Magnus is a consequentialist with both feet on the ground and a strong conviction that we need to act soon to avoid dangerous climate change. After a short spell in the military, Magnus studied civil engineering towards environmental engineering and is now working as a researcher in the field of geochemistry. Magnus also has 10 years experience in politics behind him, covering a broad spectrum from local to national levels. He also believes that popularisation of science is important and is an active member of the Swedish sceptic society, Vetenskap och Folkbildning. Magnus also takes part in an initiative called Uppsalainitiativet which tries to stop disinformation about climate science.

Ulrika is a 22-year-old student and activist living in Lund. She is the vice chairperson of the students’ organisation Sustainable University. In addition to working with many local projects, she went to the UN “Intercessional” climate negotiations to learn more about global politics and the global movement. The loss of trust in real climate action from the top political level inspired her to make change happen herself. Ulrika is in constant shock from the way we treat our planet and each other, and wants to be part of a movement changing this behaviour. She has studied human ecology, which includes environmental history, ecology, political ecology and ecological economics. She has been a local nature guide, and works in the multicultural café in St Hansgården, a permaculture youth education centre. Other interests are music and dance of most kinds, and psychology. The combination of human well-being and sustainable one planet living is therefore at the core of her interests.

Ephraim has a Master’s in Environmental Science with a specialization in Ecotechnology and Sustainable Development.  But he is also a zoologist, ecologist and a true naturalist. He is sincerely passionate about the environment and a great lover of nature. Ephraim’s work experience as a conservation manager with a private environmental firm in Nigeria makes him a very good planner, manager and motivator that can carry people along. In his work as a conservation manager he focused on forest and wildlife protection, carbon sequestation and carbon sinks, and sustaining the forest dynamics. Ephraim sees himself as a good volunteer and an environmental crusader.

Omid is a 32-year-old graduate student and presently involved in a CDM project in Georgia through his master’s thesis work at SWECO Environment. Prior to continuing his education in Sweden, he worked at a chemical production company in Iran for more than four years where he touched the magnitude of the adverse impact of industrial development on nature, particularly in developing countries. He sees economic incentive programs such as CDM, JI and the European emission trading scheme as having great potential for fighting climate change. In addition to this, in the current economic climate, when many politicians might not consider climate change combat as one of the highest priorities, he believes that raising environmental awareness among people, especially teens, could be one of the most achievable and effective measures against climate change.

As a business major in strategy, a successful Internet/Telecom entrepreneur, a front figure for the non-profit organisation Congress for Environmental Advancement and now a Climate Advocate, Richard brings professionalism, energy and a no-nonsense philosophy to the forefront oif any venture. He thinks big and relishes a challenge and what better area than the Climate challenge before us which he intends to meet head on. With competent colleagues around him, success is a foregone conclusion!

Guoguo is a Chinese girl with a strong curiosity and a great passion for the natural environment and any advanced technology that can help the present environmental situation. She has a master’s degree in Civil engineering, Industrial ecology and Management of science and technology. This special but comprehensive education experience lets her consider the environmental problem from both engineering and scientific perspectives. In addition, as vice councillor at Chalmers University of Technology, she contributes to activities for improving the environment by setting up networks with student communities in other countries, especially in China, her homeland. Doing the right thing might be hard in the short term but but only sustained efforts will take us close to the goal.

With a background in human ecology and soon to finish a Bachelor’s in sociology, Emelie specialises in organisational development and environmental perceptions and is interested in the synergies between different topics that bring people together. Emelie is a socially skilled person who currently works as a coordinator for Naturskyddsföreningens (The Swedish Society for Nature Conservation ) climate network on a national level. When she is not at work, she spends time with friends, commits to volunteer work in local environmental NGO’s, sings, drinks lots of tea, and frequently uses social media. By being a climate advocate she hopes to expand her network and to work on a project which will actually make a difference in the present as well as the future.

Josephine is a curious, ambitious and open-minded person who enjoys new experiences. With a background in Political science, she is currently undertaking an interdisciplinary MSc programme in “Environmental Management and Economics” at the School of Business, Economics and Law at Gothenburg University. Josephine has worked on international projects focused on environmental issues and CSR in South Africa, Vietnam and Peru. Most recently Josephine worked as a project coordinator at Fairtrade Sweden focusing on raising awareness aboiut labour rights. She is passionate about enabling knowledge-sharing between individuals, stakeholders, researchers and countries regarding environmental issues. Josephine’s ambition as a Climate Advocate is to build awareness on an individual level to enable people to contribute to a social change. She will focus on providing relevant solutions that can be used by policy makers, corporations and civil society, so that we can make a joint effort in enabling a low carbon society.

Eric is a creative, fun loving guy with a profound interest in society, contemporary ideas and politics. He has a master’s degree in media technology and engineering and currently works as a research engineer and concept developer at the Interactive Institute, which is a leading platform for interdisciplinary research within art, design and technology. His work is focused on conducting user-driven research and methods of developing concepts based on emerging technologies: areas in which he already has extensive experience, through his work with collaborative design processes and design anthropology. Eric’s sincere desire is to utilise the possibilities of IT to move our society forward.

Johan is a 36 year old entrepreneur in the area of sustainable living and consumption. He has a Lic. Eng. degree in Environmental Systems Analysis and an MSc. degree in Industrial Engineering and Management. He has previously worked as an IT consultant and within an environmental management research program at Chalmers University of Technology, Göteborg, Sweden. Today he is the CEO of Faktor 100, a sustainable living and consumption business, which includes for example, www.ecoprofile.se a net magazine and community on sustainable lifestyles. Johan is a father of one and spends the summer in a small allotment cottage where he can enjoy his home-grown fruit, berries and vegetables. Johan does not believe in a few big technological quick fixes for sustainability. Rather, everyone, including governments, scientists, engineers and business people, needs to be a little smarter and more innovative in a myriad of ways to help themselves and others to enjoy sustainable lifestyles.

Jonatan brings an entrepreneurial drive to the table and has done so through many of his 28 years. With a Master’s in Business, a Bachelor’s in Project Management and a desire to travel he has pursued international work experiences in San Francisco, Singapore and Hong Kong. Most recently he has been driving international projects as a Strategic Sourcing Manager in Denmark and Italy. Because of Jonatan's passion for both entrepreneurship and the environment he has now dedicated himself entirely to starting and running green projects such as Carbon Compensation and Solar driven Air Condition. Here he works with a pragmatic approach to create tangible results for our environment. He does this with a smile on his face, but is even happier when he can escape the office to experience nature first hand, perhaps in a pair of trainers.

Astrid joined Challenge Europe because she wanted to meet people who, like her, think that there has been enough talking and now it is time for action! She believes that the greatest crime we can do is to prevent the next generation from enjoying the environment as freely as we enjoy it now. Astrid is interested in alternative sources of energy, sustainable development, environmental valuation and economic growth that does not damage the environment. She holds a bachelor’s degree in business management, as well as a master’s degree in International Marketing and is currently studying for a master’s in environmental economics.

Anna has a background in environmental and political sciences. Combining these two areas felt necessary in order to understand the complex relations between our knowledge about environmental problems and the political and economical decisions taken to solve them. Anna has previously worked in different Swedish environmental NGOs - both as a volunteer and as a professional and is currently studying a PhD at Lund University working on life-cycle assessments related to the production of renewable energy from waste. Anna regards joining the Challenge Europe program as a great chance to meet more people who are interested in making change happen and to fight global warming in a creative and engaging way.