Meet the pool of European young journalists

Get to know the project and the authors behind the content

The European Commission and Eurodesk aim to engage young people in the content creation of the European Youth Portal.

After the success story of the 2022 edition, which started in the frame of the European Year of Youth 2022, a new pool of European young journalists has been set up for the year 2023, aiming at giving young people a voice as storytellers.
 
13 young journalists have been selected from across Europe via an open call and are responsible for writing articles, creating videos, podcasts and photojournalism on themes of interest to young people.

They choose the topics themselves and develop the content alone or as part of a team. The European Commission does not influence their position which is the responsibility of the respective authors. 

The pool is also given the opportunity to cover main European events happening during the year and report back from the ground, and receives regular training with experts in the field of journalism.

Curious about who is behind the content? Have a look at their bios below. 

Still wondering who was part of the previous pool (edition 2022)? You can find more information about them here.

 

Alberto Carmena Garcia (19)

I am from Spain, and I study Journalism and International Relations. I have always been interested in knowing in depth about the current affairs that surround our society. Over the last year, I have published several articles in newspapers in my country, I have interviewed prominent Spanish personalities, and I have hosted a programme on my university’s radio. I speak fluent English, French and Spanish. In my spare time, I enjoy finding out about new issues in geopolitics. When I finish my degree, I would like to specialise in European Union politics. That is my paramount goal in the future: to tell Europeans why they should be proud to be Europeans.     

 

 

Amelia-Denisa Zăbavă (25)

My name is Amelia and I’m originally from Romania, though I have been living in Belgium for the past couple of years. I discovered the world of documentary filmmaking in high school and since then, I’ve been exploring new ways and formats to tell stories. As an aspiring journalist, I’m mainly interested in topics related to education, youth engagement, media literacy, arts and culture. In my free time, you can find me at the seaside, strolling around the city taking pictures or at the cinema.

 

Caillum Hedderman (20)

I’m a twenty-year-old from Limerick in Ireland. With a taste for travel and positive impact, I work and volunteer within the policy sphere where I advise and lobby platforms and institutions on a local, national and international level. At seventeen years old, I was successfully elected to my local authority as the youngest representative where I advise on climate, environment and biodiversity strategic policy. At eighteen years old, I launched into the media sphere stemming from a frustration at the lack of educational reform. Since then, I have become a regular contributor to local and national media in Ireland on issues relating to youth and our environment alongside being a policy advocate to local authorities, national bodies and international organisations and institutions. Additionally, I am currently undertaking studies in the field of Political Science, International Relations, Sociology and Law at University College Dublin. In the role of a Young Journalist at the European Commission, I hope to bridge the gap between high-level political processes and young people facing the challenges of such decision-making processes.

 

Daria Yune Elizarrarás Veenstra (23)

My name is Daria Yune and I grew up in a world of contrast. Quite literally. I was born in Mexico City and in 2019 I moved to the Netherlands to study LAS. Raised between two opposite cultures I always felt different per default, no matter the context. Though with time I have also come to appreciate living in the 'inbetween'. The experiences and people in my life have taught me how to constantly find different perspectives in what I do. I have developed a passion for languages and for finding the extraordinary in the ordinary. On my spare days you can find me writing slam poetry or organising a climate protest. 

 

Giorgia Verna (24)

Hi there, my name is Giorgia Verna, I am 24 years old and I am an Italian journalist. I was born in Naples, but I currently live and study in Rome. I have a degree in Political Science and I obtained a double master's degree with honours, in English, in International Relations in Rome and in Belgium. I have been working in journalism since 2019. In addition, I have had the opportunity to collaborate with the editorial offices of the newspapers "Il Mattino", "Il Roma" and "L'altra voce dell'Italia". My biggest passion is theatre and the artistic field in general. This is why I am very keen on writing about it. I am also very interested in the field of social communication: I love making reels and TikTok on journalistic issues. I have a podcast on Spotify called “In Da House”.

 

 

Iris Tréhin (27)

Currently working as a freelance journalist for TV in France. I am very versatile: I can write, film, take pictures, edit (both video and sound) and voice-over. Social and cultural subjects are my favourites: feminism, societal issues, documentaries, TV series... I am an adventurous person. I travel as much as possible, always trying to think out of the box and step outside my comfort zone. In two years, I have planned to drive around the world and produce video portraits of inspiring people.

 

Katariina Järve (21)

I’m Katariina, 21 years old journalism student from the University of Tartu in Estonia. I have already tried out television, radio, newspaper and even sports journalism. For as long as I can remember I have always been volunteering for youth rights. Even right now I am working on defending the rights of the students on Estonian and European levels. I am curious about many things but I am most passionate about education, sports, travelling, politics and human rights.

 

Maro Samara (25)

I am Maro from Greece. I am an incubating physicist and parallelly work in the digital education domain for vulnerable groups and migration. I gained journalistic experience from writing in online student newspapers and pop-culture magazines. I love channelling ideas in several ways and cooperating in multicultural environments to make a sustainable global impact. Reading, debating, arts, languages, volunteering, and sports are places I find comfort and growth at the same time.

 

Melike Pala (23)

I am a 23-year-old Journalism graduate from Turkey, currently living in Patras, Greece. Participating in international projects since 18 made me explore the world. I have an experience in online journalism and news writing, thanks to having worked at the faculty newspaper as a reporter for over three years and being in the 2021 UNESCO Youth Newsroom. My internship at Turkey's largest fact-checking organisation helped me gain a wider knowledge of fact-checking methods and media literacy. Politics, social movements, and human rights are my main areas of interest in journalism. My plans for the near future are to do a master's degree in Middle Eastern Studies and do my profession by focusing on this region. 

 

Miriam Rubio Ramírez (27)

I am a young Spanish journalist and internationalist interested in human rights, gender, childhood, and social communication. I have experience in advocating the rights of women and girls with disabilities from an intersectional point of view, and thanks to my volunteering in Romania with the European Solidarity Corps, I have developed new skills related to youth participation. Moreover, I have had the opportunity to work and learn at the UN with the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women in 2019 and 2022.

 

Rute Carlos Matos Cardoso (23)

I’m a Portuguese young journalist and curious is my middle name. I’ve worked with all media formats (TV, radio, printed and online), covered almost every topic possible and moved to three different countries, so far. After writing for a youth magazine and founding a podcast, in North Macedonia, I took charge of a youth TV, in Denmark. Right now, I’m starting a freelancing career and I’m excited to continue to give voice to young Europeans through the European Youth Portal.

 

Tea Mihanović (24)

I am a Croatian journalist with a Masters's degree in Political Science. Some of the experiences that shaped my career path have surely been the Robert Schuman traineeship in the media relations of the European Parliament, the Erasmus+ semester in Florence, Project Management in a Brussels-based NGO, and work in various media outlets. Lastly, receiving the Megalizzi-Niedzielski Prize from the European Commission remains the biggest incentive for me to contribute to quality journalism in the EU.

 

Yiannos Christoforou (27)

Hi, I’m Yiannos and I’m from Cyprus. Currently, I’m a communication trainee at the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drugs Addiction.
As someone who loves marketing, I enjoy dealing with data. In my opinion, writing is the form of an act that demonstrates your ability to illustrate data and create meaningful stories. This is what data journalism does, and that’s why it is one of my favourite forms of journalism. I am here to climb out of my comfort zone and enrich my content creation skills.