist and futurist, Viktoria Modesta; Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas; Lindsey Nefesh-Clarke, CEO and Founder of Women’s WorldWide Web (W4); Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist, Bastian Obermayer; and Qëndron Kastrati, former mayor of Kamenica, Kosovo. Click here to learn more about our selection amongst 350+ wonderful profiles.

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

Frankly Speaking Podcast | Iran: Unchallenged, till now

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Frankly Speaking Podcast | Fighting for the truth in the Western Balkans

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Everything you didn't know about air pollution. It's scary stuff!

Jane Burston

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Joss Garman on the climate crisis: how bad is it (bad!) and can we get out of it (yes!)?

Joss Garman

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Leading view

Una Mullally on abortion rights, marriage equality and galvanising a generation for change

Una Mullally

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A Polish writer, speaker and activist, Leszek is the Editor-in-Chief of Liberté!, a journal which he founded over a decade ago to promote freedom, share ideas and counter populism. He is the co-creator of Freedom Games, an interdisciplinary event that gathers 4,000 attendees and 350 speakers to discuss the key challenges Western societies must face in the 21st century. Leszek is also the Founder and CEO of Bookme, an app which makes reading internet-friendly. He currently serves on the Council of European Forum for New Ideas and recently completed a policy fellowship at the European University Institute in Florence, where his work focused on how the narrative of change could counter the rise of populism in EU member states, overcome the European identity crisis and strengthen transnational governance.

Slawomir is the founder and leader of ‘Krytyka Polityczna’ (the Political Critique), the widest Polish movement of left-wing intellectuals, artists and activists, with branches in Ukraine, Germany and Russia. He is also Editor-in-Chief of the daily ‘Dziennik Opinii’ (The Opinion Daily) and The Publishing House and Director of the Institute for Advanced Study in Warsaw. He is President of the Stanislaw Brzozowski Association, running six cultural centres and 25 local centres in Poland, Ukraine, Russia and Germany. Slawomir has written numerous essays and op-eds, mainly devoted to Polish and European politics and culture.

Bart Staszewski is a Polish filmmaker and fierce champion of LGBTQI+ rights. His “Article 18” documentary details the LGBTQI+ struggle for equality in the country to showcase that the government has failed to introduce legislation that protects same-sex relationships. Staszewski was among the organisers of the first-ever Equality March and went on to establish an association of the same name. He also belongs to Miłość Nie Wyklucza (Love Does Not Exclude), an organisation that fights for marriage equality, and serves as the Co-Founder, CEO and Chairman of the Board at the Basta Foundation, which monitors homophobic and transphobic hate speech in Polish media. Notably, Staszewski created the internationally acclaimed “Zones” photography project to remind politicians of their LGBTQI+ constituents and protest the infamous ‘LGBT-free zones’ in approximately 100 Polish municipalities. He was named an Obama Leader for Europe by the Barack Obama Foundation and among the TIME100 Next rising individuals.

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Selection process

THE CALL FOR APPLICATIONS/NOMINATIONS FOR THE EYL40 CLASS OF 2024 IS NOW OFFICIALLY CLOSED

The European Young Leaders 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 1984).
Candidates must be a national of an EU member state, the United Kingdom, 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 EYL40 seminars during the programme year, usually scheduled for March and September.

Please click HERE for the 2024 selection guidelines, which will give you an idea of the process and provide you with link to the nomination/application form.

Please note that the deadline for the nominations/applications is 28 April 2023.

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.

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