Young Leaders

What Young Leaders does

Young Leaders GmbH is a Berlin-based, privately held German limited liability company founded around 1980 that organizes non-partisan and non-denominational educational events for civically and socially engaged youth aged 15-21 across Germany and broader Europe. The company runs an eleven-program portfolio including the flagship six-day young leaders Akademie, the recurring jugend presse kongress (now in its 210th edition), the European Youth Debating Competition (EYDC) spanning EU member states and Turkey, the Lateinakademie near Rome, the Philosophieakademie across European cities, plus newer formats (Jugend-ZukunftsForum, In medias res, JugendForum Europa, FreiheitsForum Europa, Workshops, and Recherchereise New York). Core technology is not applicable — the platform is human-delivered convening rather than software — and distribution relies on school/teacher networks, newsletters, and Instagram/Facebook reach.

The business model combines individual participation fees covering travel, accommodation, and excursions with travel subsidies of EUR 60-160 by distance band, alongside institutional sponsorship from European ministries, corporations, business associations, and non-profit foundations. The organization does not disclose revenue, has no funding rounds recorded, and reports no parent company or external institutional investors. Leadership consists of a single managing director, Verena Bauer, M.Sc. (LSE, London), per the company imprint.

Cumulative operating scale is substantial — 45+ years of activity, 2,000+ events, 8,000+ young leaders in the network, and 50,000+ supported participants — but the current annual cadence and revenue base appear modest given the 11-50 employee headcount and capped cohort sizes of 20-100 participants per event. The company differentiates through a curated expert speaker bench (university professors, FAZ/ARD journalists, senior corporate figures) and through the durability of its non-partisan positioning in the European civic-education market.

Name

Young Leaders

Legal name

young leaders GmbH

Website

https://young-leaders.net

Company type

Private

Founded year

1980

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Young Leaders GmbH is a Berlin-based educational events company founded around 1980 that runs non-partisan, non-denominational programs for civically engaged youth aged 15-21 across Germany and Europe, partnering with ministries, corporations, and foundations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Youth Leadership Education

NAICS

Other Similar Organizations (except Business, Professional, Labor, and Political Organizations) (81399)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Leadership, Debate & Model UN Camps (EDAMALAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

Academic & Education Conference Organizers (THAHACAE), Debate Tournament & League Organizers (EDAMAOAE)

Keywords

• Youth leadership education
• Civic engagement programs
• Youth debating competitions
• Journalism training academies
• Educational event organization

Headquarters

HQ city

Berlin

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Event Participation Fees: Participants pay a participation fee that covers travel costs, food and accommodation costs, as well as costs of excursions according to the invitation.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

young leaders GmbH organizes non-partisan, non-denominational in-person educational events for socially and politically active youth aged 15-21 across Germany and Europe. The portfolio spans academies, weekend workshops, debating competitions, journalism and media-training congresses, Latin and philosophy immersion programs, and a journalism research trip to New York. Participants pay a one-time fee per event covering travel, food, accommodation, and excursions, with distance-based travel subsidies available.

Product overview

Young Leaders GmbH operates as a platform of educational programs for young opinion leaders aged 15-21, organizing non-partisan and non-denominational events across Europe. The portfolio comprises eleven distinct programs: the young leaders Akademie (flagship six-day academy), jugend presse kongress (youth press convention), young leaders Workshops (weekend skills programs), Lateinakademie (Latin immersion in Rome), Philosophieakademie (intensive philosophy courses across European cities), In medias res (media quality conference), Jugend-ZukunftsForum (future skills forum), European Youth Debating Competition EYDC (pan-European debating tournaments), Recherchereise New York (journalism competition winners' research trip), JugendForum Europa (European youth forum), and FreiheitsForum Europa (freedom forum). Programs are supported by ministries, corporations, business associations, and non-profit foundations, and share common elements including expert lectures, practical workshops, media skills training, networking opportunities, and overnight accommodation.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• European Youth Debating Competition (EYDC): Europe-wide debating competition for young people on topics such as energy and climate protection, conducted in various EU countries and Turkey according to Anglo-Saxon debating rules.
• Jugend-ZukunftsForum
• In medias res

