Heinrich Deichmann was born on November 30, 1962. He is married with two children. After his A-levels and national service he studied at Cologne University’s economic and social sciences faculty and was also present at the lectures of theology, philosophy and history. He graduated as a Diplomkaufmann in business administration in 1988. After finishing his university education, he did a number of internships in shoe retailing and production, in the grocery and textile retail trade to prepare for his involvement in the family business. Since 1989, Heinrich Deichmann has been a managing partner of Deichmann-Schuhe. Since 1999 he is the CEO of the Deichmann Group, Europe’s largest shoe retailer. Next to his involvement in the company, Heinrich Deichmann is also involved in a range of social projects, both in the name of his company and himself. He co-established a relief project in Moldavia and supports projects for the homeless and family assistance in several German cities. His Christian faith provides the framework for his professional and personal conduct. He is a long-standing supporter of “My Europe” and a member of its Board of Patrons for European Youth.

You can find all his contributions to Spotlight Europe here

Hacı Mehmet Boyraz (born in 1993 in Turkey) studies International Relations with Political Science and Public Administration as a double-major student at Gediz University in İzmir. He is mainly interested in the relationship between Turkey and the European Union, African politics, Conflict resolution and Turkish Foreign Policy. Related to his focus areas, he has written many papers and dossiers published by different institutions.

In the past he has participated in the Model European Union in Strasbourg, France; and he was a research assistant at Leeds Beckett University from June to September 2014 with a scholarship of the EU Commission. Hacı is an active writer and columnist on many different magazines and journals.

In his spare time he enjoys reading books, travelling abroad, and volunteering. You can find more information and many of his publications here. All contributions to Spotlight Europe can be accessed via this link.

Iulia Badea Guéritée (b. 1972) is a Franco-Romanian journalist. Romanian site editor at VoxEurop, she also covers Romanian and Moldovan affairs for Courrier international in additon to keeping a blog. She won the 2006 Louise Weiss prize for Best European journalist.

Find all her contributions to Spotlight Europe here

Alessandra (22) participated in our workshop in Milan, Italy, in 2012. She now studies Law at University Federico II in Naples, Italy. In the future Alessandra would like to work for a European institution or as a diplomat. She loves to travel and to learn new languages.

For me, the “My Europe” Initiative is…

…an opportunity for young peoples’ voices to be heard! It offers a really interesting exchange of ideas on topics that are fundamental for Europe. I believe that if My Europe members would be the leaders of the future Europe, they could really make a positive difference.

If you could, what would be the first thing you would change in Europe?

The first thing I would change in Europe is definitely the education system in many member states. There should be a high standard set in the EU that each member state should meet. For example Finland has one of the best education systems in the world, it should set the example for many other states.

You can find all her contributions here