Dear friends of the Italienzentrum,

We would like to draw your attention to the 6th edition of the German-Italian Young Leaders Dialogue – Spinelli Forum 2026:

The Spinelli Forum 2026 offers a future generation of Italian and German leaders in the fields of politics, business, academia, civil society, media, and culture the unique opportunity to discuss the challenges faced by the German-Italian partnership as it shapes the future of the EU.

We are looking for young Italian and German candidates who would like to take part in the sixth edition of the Spinelli Forum 2026 including:

• a virtual kick-off event (20 March 2026, in the afternoon)
• two online workshops (27 March and 17 April 2026, in the afternoon)
• a final in-person two-day conference in Milan (04 to 06 May 2026) in synergy with the “NEXT – Empowering Future Leaders” initiative, promoted by ISPI, Bocconi University and the OECD.
• two virtual strategy sessions, during which participants discuss their policy recommendations with policy makers from Italy and Germany.

The four working groups are:

• EU Defence and Security Policy
• EU Trade and Economic Growth
• EU Energy Resilience
• EU Challenges in Artificial Intelligence

Who can apply?

German and Italian young leaders and high potentials from the fields of politics, business, academia, civil society, the social sector, media, and culture with a strong interest in European cooperation.

Requirements:

• Aged between 25 and 35 years, applications of strong candidates aged between 25 and 30 years will be given preference
• First university degree (BA or MA) or equivalent vocational qualification
• Strong interest/expertise in European cooperation, particularly in the fields of defence and security policy, economics, artificial intelligence or climate and energy policy (see the selection criteria for details)
• Excellent command of English

The deadline is March 1st, 2026 (23:59 CET).

All further information can be found at the following link: https://iep-berlin.de/en/projects/germany-and-europe/spinelli-forum/spinelli-forum-call-for-applications-2026/