Samantha Cristoforetti is an Italian astronaut. She was selected as an ESA astronaut in May 2009. She joined ESA in September 2009 and completed her basic astronaut training in November 2010. She was then assigned to the role of ESA reserve astronaut, which allowed her to earn her initial qualifications in EVA and robotics, as well as the certification as flight engineer of the Russian spacecraft Soyuz. In March 2012 she was assigned to fly as flight engineer on the Soyuz TMA-15M, as part of the crew of Expedition 42/43 on the International Space Station.

On 23 November, 2014 Samantha was launched from the cosmodrome of Baikonur in Kazakhstan. She returned to Earth on 11 June, 2015 after spending 200 days in space. The mission, which was given the name Futura, was the second long-duration flight opportunity for the Italian Space Agency, the eighth for an ESA astronaut.

After completing her post-flight tasks, while waiting for assignment to a second spaceflight, Samantha has been given technical and management duties at the European Astronaut Centre, which include serving on technical evaluation boards for exploration-related projects. For several years she led the Spaceship EAC initiative, a student-centred team working on the technological challenges of future missions to the Moon. She is now crew representative for ESA in the Lunar Orbital Platform – Gateway project.

Samantha is also part of a working group tasked with working with Chinese counterparts to define and implement cooperation in the field of astronaut operations. In 2017, together with fellow ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer, she participated in a sea survival exercise organised by the Astronaut Center of China in the Yellow Sea. This was the first joint training of Chinese and non-Chinese astronauts in China.

In July 2015 Samantha was awarded the Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic by the Italian president.

Executive Vice-President of the European Commission, Mr. Frans Timmermans is responsible for the European Green Deal. He began this role in December 2019, having previously served in the Juncker Commission as First Vice-President in charge of Better Regulation, Inter-Institutional Relations, the Rule of Law and the Charter of Fundamental Rights. Before becoming a Commissioner, he was a member of the Dutch parliament for the Partij van de Arbeid (Dutch Labour Party), first elected in 1998. He served as first Minister of European Affairs (2007-2010), and subsequently as Minister of Foreign Affairs (2012-2014).

Since December 2019, Dubravka Šuica is Vice-President of the European Commission in charge of Democracy and Demography.

Mrs Šuica a Croatian politician from the city of Dubrovnik, where she served as its first female mayor and was awarded the 2006 World Mayor Award. Dubravka Šuica entered politics in the 1990s as a Member of the Croatian Democratic Union and served as a Member of the Croatian Parliament and Vice-Chair of the EU Integration Committee. Between 2004 and 2009 she was a Board Member of the Union of the Association of Towns and Municipalities of the Republic of Croatia. During ten years she was President of the Croatian Delegation to the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe.

From 2013 to 2019 Dubravka Šuica served as a Member of the European Parliament. In June 2019, Šuica was elected as first Vice-Chair of EPP Group in the European Parliament.

Margrethe Vestager, age 52, is EU Executive Vice President-designate for the digital area and Commissioner for Competition. She previously served as Minister for Economic Affairs and the Interior (2011-14) and Minister for Education (1998-2001) of Denmark, and as President of the ECOFIN Council (2012). She was Political leader of the Danish Social Liberal Party (2007-14), and has worked for the Danish Ministry of Finance (1993-95). Ms. Vestager holds an MSc in Economics (University of Copenhagen).

Cristian-Silviu BUŞOI, Chair of the Industry, Research and Energy Committee (ITRE) of the European Parliament.

Mr. Buşoi graduated in medicine at the “Carol Davila” University in Bucharest, in law at the “Titu Maiorescu” University in Bucharest, and in diplomacy at the Romanian Diplomatic Institute in Bucharest.

His political career started in 1996 when, as a young student, he became a member of the National Liberal Party. Eight years later, he entered the Romanian Parliament as Member of the Committee for Health and Family and in 2013 became President of the Romanian National Health Insurance House. His dedication in the Romanian Parliament, convinced electors to vote him in 2007 as their representative in the European Parliament. Mr. Busoi is Member of the Delegation for relations with the countries of Southeast Asia and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. He is also substitute Member of the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI), Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON) and Delegation for relations with the Arab Peninsula (DARP).

Mr. Buşoi was a Member of the European Parliament from 2007 to 2013, a position he regained in 2014 becoming chair of the Industry, Research and Energy Committee.

Ms. Jennifer Doudna’s co-discovery of CRISPR-Cas9 genetic engineering technology, has changed human and agricultural genomics research forever. Doudna is a leader in public discussion of the ethical and other implications of genome editing for human biology and societies, and advocates for thoughtful approaches to the development of policies around the use of CRISPR-Cas9.

Peter J. Ratcliffe, M.D. is a physician scientist who trained as a nephrologist, before founding the hypoxia biology laboratory at Oxford. His laboratory elucidated mechanisms by which human and animal cells sense oxygen levels and transduce these signals to direct adaptive changes in gene expression.  He was knighted for his services to medicine in 2014, and won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2019. He is the Director of Clinical Research at the Francis Crick Institute, London, Director of the Target Discovery Institute at the University of Oxford and is a Distinguished Scholar of the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research.

Mr. Yousef Yousef, EIC Advisory Board Member and CEO of LG Sonic, is an innovator with a strong vision on environmental technologies driven by big data. Mr. Yousef’s passion lies with green scaleups - from developing solutions to coaching innovative SMEs. His belief is that Europe's value proposition is highest in deep tech and sustainability, which will let Europe take the lead in the global economy.

Ms. Kate Raworth is an economist focused on making economics fit for the 21st century. Her book Doughnut Economics: seven ways to think like a 21st century economist is an international bestseller that has been translated into 18 languages. She is co-founder of Doughnut Economics Action Lab, which works with change-makers to turn Doughnut Economics from a radical idea into transformative action.

Ms. Stefania Giannini was appointed UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Education in May 2018, becoming the top UN official in the field. In this position, she provides strategic vision and leadership for UNESCO in coordinating and monitoring the implementation of the Education 2030 Agenda, encapsulated in Sustainable Development Goal 4.

Dr. Magdalena Skipper is Editor in Chief of Nature and Chief Editorial Advisor for Nature Research. She did her doctoral work at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology and holds a PhD in genetics from University of Cambridge, UK, and an honorary doctorate from University of Nottingham, her alma mater. Ms. Skipper is the editorial champion of diversity, equity and inclusion at Nature Research.

Mr. Pascal Lamy (Former European Commissioner for Trade and Director General of the World Trade Organisation from 2005-2013) chairs the Mission Board Healthy Oceans, Seas, Coastal and inland Waters. He shares his other activities between the Presidency of the Paris Peace Forum, the Jacques Delors Network (Paris, Berlin, Bruxelles).

Ms. Connie Hedegaard is a Danish politician and public intellectual. Ms. Hedegaard is the Chair of the Mission Board on Adaptation to Climate Change, including societal transformation. She was European Commissioner for Climate Action in the European Commission from 10 February 2010 through 31 October 2014, during which she led the negotiations towards the adoption of the EU 2030 Framework.

Mariya Gabriel is the European Commissioner for innovation, research, culture, education and youth. She is responsible for key EU programmes as Horizon Europe, Erasmus+, European Solidarity Corps and Creative Europe.  She was Commissioner for Digital Economy and Society from 2017 to 2019.  She has been elected to the European Parliament in 2009, 2014 and 2019. Mariya Gabriel is Vice-President of the European People's Party and Vice-President of EPP Women.