Products and services

• young leaders Akademie Six-day intensive academy bringing together approximately 100 young opinion leaders aged 15-21 from across Germany for expert exchanges, workshops, soft-skill training, media-skills development with professional journalists, and networking with representatives from business, science, and politics.
• jugend presse kongress
• young leaders Workshops
• Lateinakademie
• Philosophieakademie
• In medias res
• Jugend-ZukunftsForum
• European Youth Debating Competition (EYDC) Pan-European debating competition for young multipliers held across EU countries and Turkey, conducted according to Anglo-Saxon debating rules with pro and con factions of five speakers each, judged by a jury from science, business, media, and politics; European finals have been hosted at venues including the European Parliament in Brussels.
• Recherchereise New York
• JugendForum Europa
• FreiheitsForum Europa

Quantifiable outcome

• 50,000+ young opinion leaders supported at events
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Stiftung Westfalen-InitiativecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for the Youth Future Forum (Jugend-ZukunftsForum) targeting participants primarily from Westfalen region (Münsterland, Ostwestfalen-Lippe, Sauerland, and westfälisches Ruhrgebiet). The foundation co-organizes this regional event focused on future skills and innovation.
• European Ministries (Government)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerYoung Leaders operates across Europe in cooperation with government ministries that provide institutional support and endorsement for educational programs targeting youth leadership development.
• European Corporations and CompaniescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCorporate partners collaborate with Young Leaders to present career opportunities, innovations, and products at events. Companies benefit from access to talented youth network while supporting youth development.
• Business AssociationscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBusiness associations partner with Young Leaders to support youth leadership development and provide industry insights and networking opportunities for participating young people.
• Non-profit FoundationscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNon-profit foundations support Young Leaders programs financially and programmatically, contributing to the organization's mission of youth development and civic engagement across Europe.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• AIESEC: Global youth-led organization providing leadership development and cross-border exchange programs for students and recent graduates. Comparable on leadership-development mission, age demographic, and international event-driven delivery, though broader in geographic scope.
• Deutsche SchülerAkademie: Runs multi-day residential enrichment courses for academically gifted German high school students. Closely matches Young Leaders' Akademie, Philosophieakademie, and Lateinakademie on format, target demographic, and residential academy model.
• Junior Achievement Europe: Pan-European non-profit delivering youth entrepreneurship, leadership, and work-readiness programs in schools. Comparable on youth (15–21) leadership development focus and school/network-driven GTM across European geographies.
• Friedrich-Naumann-Stiftung für die Freiheit: Political foundation running youth academies, seminars, and debating events in Germany and across Europe. Comparable on civic education mission, institutional sponsorship model, and youth-demographic residential programs.
• Schwarzkopf-Stiftung Junges Europa: German foundation organizing youth political education programs, conferences, and exchange formats across Europe. Highly comparable on mission (youth civic engagement), German base, and partnership-led program delivery.
• European Youth Parliament: Pan-European organization running debating and parliamentary simulation events for youth across 40+ countries. Most directly comparable to Young Leaders on mission, age demographic (15–21), European footprint, and event-based delivery model.

Emerging players

• Roots & Routes International: European network running cross-border youth programs in arts, media, and civic engagement. Overlaps with Young Leaders on multi-country youth event delivery and partnership-driven model, though focused on arts/media rather than debate and philosophy.
• Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes: Germany's most prestigious academic talent foundation, running elite enrichment programs for high-achieving students. Overlaps with Young Leaders on talent-development mission and Germany-centric residential academies, though focused on academic rather than civic leadership.
• Bundeswettbewerb Philosophie / Deutscher Philosophiewettbewerb: German national philosophy competition for high school students. Comparable niche on philosophy enrichment and youth demographic, though narrower in scope (single competition) versus Young Leaders' full program stack.

Broad incumbents

• European Youth Forum: Umbrella platform of European youth organizations representing over 100 member organizations to EU institutions. Comparable on pan-European youth-civic-engagement mission and ministry-level relationships, though operates as advocacy body rather than direct event organizer.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/youngleadersgmbh
• Facebookfacebook.com/youngleadersgmbh
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/young-leaders-gmbh

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Young Leaders