meet the team
The Board defines the overall strategy of the European Youth Forum. Board Members are democratically elected every 2 years at our General Assembly.
The Secretariat is the permanent structure of the Youth Forum. It is made up of employees under the supervision of the Secretary-General.
For speaking invitations, please email invitations@youthforum.org
For media requests, please contact marialena.yannoulatou@youthforum.org
Board
Caillum Hedderman
Caillum serves as President of the European Youth Forum. From a community hall in rural Limerick to the negotiating tables of the EU and UN, his journey began the day he joined his local scout group aged eight. Since then, he has led and represented movements for young people at local, national and international levels. He previously served as a Board Member - leading efforts on funding for youth civil society, striving for greater recognition of non-formal education and pushing for greater climate action. Caillum believes youth rights are fundamental to strong democracies, shaped by youth organisations led by young people.
Chloë Cauchi
Chloë (she/her) is an intersectional human rights and climate activist and a public speaking trainer. Starting her activism journey at the age of 9 by forming part of her primary student’s council in Gozo, she found her passion in serving the human family, which led her to engage in various local, national and international organisations and platforms. For the past two years, she served as a Board Member after spending four years on the Board of the National Youth Council of Malta, followed by her mandate as Malta’s United Nations Youth Delegate. Chloë is a warranted lawyer. She holds a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) with Honours, a Master of Advocacy (M.Adv.) from the University of Malta and is currently reading for a Master of Laws (LL.M.) in international law.
Agata Berenika Cybulska
Agata (she/her) is a girl scout and youth advocate from Poland, active for almost 10 years. Passionate about health, gender equality and sustainability. Currently pursuing a medical degree at the Medical University of Gdańsk, with professional background in public relations and crisis management. Her year of studying abroad has sparked an interest in policy work, and resulted in representing the World Association of Girl Guides and Girls Scouts Europe Region within YFJ for the past 3 years. She is focused on mental and physical health of the youth in Europe, gender equality, and fostering a strong European Youth Forum.
Aisling Maloney
Aisling (she/her) is a youth advocate from Ireland who has represented young people at local, national and international levels on sustainable development, civic engagement, meaningful participation and access-to-education. From her local scout hall to the EU and UN, she has championed the importance of connecting grassroots experiences with global actions. Passionate about building bridges across communities and generations, she believes in the power of young people to drive positive change and foster more inclusive, democratic and sustainable societies. She holds a law degree from University College Dublin and will soon begin her LLM at the London School of Economics and Political Science.
Daria Burii
Daria (she/her) is a youth advocate from Mykolaiv, Ukraine. Shaped by the experience of living and working in a country resisting full-scale war, her work connects grassroots youth initiatives, national representation and European advocacy. She focuses on democratic resilience, meaningful participation and youth-led recovery. She is particularly committed to strengthening the voice of young people from EU candidate countries and non-EU contexts as equal partners in shaping Europe’s future. Daria holds a Bachelor’s degree in International Relations and is currently pursuing a Master’s degree at Lviv Polytechnic National University.
David Ruíz Sánchez
David (he/him) is a dedicated youth advocate, activist and trainer from Barcelona, Catalonia. He has been actively involved in youth organisations at local, national and international levels for over a decade, volunteering and working on language and minority rights, as well as intercultural understanding, education and inclusion with the World Esperanto Youth Organisation. Motivated by a strong passion for linguistics and a deep interest in understanding Europe’s history and cultural diversity, David holds a Bachelor’s degree in Ancient Studies from the Autonomous University of Barcelona.
Maria Markkula
Maria (she/her) is a passionate youth advocate from Tampere, Finland with 13 years of experience from fighting for youth rights all the way from local grassroots levels to international arenas. Starting her journey at just 9 years old from student councils, local children’s parliaments and local and regional youth councils, she is shaped and driven by a motivation to build better lives for future generations and fight for youth participation and democracy. She has represented and advocated for Finnish youth both nationally in the Union of the Local Youth Councils is in Finland and internationally in the Finnish National Youth Council and Youth Sector (FYCS, former Allianssi) and as a Finnish Youth Delegate in the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe. She is currently pursuing studies in Political science and International relations in the University of Turku.
Marin Capan
Marin (he/him) is a youth advocate from Croatia who has been actively involved in youth organisations for more than a decade. He began in high school student councils, continued through student unions, and went on to serve on the Managing Board of the Croatian Youth Network. At the European level, he has contributed to the EU Youth Stakeholder Group, the EU Youth Dialogue, and the Youth Test Group of the European Economic and Social Committee, promoting youth participation and independent youth representation. He is currently pursuing a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science at the University of Zagreb.
Mark Healy
Mark is a youth worker and advocate from Cork, Ireland. He began his journey in youth organisations through YMCA and his local youth council as a teenager and has since spent over a decade working across local, national, and European movements. This experience in the youth sector shaped his commitment to strengthening democracy through meaningful youth participation. His work focuses on developing participation opportunities that connect young people with decision-makers and inform policy, including digital rights, sustainable development, ocean protection, and civic engagement. Mark holds a Bachelor's degree in Data Science & Analytics from University College Cork.
Operations and Strategy Department
Policy and Advocacy Department
Communications and Outreach
