Ana Valiente works as Project Manager and Public Relations officer at the Youth Outreach Unit, the team overseeing the European Parliament’s youth offer. Before joining the institution, she worked as a journalist in Spain, France and Belgium and participated in several youth projects around Europe.

Project Manager at the Civil Society Outreach Unit, EP

Giulia Busolin is an enthusiastic young professional, passionate about communications and European affairs. Right after graduating with a MSc in Strategic Communication & Public Relations she moved to Brussels, specialising in advocacy and communications from the very heart of Europe. Within the Civil Society Outreach Unit of DG COMM of the European Parliament, she is committed to communicating Europe better together and connecting the institutions to its citizens through their network of civil society partners.

Ludmila Malai holds a Master's degree in Security Studies and Diplomacy and a specialised Master's degree in International Law. She has extensive experience in developing and coordinating European projects on topics such as radicalization, migration, women empowerment, youth engagement, racism, and Islamophobia.

Kamila Boukfouz holds a Master's degree in law. In recent years, she has worked as a jurist within the social field. Since 2017, she has been working at Stichting Platform INS as a Project manager. The foundation is known for its Art of Living Together events for which Kamila is responsible within the organization. Since 2020 Platform INS has been a partner in several European projects with Kamila being in charge of the implementation of the activities outlined in the project agreements.

Erva Calkin is a third-year student in the Social Studies teacher training programme. She is currently doing her internship at an MBO school, where she teaches citizenship. She has a strong interest in politics, particularly the democratic rule of law, and especially the constitution. She frequently engages in discussions with politicians and enjoys sharing her knowledge with her own students.

Intervention title: Fostering youth active participation in Dutch politics

Scholar-activist, co-founder and the director of Istituto Tevere, a center for interreligious studies. Lecturer at Pontifical Theological Faculty in Naples. Academic coordinator at the International Institute Jacques Maritain, a center for studies on human rights, democracy, and civil society. Public speaker on dialogue, religious freedom, peace education, diversity and inclusion, and peaceful coexistence in Italy and in Europe. Member of the national governing body of Religions for Peace Italy. Member of the executive committee of Scholas Occurrentes, a global foundation for the promotion of education and dialogue. The project ambassador of House of One (Berlin) in Rome.

Intervention title: A preliminary perspective from the youth deliberative forums in Rome.

Akerke Azamat is originally from Kazakhstan. In 2018 she graduated from Suleiman Demirel University with a degree in two foreign languages. After working as an English teacher for 4 years and another year as a human resources employee, since 2020 she has been studying at La Sapienza University, Master in European Studies. She is fluent in Kazakh, Russian, English and Turkish, and has a basic level of Italian and Chinese. She was a volunteer at Expo 2017 and has taken part in Erasmus programmes for young people to discuss contemporary social issues. She is currently a volunteer at Istituto Tevere.
Intervention title: How can deliberative practices shape student involvement in Italian democratic life?

Margareta Beltran Miranda is a master's degree holder in Sociology with a keen focus on urbanism and the promotion of citizen engagement within democratic processes. She is currently volunteering at the Association Prizma, where she actively contributes to various projects aimed at working with young individuals, empowering them to become active and engaged citizens.

Mira Treursić holds a master's degree in preschool education. Since December 2021 she has been actively working as a Registered Behavior Technician (BACB). Furthermore, she has been an integral part of the Youth Association Ahimsa, serving as its chairman and actively participating in the organisation’s activities since 2016. In her role as coordinator of volunteer engagements, which she has held since 2018, she plays a pivotal role in managing and facilitating volunteer activities.
Intervention title: The use of the Youth Center in Zadar: Preliminary results from the Citizens’ Jury with young people

Gabriela Vlatka Brčinović is a student of applied arts at ŠPUD Zadar and an active member of the Association Prizma where she volunteers in the year-round concert program Urbofon Live. She was a member of the Citizens' Jury discussing the topic "Role and contribution of youth in the development and implementation of youth programs in Youth Center Zadar." She is always ready to volunteer and participate in discussions.
Intervention title: The use of the Youth Center in Zadar: Preliminary results from the Citizens’ Jury with young people

