European Leadership Academy • Speakers

High-Level Speakers

The women selected by the Jury to be the recipients of one of the 20 full scholarships available to participate in the programme are part of a unique learning experience. Experts in rural development, entrepreneurship, new technologies and public policy offer them a first-class educational experience, addressing everything from AI to business growth. Students learn about gender equality, sustainability and rural economics, and explore how they can be agents for change in their region.

The sessions take many different formats to ensure that the programme is stimulating and lively. Participants interact with expert speakers, make a difference in workshops, exchange views with mentors and work on projects with their peers.

The speakers of The 2024 Women’s Academy for Rural Innovation are listed below.

You can view the speakers of the inaugural edition of The Women's Academy for Rural Innovation here.
To view the speakers that have taken part in the Schools for Female Leadership please see here 2022 Winter School, 2021 Summer School, 2022 Summer School, 2023 Summer School and 2024 Summer School.

Ana Barjasic

Board Member, European Innovation Council (EIC); Founder & CEO, Connectology

Paloma Aba Garrote

Director, European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA)

Edin Forto

Minister of Communications and Transport of Bosnia and Herzegovina

Mary Coughlan

Former Deputy Prime Minister of Ireland

Karlo Ressler

Member of the European Parliament

Danijela Bistrički Morović

Chief Technology Officer & Board Member, Telemach Hrvatska

Tony Jin Yong

Executive Vice-President of Huawei European Region, President of Public Affairs and Communications Europe

Katarina Roth Neveďalová

Member of the European Parliament

Tugomir Majdak

State Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Croatia

Sonia Leva

Professor of Energy Forecast and Renewable Energy Sources, Politecnico Milano

José Cepeda

Member of the European Parliament

Suzanne Tracy

Board Member, FTTH Council Europe, CTO SIRO

Selina Wen

Chief Representative of Huawei to the European Institutions

Dr. Violeta Bulc

Former EU Commissioner for Transport and former Deputy Prime Minister of Slovenia

Berta Herrero

Head of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Huawei Europe; Director, The European Leadership Academy

Prof. Belma Ramić-Brkić

Dean at Sarajevo School of Science and Technology

Aysel Kandemir

Director General of Communications, Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure

Carina Zehetmaier

President, Women in AI Austria; CEO & Founder, pAIper.one and AILands

Walter Zhang

CEO of of Huawei Croatia & Slovenia

Ana-Maria Matejic

Director, Cybersecurity Services and Operations in Nexova Group Belgium; Member of the Advisory Group at ENISA

Luisa Baldini

Former BBC Royal Correspondent; Co-founder, Composure Media

Chiyo Robertson

Senior Journalist, Media Advisor and Trainer

Laith Altimime

CEO, SEMI Europe

Lorena van de Kolk

Managing Partner at Schuttelaar & Partners | GAIA - founder

Angela Stathi

Deep-Tech Investment Advisor – Expert, European Innovation Council (EIC)

Dr. Hui Cao

Head of Strategy & Policy, Huawei Europe

Martina Francesca Ferracane

Associate Professor, Teesside University & Manager of the Digital Trade Integration Project, European University Institute

Nives Mazur-Kumric

Minister Plenipotentiary at the Permanent Representation of the Republic of Croatia to the European Union

Sara Carrer

Chief Political Officer - World Food Programme (WFP)

Zana Karkin

Founder, Bazerdžan Concept Stores & Tech Innovation

Cristina Almeida

Co-Founder & President, Women4Cyber Portugal; Product Development, Siemens

Michele Pastore

Director – Public Affairs, Huawei Europe

Marta Portales

Head of EU Projects - Mobile World Capital Barcelona

Tamara Tafra

Minister - Counsellor

Nuno Machado Lopes

Leadership Coach, SingularityU Faculty

Aikaterini Liakopoulou

Deeptech Advisor

Zorana Barišić

Horizon Europe National NCP Coordinator, Ministry of Science, Education and Sports, Government of Croatia

Saša Štraus

Food Systems Expert, ITC & Digital Innovation Hub AGRIFOOD

Nataša Bokan

Associate Professor at University of Zagreb, Faculty of Agriculture

Ena Kosanovic

IT Girls - UNDP

Momtchil Monov

Senior Manager Huawei EU Public Affairs & Communication Department

Tanja Milović

Head of Department for Support of Innovation and Creative Activities, State Intellectual Property Office of Croatia

Cristina Pogorevici

Founder and President, FeminEast

Ivana Majić

Vice-dean for international relations, Full professor at University of Osijek, Faculty of Agrobiotechnical Sciences Osijek, Croatia

Hulya Gunay

Managing Director & Founder, Venus Global Finance

Ana Le Chevillier

Clinical Research Manager - Data and AI | Special interest in cardiovascular disease, women's health and the applications of AI in healthcare

Micky Elanga Yangongo

UNDP Innovation Specialist for Africa

Xiaoou Wang

Public Affairs and Communications Manager of Huawei Croatia

Efthymia Ntivi

Public Affairs and Advocacy Director

Ines Dundović

President, Women’s Committee, Croatian Chamber of Agriculture (HPK); Director, Veggie

Fu Ling

Public Affairs Manager, Huawei Europe

Lavinia Deborah Osbourne

CEO, Women in Blockchain Talks

Marta Bulik

Wellness Coach, Yoga Teacher & Somatic Psychotherapist in specialisation

Francesco Ferlaino

Head of EU Liaison Office - Marche Polytechnic University

Bukky Adebowale

Represented Ireland at the 2022 Summer School for Female Leadership in the Digital Age

Telma Alexandra Ribeiro Moreira

Represented Portugal at the 2022 Women's Academy for Rural Innovation

Mylana Bulat

Represented Ukraine at the 2024 Summer School for Female Leadership in the Digital Age

Alisa Uzarina

Project Manager & In-House Consultant in the Airline Industry | Alumna of the ELA 2021