By Dr. Mischa Thompson,
Policy Advisor

“If we cannot be entrusted as leaders to do the small things, why should the public trust us to do the big ones, including governing international relations?”

–Svante Myrick
Mayor of Ithaca, New York
TILN 2016

From March 20-26, 2017, the U.S. Helsinki Commission, in partnership with the German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMF), the U.S. State Department, and other stakeholders, hosted the sixth annual Transatlantic Inclusion Leaders Network (TILN) workshop in Brussels, Belgium.

Twenty-five young leaders representing more than fourteen European countries and the United States came together to learn from one another, expand their leadership skills, and offer a more inclusive vision for the world.

As participants in the Brussels Forum Young Professionals Summit, TILN participants engaged with senior U.S. and European public and private sector leaders on the most pressing issues impacting the transatlantic relationship today, ranging from U.S. elections and the international workforce to Russia and counterterrorism.

Several TILN participants also visited a high school in Brussels, exploring opportunities for international exchange and collaboration between administrators, educators, and students related to the educational needs of increasingly diverse student bodies and the future workforce on both sides of the Atlantic.

Ithaca Mayor Svante Myrick closed Brussels Forum with powerful cautionary comments to all leaders.

“While here in Brussels thinking about global problems, I received an email from a constituent who has been annoyed by an abandoned couch for days. It might seem like a small issue, but I’m going to make sure I move that couch,” he stated.  “I had to move it because, if we cannot be entrusted as leaders to do the small things, why should the public trust us to do the big ones, including governing international relations?”

Sharing the vision for a more inclusive world, in the week following the workshop, TILN alumni from previous years led GMF-funded alumni leadership action projects in the Netherlands, Finland, Italy, and during the European Union’s Roma Week.  For more information on this year’s Brussels workshop, please see the Transatlantic Inclusion Leaders Network 2017 Workshop Report.

The Transatlantic Inclusion Leaders Network (TILN) “inspires, informs, and connects diverse young leaders to excel in elected office and other leadership roles, advance inclusive policies, and engage with senior transatlantic policymakers.” Participants are from diverse U.S. and European communities, including the Balkans, with a proven commitment to advancing diversity and inclusion best practices in their policymaking and society.

For more information on TILN, please see the Transatlantic Inclusion Leaders Network 2017 Workshop Report.

TILN 2016 Participants

Umut Aydin | France | Analyst, Meridiam

Delio Diaz Garcia | Spain | Secretary General, Juventudes de Unidad Progresista

Nebojša Dobrijević | Croatia | Independent Advisor, Joint Council of Municipalities

Judith Garcia | United States | City Councillor, Chelsea, Massachusetts

Diana Horvat | Serbia | Editor, Radio Televison of Vojvodina

Maryam Jamshid | Belgium | Social Council Elected Member, City of Hasselt, Flanders

Paulette Jordan | United States | State Representative, Idaho

Natascha Kabir | Germany | Green Party Faction Leader, City Parliament of Offenbach

Aroosa Khan | Netherlands | Board Member, PvdA Party, Amsterdam-East

Edin Koljenović | Montenegro | Program Coordinator, Civic Alliance

Oleksii Krasnoshchokov | Ukraine | Board President, Pidmoga.info

Hayatte Maazouza | France | Municipal Council Member, Trappes

Sammy Mahdi | Belgium | President, Work Group on Diversity, Youth, CD&V Party

Martin Mata | Czech Republic | City Council Member, Usti nad Labem

Svante L. Myrick | United States | Mayor, City of Ithaca, New York

Frances O’Donovan | Denmark | City Council Member, Fredericia

Anna Poisner | Ukraine | Counsel, Dragon Capital

Aida Salketić | Bosnia and Herzegovina | Cultural Heritage Professional

Athena Salman | United States | State Representative, Arizona

Brandon Scott | United States | City Council Member, Baltimore, Maryland

Karen Taylor | Germany | Advisor to of Member of Parliament Dr. Karamba Diaby

David Walsh | United Kingdom | International Relations Officer, Board of Deputies of British Jews

John Vargas | United States | Secretary, NALEO

Alex Yip | United Kingdom | City Councillor for Sutton New Hall, Birmingham City