Young
Leaders

At the NATO 2030 Youth Summit, 14 young professionals from across the Alliance were named as NATO 2030 Young Leaders. These emerging leaders have provided NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg with input to inform his recommendations for NATO 2030.

YOUNG GROUP REPORT TO THE NATO SECRETARY GENERAL

On 4 February 2021, the NATO 2030 Young Leaders submitted a report to NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on how to make NATO an even stronger Alliance.

The group's report is one of a number of inputs into the Secretary General's NATO 2030 initiative. The Secretary General consulted with Allied parliamentarians, civil society, the private sector and youth. Based on all of these inputs, the Secretary General put forward his recommendations to NATO Leaders when they met at the 2021 NATO Summit in Brussels and agreed the NATO 2030 agenda.

Download the report

Meet the
young leaders

The NATO 2030 Young Leaders are a group of early career professionals aged 25-35 from across the Alliance. The diverse group includes journalists, diplomats, engineers, elected officials, and CEOs.

ALICE BILLON-GALLAND

RESEARCH ASSOCIATE, CHATHAM HOUSE, LONDON

Alice Billon-Galland is a researcher who focuses on issues linked to European security, including transatlantic relations, the European Union, NATO and post-Brexit security cooperation. She was nominated as a NATO 2030 Young Leader by the European Leadership Network.

DON CEDER

FOUNDER, CEDER ADVOCATUUR, AMSTERDAM

Don Ceder is a lawyer and city councillor in Amsterdam. A major focus of his work has been debt prevention, including by representing clients who deal with the legal effects of debts. He was nominated as a NATO 2030 Young Leader by the German Marshall Fund of the United States.

MARTIN DIMITROV

FREELANCE JOURNALIST, SOFIA

Martin Dimitrov is a Bulgarian journalist and media freedom activist. He has worked as a correspondent for various outlets and currently edits the English-language Kapital Quarterly. He was nominated as a NATO 2030 Young Leader by the Aspen Institute Romania.

KEVIN VUONG

VICE PRESIDENT & COO, DELPHIC RESEARCH GROUP, TORONTO

Kevin Vuong helps lead a knowledge management firm focused on bringing big data to political intelligence. He is also a university lecturer and Naval Reserve Officer. He was nominated as a NATO 2030 Young Leader by the Warsaw Security Forum.

ULRIK TROLLE SMED

SENIOR TECH ADVISOR, DANISH MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS, COPENHAGEN

Ulrik Trolle Smed is helping develop a new strategy for Danish technological diplomacy. He previously worked at the European Commission on strategic digital affairs and security. He was nominated as a NATO 2030 Young Leader by the Atlantic Council.

MĀRA ŠTEINBERGA

DIPLOMAT, LATVIAN MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS, BRUSSELS

Māra Šteinberga serves in Latvia’s Permanent Representation to the EU. She deals with a wide range of issues including climate change, digitalisation, and the response to COVID-19. She was nominated as a NATO 2030 Young Leader by ZEIT-Stiftung Ebelin und Gerd Bucerius.

ANDREA G. RODRÍGUEZ

RESEARCH FELLOW, BARCELONA CENTRE FOR INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS, BARCELONA

Andrea G. Rodríguez is an expert in emerging technologies. She specialises in the strategic consequences of quantum information science and artificial intelligence. She was nominated as a NATO 2030 Young Leader by the European Cybersecurity Forum (CYBERSEC).

CLAUDIA MANEGGIA

SECURITY STRATEGY AND GOVERNANCE SPECIALIST, UNICREDIT, MILAN

Claudia Maneggia is a security and government affairs specialist at UniCredit, a primary international financial institution. She previously worked in consulting and policy. She was nominated as a NATO 2030 Young Leader by the Warsaw Security Forum.

JAN LUKAČEVIČ

RESEARCH ASSISTANT, CZECH ACADEMY OF SCIENCES, PRAGUE

Jan Lukačevič is a space engineer who has worked on projects for the European Space Agency (ESA), including an experiment for the ESA’s ExoMars 2022 mission. . He was nominated as a NATO 2030 Young Leader by the Aspen Institute Europe.

TANIA LATICI

POLICY ANALYST, EUROPEAN PARLIAMENTARY RESEARCH SERVICE, BRUSSELS

Tania Latici supports Members of the European Parliament with briefings and analyses on issues including EU defence initiatives, EU-NATO cooperation and civil-military relations. She was nominated as a NATO 2030 Young Leader by the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA).

KATARINA KERTYSOVA

POLICY FELLOW, EUROPEAN LEADERSHIP NETWORK, LONDON

Katarina Kertysova is a policy analyst whose research focuses on conventional arms control, Russia-West relations, Arctic security and the climate-security nexus. She was nominated as a NATO 2030 Young Leader by the GLOBSEC.

GYDE JENSEN

MEMBER OF THE GERMAN BUNDESTAG, BERLIN

Gyde Jensen was elected to the German Bundestag as the youngest female member in 2017. She is the chairwoman of the Committee on Human Rights and Humanitarian Aid. She was nominated as a NATO 2030 Young Leader by the Munich Security Conference and Körber Stiftung.

ANNE-MARIE IMAFIDON

FOUNDER & CEO, STEMETTES, LONDON

Anne-Marie Imafidon leads Stemettes, a social enterprise promoting women in STEM careers. She was the youngest ever master’s graduate from the University of Oxford at the age of 20. She was nominated as a NATO 2030 Young Leader by the European Young Leaders (EYL40) programme.

CORI FLESER

NATIONAL SECURITY POLICY ANALYST, BOOZ ALLEN HAMILTON, WASHINGTON D.C.

Cori Fleser supports the US Joint Chiefs of Staff by providing subject matter expertise on the Women, Peace, and Security Act within military strategy, plans and policy. She was nominated as a NATO 2030 Young Leader by the German Marshall Fund of the United States.

Young people have the greatest stake in our future.

NATO 2030 Youth summit:
Reaching out to young leaders

On 9 November 2020, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg hosted NATO's first-ever Youth Summit, to bring young voices into the NATO 2030 initiative. “I am holding this Youth Summit NATO 2030 today because NATO 2030 is about your future, your freedom and your Alliance,” he emphasised. “Tomorrow’s leaders, both in North America and Europe, have the greatest stake in our security. So NATO 2030 is the chance for you to step up.”

Organised in cooperation with the Munich Security Conference, the Youth Summit brought together 18- to 35-year-old citizens from NATO member states and partner countries for an online conversation with the Secretary General and Allied Leaders. A series of interactive debates focused on keeping NATO strong militarily, making it stronger politically and taking a more global approach.


Youth video contest

During the Youth Summit, the Secretary General presented the four winning entries of a video contest organised ahead of the event. The video contest invited young people to share their thoughts about security now and in 2030. Out of 52 entries, two winners were selected for each of the two categories:

  • What will be the most significant threats to peace and security in 2030, and how will NATO need to adapt to counter them?

  • How can NATO help to keep me and my family safe, now and in 2030?

The Secretary General welcomed the "many very impressive and thought-provoking entries about the future of our security."

Watch the videos