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Youth

“Great leaders don’t set out to be a leader… They set out to make a difference. It’s never about the role – always about the goal.”

Aspect-based

About engaging young volunteers

The EHC is committed to providing its NMOs with tools, training and support in order to advocate effectively for over 120,000 people in Europe living with a bleeding disorder. An important part of that commitment is to ensure that our community is prepared, educated and empowered now and in the future to work on behalf of the best interests of the patients the EHC represents. This is also why the EHC has built a comprehensive youth leadership strategy to ensure community leadership now and into the future. 

We have witnessed the strength and power of the energy, enthusiasm and engagement from our youth community in Europe. Our goal has always been to get our trainees to work, to keep them motivated, engaged and feeling part of the community. 

The Youth Strategy aims to equip the participants with various tools and strategies to be more actively involved in their NMOs and sees our volunteers participate in specific training and workshops designed for our youth – namely the Youth Leadership Workshop taking place in Brussels every year. The Strategy also embeds youth participation in our broader EHC events and trainings each year.

Youth Committee Members

Swiss NMO

Enea Atroce

Committee Member

Italian NMO

Lorenzo Ghirardi

Committee Member

Hungarian NMO

Zsófia Keszthelyi

Committee Member

Serbian NMO

Aleksandra Ilijin

Youth Advisor

UK NMO

William McKeown

EHC Steering Committee Liaison Member

EHC Youth Fellowship Programme

Project development

The EHC works hard to invest in patient advocacy and developing leadership skills for the future. This is why we have built a comprehensive youth leadership strategy that annually takes young leaders on a journey from the EHC Youth Leadership Workshop in April, to the EHC Leadership Conference in June and culminates in the EHC Conference in October, where several of our young patient leaders take the stage to debate key topics relevant to our community. 

The Youth Fellowship Programme (YFP) is part of the EHC youth-oriented strategy to keep youth members engaged with each other across borders. Youth participants are meant to put theoretical knowledge to practical use. The goal is to focus the energy of the EHC youth on win-win goals by conducting their own project so they can:

  • Maintain and grow their active engagement with each other and with our community across borders,
  • Focus their cross-border attention and efforts towards a concrete shared goal,
  • Develop their own area of work.

How does the YFP Project development work?

  • The YFP project teams should be comprised of 2-4 EHC Alumni aged 25-35 years from at least 2 different countries,
  • The YFP project teams will implement their own projects over a period up to 2 years.
  • The YFP project teams are guided and supervised by the EHC via briefing and touch-base meetings, and control of funds.
  • The YFP project teams Project develop their own implementation plans, budgets, roles and responsibilities.
  • Once a YFP project is completed, the YFP team will share their experiences and best practices with others.
  • YFP team members’ time is voluntary, but all other costs are covered by the EHC.

YFP Projects should be:

  • Cross-national in scope,
  • Concrete outcome-based,
  • Of benefit to more than one EHC NMO,
  • Not overlapping with existing work carried out by EHC NMOs.

For information about the application process please contact Stefan Radovanović, EHC Patient Engament and Community Lead, at [email protected].

Internship

The most recent novelty of the YFP is the introduction of a paid internship for community members. This six-month, Brussels-based, opportunity offers the selected candidate hands-on experience by supporting the dedicated team of staff in the coordination and implementation of projects aimed at improving the quality of life for individuals with rare bleeding disorders.

Download the Project development application form

Upcoming Events

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Workshops


10 – 12 Apr 2026

Youth Leadership Workshop 2026