European Young Innovators Forum

Info

THINK | DO | CHANGE
EYIF gives voice to a community of young innovators and experts who believe in taking risk, sharing ideas and professional mentorship.

Geschiedenis

The European Young Innovators Forum, EYIF, launched at a joint European Parliament, European Commission and Council of Europe event in 2010 by Neelie Kroes, Vincent Van Quickenborne and Herbert Reul, is an independent, non-profit, pan-European, bottom-up association, changing the mindset for innovation in Europe by encouraging Young Europeans to take more risks for innovation and entrepreneurship and equally, encouraging governments, businesses, society and individuals to support and reward such risk-taking.

EYIF's mission is to empower young innovators to play a transformative role in Europe's future, by fostering the spirit of innovation among European youth, and support them in developing their innovative ideas.

EYIF has rapidly become the leading foundation for youth innovation in Europe, giving voice to a community of young innovators and experts who believe in taking risks, changing mindsets for innovation and the value of shared ideas
and professional mentorship.

EYIF has already built and is now expanding an international network of organisations (NGOs, foundations, companies, associations, universities, research centers, incubators, and informal groups), which actively support innovation, entrepreneurship and/or youth issues at national, regional and local levels. The EYIF ecosystem equally includes opinion makers, policy makers, business leaders and political decision makers, and is the natural next step to years of ad hoc collaboration amongst young innovators, experts, industry and government across the EU.

Headquartered in Brussels, EYIF consults and cooperates regularly with the European Parliament, European Commission, United States State Department, World Economic Forum, European Investment Fund, and other institutions like the OECD. EYIF is part of a high-level expert stakeholder groups created by the European Commission, on Web Entrepreneurship, Digital Entrepreneurship and Horizon2020 policy for Europe.

EYIF’s Board of Advisers encompasses Fortune 100 and 500 companies and other corporations that are global leaders of innovation, the Head of Venture Capital of the European Investment Bank’s risk funding body, partners of major venture capital firms, and leading Members of the European Parliament active in innovation policy including notably, its Vice-President, Alexander Alvaro.