Pia Ahrenkilde Hansen is the Director-General of the Directorate-General for Education, Culture, Youth and Sport at the European Commission. She took up this position on 16 September 2023, after holding the same position for four and a half years in the Commission’ Directorate-General for Communication. From March 2018, she served as Deputy Secretary General and Chief Operating Officer. Prior to that, she was also Director in the Directorate-General for Communication, in charge of the Commission’s Representations in the Member States.Between 2009 and 2014 she was Chief Spokeswoman of the European Commission; and Deputy Spokeswoman of the European Commission from 2004 until 2009 under former Commission President Barroso, also in charge of Planning and Coordination of the Spokespersons’ Service (SPP).She began her career in political communication as Environment Spokeswoman in 1999 (Commissioner Margot Wallstr m), having previously held positions in the Commission’s departments for Industry (1995-97) and Information, Communication and Culture (1997-99). Pia Ahrenkilde Hansen was a Schuman Scholar at the European Parliament (1989-90). She studied Business Administration and Modern Languages at the Copenhagen Business School and Political Science at the Institut d’ tudes Politiques de Paris, specialising in intercultural communication and European identity.

Michele Sbattella is born in Pedaso, a little town by the sea in central Italy. He has a degree in International and Social Political Sciences at the University of Bologna. A six-month Erasmus+ at the Panteion University has been life-changing and pushed him into political activism. Today he lives in Bologna and works as a basketball coach for young players. Michele is also an activist for the Hic Sunt Leones sportsclub, which advocates for a more inclusive anti-racist anti-sexist approach in sports

Elisa Gambardella is Coordinator at SOLIDAR Foundation, with a thematic focus on Education & Lifelong Learning and Democratic Participation. She joined SOLIDAR in 2018 and since then, she had the opportunity to represent the organisation in the Board of Civil Society Europe (2022-2023), the Conference on the Future of Europe (2021-2022) and more recently, as President of the Lifelong Learning Platform (since 2023). Before moving to Brussels, she worked for the Cabinet of the Italian Minister of Labour, where she specialised in active labour market policies for youth employment. Overall, she has 10+ years’ experience in public authorities, think tanks and EU CSOs. She holds a master’s degree in European studies from Roma Tre University.

Adam Czarnecki, a volunteer and social activist, In the middle of Bachelor degree of International Relations from Cracov University of Economics . He volunteers at the SDL association , which implements programs and events about local culture and history, also works at promotion of social activities.
Adam stand behind equality and accessibility in youth development initiatives and mobilities. His experience and desire of self development has led to active participation in Erasmus+.

Jo Leinen is a lawyer and former Minister for the Environment in Germany, with a long and impactful career in European politics. He served as a Member of the European Parliament for nearly two decades, where he was deeply involved in shaping policies on climate protection, social justice, and international relations. Beyond his parliamentary work, Jo Leinen has also led prominent European organizations, having served as President of the European Movement International (EMI) and the Union of European Federalists (UEF), advocating for European integration and active citizenship.

Aimée Duprat-Macabies is the Advocacy and Communications Officer at the Centre for Democracy & Technology Europe. She leads the advocacy strategy of the office, manages the social media and supports the programme directors in their areas of responsibility. She also leads the drafting of the EU Tech Brief newsletter and contributes to the AI Bulletin newsletter.

Prior to joining CDT Europe, Aimée was working at the European Movement International in Brussels where she drafted several papers, including on disinformation and gender equality. She also has worked in the European Parliament, where she focused on the Greens campaign to ban biometric surveillance in public spaces.

A tireless advocate for gender equality, she supervised the communications strategy of the Brussels Binder, a volunteer-run organisation that seeks to increase the diversity of voices in the EU policy debates. She is now supporting the advocacy work of the NGO.

Benedetta Scuderi is an Italian MEP from Alleanza Verdi e Sinistra, part of the Greens/EFA group. She holds a master’s degree in Sustainability and Energy and a master’s degree in Public Policy. In her professional life, she is a sustainability consultant for businesses. She joined Europa Verde in 2019 and co-founded Giovani Europeisti Verdi, the youth wing of the Italian Greens. She served as co-spokesperson of the Federation of Young European Greens from 2022 to 2024.

