European YL Forum

At a time when Europe has to redefine its role in a world facing enormous challenges, personal contacts between people from all across Europe are becoming more and more important. Therefore, the BMW Foundation has established the European Young Leaders Forum to reach out to young leaders from all over Europe. This Forum follows in the tradition of the Foundation’s other Young Leaders Forums – the Russian-German, the Indo-German, the Europe Asia and the Transatlantic Young Leaders Forums –, which the BMW Foundation has been conducting for more than twelve years.

The European Young Leaders Forum is designed to annually bring together some forty young European professionals from politics, business, academia, the third sector and the media for a dialogue on fundamental issues. The Forum aims to promote intercultural understanding, build further European networks and encourage the involvement of both citizens and companies in societies’ challenges.

The Forum is addressed to young leaders, usually between the age of 30 and 40, who already hold positions of leadership and who – to quote the mission statement of the BMW Stiftung Herbert Quandt – “in their professional and personal lives, take into consideration the greater common good.”

3rd European Young Leaders Forum

June 24-27, 2010, Istanbul

“Social Cohesion in Complex Environments – The Example of Turkey”

The third European Young Leaders Forum brought together European leaders from all sectors of society to discuss the topic of Social Cohesion in Complex Environments - The Example of Turkey in Istanbul. The Forum started off dealing with Turkey's contemporary and seemingly contradictory socio-political and foreign policy developments and the country's current status on its road to EU membership. ... more

2nd European Young Leaders Forum

June 4-7, 2009, Lisbon

"Social Cohesion Beyond the Nation-State: Our Answers for a Secure and Globally Responsible Europe

The 2nd European Young Leaders Forum focused on international or global aspects of social cohesion, raising questions about solidarity, responsibility and the interdependence of states and regions. Address-ing topics such as European immigration and border policies, climate change and energy policy as well as international trade and financial policies in the wake of the financial crisis, the Forum examined these issues from the perspective of how ... more