Alexandre Thiry serves as the Communication and Eu Project Manager at Fedactio in Brussels and is a dedicated human rights activist. Over the course of nearly a decade, he has been passionately involved in projects that focus on human rights, active citizenship, and the promotion of interfaith and intercultural dialogue. Alexandre's educational background includes studies in Librarian-Documentalist and Contemporary Islamic studies, and he has a history as a youth worker. Beyond his professional and academic pursuits, he maintains a deep interest in critical topics such as freedom of the press, critical thinking, and the pursuit of sustainable peace.
Intervention title: A preliminary perspective from the organisers: Youth Assemblies in Antwerp and Brussels

Zeynep is a passionate political science student at UCLouvain Saint Louis University. She is dedicated to promoting positive change and is an active member of the Youth Advocacy Team for the Citizen Z project.
Intervention title: A Testimony from the Youth Assembly on Social Justice in Brussels

Zeynep is a passionate political science student at UCLouvain Saint Louis University. She is dedicated to promoting positive change and is an active member of the Youth Advocacy Team for the Citizen Z project.

Marian-Raducu Toderita holds a Master's degree in British Cultural Studies and specialises in exploring the dynamic intersection of youth culture, language, and political media discourse. He is currently working as a Trainee within the Directorate General for Logistics and Interpretation for Conferences at the European Parliament, where he supports ongoing projects inter alia and assists with the design and the organisation of various training initiatives. His expertise extends to the realms of youth cultural and political engagement, the sociolinguistics of identity construction and the nuanced portrayal of gender and queer politics in various contexts.

Intervention Topic: Are young people really losing interest in civic and democratic life?

Oskar Seuntjens (25) is the president of Jonsocialisten, the youth wing of the socialist party in Flanders. He graduated as an engineer and is currently working at the University of Antwerp where he is doing a PhD in sustainable buildings.

Intervention topic: Why is it important for young people to get involved in politics?

Kate Lancaster participated in the 2022 cohort of CEPS Young Thinkers, with a particular focus on digital policy issues. She is an alumnus of Trinity College Dublin and KU Leuven and is currently a Project Manager in Policy at CEN and CENELEC.

Intervention Topic: Green, Digital and Democracy: Ensuring youth participation in the twin transition

Julien Heylen is a Programme Assistant for the Global Europe and Digital programmes at Friends of Europe. He recently graduated from the College of Europe as an MA in EU International Relations and Diplomacy Studies, where he was Co-President and Co-Founder of the EU-Africa Society ‘Ubuntu’. Julien wrote his master’s thesis on EU democracy promotion in Rwanda and Burundi, during which his opinion piece on deliberative democracy in Rwanda was published in La Libre Afrique. He also holds a BSc in Sociology, as well as an MSc in Comparative and International Politics from KU Leuven.

Intervention topic: Engaging youth through deliberative practices – Lessons from African deliberative democracy for the EU

Olivia Gheyselinck holds a Bachelor's degree in Sociology from KU Leuven, Belgium, and a Master's degree in Comparative and International Politics with magna cum laude honours from the same institution. Her academic background has given her a strong foundation in the social sciences, which she applies in her role as EU Event and Project Manager at IDP. Olivia's areas of interest are social policies, sustainability, and social and political trust.

Sana Sadat is a 23-year-old medical student. She was born in Iran, but has lived in Belgium for her entire life. That gives her an Eastern cultural background with a Western mentality.She is a mental health activist and sits on the Flemish Youth Council where she represents the voices of young people around the topic of mental well-being. She has spoken at the congress of child and adolescent psychiatry, brings her story to schools, created an exhibition of self-portraits, debated with politicians, guides focus groups and took the lead at her Majesty's first symposium on mental health.She turns her vulnerability into her strength to inspire young people and care workers alike.

Sebastian Berchesan is the Executive Secretary of Stand Up for Europe, a Brussels-based NGO aiming to bridge the gap between citizens and EU institutions. Previously, he was active in the youth sector in Romania on behalf of the Youth Council and he was a member of the Students' Council. Besides his current work in the field of youth engagement and participation, his area of expertise is International Relations and Eastern European Politics.

Intervention topic: A civil society perspective on youth engagement

Damian Boeselager is a German business consultant, journalist and Volt Europa politician who has sat in the European Parliament since being elected in 2019. In parliament, Boeselager has been serving as a member of the Committee on Constitutional Affairs. He studied Philosophy and Economics at the University of Bayreuth and Public Administration at the Hertie School of Governance in Berlin. He fights for progressive, pragmatic, and pan-European politics.

Intervention topic: Parliamentarism, European citizenship and Democracy: The issue of under-representation of young people in the EP.