Vanesa (Niki) Evbuomwan is from Nigeria, born and raised in Athens, Greece: this mixture of Africa and Europe and the advantage of observing two different worlds has played a major role in the shaping of her personality. Niki holds a bachelor’s degree in International and European Studies from the University of Piraeus and is passionate about learning by living with culturally diverse people. After an eye-opening study abroad experience in France , and an internship on promoting migrants visibility in Greece, she joined CYA as Student Affairs & DEI Assistant focusing on students’ cultural immersion, intercultural communication and political awareness.

Kyriaki Tsiantou is a primary school teacher and a graduate of the University of Thessaly. She teaches in a Priority Educational Zone class and is undertaking a master’s degree in “Identities, Education, and Competences for a Democratic Culture” at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (EKPA) and the European Wergeland Center. She has worked as a European projects manager and youth workshops facilitator. From 2020 to 2023, she served as Secretary of the Larissa Youth Municipal Council and represented the municipality in Greece’s National Youth Work Team. She is an Ambassador for the Youth Work Charter (Europe Goes Local) and has volunteered with the NGO “Angels of Joy.” In May 2024, she won 1st place at the 11th Datathlon organized by the University of Piraeus, Europe Direct of Attica and Piraeus.

Emanuela Szykowna, a committed social and youth activist, holds a Bachelor of Arts in Pedagogy of Culture from UMCS University in Lublin. She volunteers at the Sempre a Frente Foundation, which implements programs focused on prevention, psychological education, and the promotion of active citizenship among young people.
Emanuela is an advocate for equality and accessibility in youth development initiatives and mobilities. She is particularly passionate about the art of movement and mime theatre, promoting its therapeutic and social values. Emanuela‘s pursuit of knowledge has led to her active participation in numerous projects funded by the Erasmus+ programme. Her inclination to ask thought-provoking questions stems from her belief that understanding our needs is crucial for shaping a better future.

Project Manager at KMOP, Civic Engagement and Governance Unit: Sofia Koudouni holds a Bachelor’s degree in English Language and Literature from Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece, and a Master’s degree in European Studies from the University of Amsterdam. With extensive experience in both formal and non-formal education, she has served as an educator and trainer. Sofia’s involvement in youth projects began as a participant and evolved into an organizational role, giving her in-depth knowledge of EU mobility and volunteering opportunities. She is a Humanity in Action Senior Fellow (Berlin 2019) and currently works as a European Project Manager at KMOP – Social Action and Innovation Centre as a member of the Civic Engagement and Governance Unit.

Joe Lynam is a respected broadcaster, podcaster and moderator who is the business editor at the Irish national station Newstalk. Before that he was the BBC’s senior Business Correspondent for a decade. He continues to present the global current affairs show ‘The Newsroom’ on BBC Radio 4 and the World Service as well as the BBC most downloaded podcast: The Global News Podcast. Joe has won many awards for his original journalism including the 2018 Headline Money Award for his BBC One exposé of how RBS (GRG) treated many of its own business customers. Joe was also the first to broadcast on Radio 4 a phone fraud (Vishing) in almost real time as an elderly lady unwittingly handed over her life savings to fraudsters. For that, he won the Wincott prize for Journalism in 2016. Joe has travelled the world with the BBC covering the financial crisis (2007-2010), followed by the Eurozone crisis (2010-2013), the economic and political fallout from Brexit (2016-2021) and most recently the COVID-19 pandemic.

He has presented on the Today programme, Newsnight, BBC One Breakfast as well as Five Live and the BBC News Channel. He has lived in Germany, UK, Netherlands, Australia, Belgium and Ireland and speaks five languages.

With a 15 years combined experience in NGOs and the Commission, I have always worked in the field of justice & human rights. I have been the European Commission’s Coordinator for the Rights of the Child (2018-22), leading the work on the adoption of the first ever EU Strategy on the Rights of the Child. Since early 2022, I am deputy Head of Unit in JUST.H3, in charge of the Justice and Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values Programmes. My responsibilities include communication, outreach and stakeholder engagement.

Iryna Yuriv was born in Ukraine and moved to Italy with her parents when she was five years old.

Although she lives in Italy, she recognizes how her identity has been shaped by the influence of two different cultures and mentalities.

She has worked in the immigration sector as an Immigration Consultant, and this September, she began a Master’s program with a Double Degree in European Politics (Milan, Italy) and International Economy (Halle Wittenberg, Germany).