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Above anything else, Hadrian would consider himself to be a storyteller. The worlds he creates have always been his favourite stories to tell, but growing up between different cultures and coming into contact with other communities, he’s come to find stories outside of his own art, discovering the same passion in shedding light on the global issues all around us but hiding in plain sight. His main dream is combining his creativity, in cinema and in journalism, with his knowledge in international law, so as to achieve advocacy for those who can’t speak up, and change in the structures and constructs in all legal or social spheres that disfavor every individual’s enjoyment of their human rights. This very ambition is what led Hadrian to the Maastricht Diplomat, initially to explore his stories and interests through different mediums (such as podcast and video), and more recently, as co-head, to coordinate audiovisual reporters and explore with them new forms of journalism and creativity, in a way that reflects and embraces each and every journalist’s diverse voice, as he strongly believes every individual has one to share.

Anthi is a 20-year-old Global Studies student from the U.S. Some of her favorite pastimes include reading, writing, photography, and music. It will be Anthi's third year contributing to the Diplomat, and she is excited to edit and write countless articles this year as well as plan workshops and events for the team.

Maya is in her second year in Maastricht and at the Diplomat. In her studies, she is particularly interested in understanding how broader dynamics of power shape current political, legal, and hence also environmental and social realities. As a writer and editor, she hopes to contribute new perspectives on smaller and bigger issues happening in the world.

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Exploring the world we live in - in as many dimensions as possible - that is my wish and my motivation for writing. I enjoy dealing with a wide range of topics leading to a deeper understanding of how society and human interaction works today and how my generation can contribute to a more democratic, a more equal, a better world. Or as Annie Ernaux puts it: I see myself as an ethnographer of my own life and experiences. Falling in love is such an experience: Since I moved out, I fell in love with Cuba and Madrid, with pintxos and guarapo, with discourse theory and realistic fiction. Let’s see what is next!

Jules is a 19 year old French and Belgian student born in London and raised in Brussels. He is currently in his second year of Global Studies. What is noticeable about him is his curiosity and variety of his areas of interest. Through the years, he has nurtured a passion for geopolitics and international dynamics, subjects he will include in his work at the MD. His taste for rugby has led him to spend some time in his teenage years in the area of Dublin, Ireland. A seasoned climber and vibrant drum player, Jules is always keen to expand his horizons and develop relationships.  

Elena is a Portuguese American second year bachelor's student at University College Maastricht. She enjoys reading and writing, and is looking forward to contributing her work to the Maastricht Diplomat.

Born and raised in the vibrant city of Berlin, Lenja has a deep appreciation for culture and community. Having also lived in the breathtaking landscapes of Hawaii, she has a great appreciation and love for nature. Being in her second year of the European Law School at Maastricht University she started to enjoy the international community and lovely atmosphere of the old city of Maastricht. Lenja also has a passion for fashion and everything related to style as well as movies and music, specifically playing the drums – basically everything art-related. That passion for aesthetics also extends to photography and videography, as she takes pleasure in capturing moments and stories through the lens. From a young age, Lenja dreamed of becoming a journalist, driven by the aspiration to share knowledge and stories with the world.

Sarah is a third-year translation and interpreting student. Coming from a Belgian university, she is currently spending her exchange year in Maastricht. When she's not making vocabulary flashcards, you'll find her taking photos or videos of everything around her, or writing random thoughts in her notes app. Her other interests include horse riding, gender equality, climate change, and anything tech-related. Curious by nature, she likes to keep busy by taking on new hobbies or challenges or researching a random topic. In Maastricht, you're likely to find her daydreaming with her headphones on, or in the park reading a book.

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Jule is a second-year student at University College Maastricht, focusing on sustainability and media studies. In her free time, there are three main things she loves to do:
1. Playing football or watching her favorite team play in the Bundesliga.
2. Reading  one of the many novels stacking up in her room.
3. Cooking yummy vegan meals while listening to Pink Floyd.
She has always enjoyed writing and is looking forward to contributing to the MD with her interest, ready to share her opinions and drop some facts.

After going to school for graphic design and studying social sciences in Germany for a year, Fin has connected his passions for society and technology in the Bachelor Digital Society. His past work includes short films, graphic design, and photograph. As part of the Audiovisual team at the Maastricht Diplomat he is interested in using auditory and visual formats to communicate complex issues to broad audiences. Looking behind the scenes of infrastructure and uncovering biases in it, is inspiring Fin to keep looking for new stories. In his free time, he loves climbing, riding his bike, and making music.

Jessica (she/her) is 18 years old, French and British but grew up in a city in the North East of France, Nancy. She is a second year at University College Maastricht, focusing on Sociology, culture and politics. She enjoys meeting new people, reading, sports and music, whether it is listening to music or going to concerts/festivals. Her long-lasting dream is to travel around the world to discover different places and cultures. She joined the Maastricht Diplomat to get some journalistic experience, a career she wishes to pursue. In that field, she is interested in feminist debates, reviews, international relations issues, and art-related topics.

An Icelander with a background in philosophy who is currently pursuing an LLB in European law. In her writing, Anna Guðný is partial to exploring links between seemingly unrelated things in the world, deep-diving into niche topics, and finding excuses to include the Oxford comma. She spends her free time building her spice tolerance and waiting in lines for rollercoasters.

Born on the sunny shores of Curaçao, Amira Hamadeh is a second year law student at the European Law School. Raised on a Caribbean island to a Syrian father and Colombian mother, she loves to travel and is always looking out for the nearest ocean to dive right into. In her free time, she enjoys sharing a meal with friends and reading a good book. Amira describes her style of writing as having a story-telling appeal, wanting to explore her deep interest in the current digital revolution and the imminence of climate change as a writer for the Diplomat.  

Sarah Hourquet is a second-year student at UCM specializing in International Relations and Political Science. She is French and 20 years old. She finds interest in Geopolitical Conflicts, International Diplomacy, and Global Contemporary History. However, outside of her academic interests she enjoys Pop culture, Cinema, and Sports like rugby and surf, and is very much interested in many different genres of Music, like Rap, Neo-Soul, RnB, Jazz, Blues, Afrobeats, Techno, Electro, House and many others. 

His name is Philipp Iger, a 24-year old mix German/Spanish Global Studies student (currently in his third year) who is interested in sports, cinema and societal issues.

Hailing from Belgium, Matthijs is a compulsive global affairs consumer and Maastricht Diplomat returnee. He combines his hobbies of running and drinking too much coffee with being a law student. He also enjoys watching people competitively cycle up lots of hills on occasion. His writing interests are international politics & trade, economic trends and the quirky fluff pieces people like reading in their weekend paper miscellaneous section.

Lee-Ann is a third-year Global Studies student from Luxembourg. This will be her third year in the Maastricht Diplomat team, after starting as a writer and then becoming Co Head. She loves  to write about politics, history and the environment and is looking forward to discover the realm of audiovisual journalism this year. In her free time, Lee-Ann likes to draw, play guitar and learn new languages. But above all she likes to cozy up with a nice cup of tea and a good book.

Temporally shifted empathy, vicarious experience and understanding. These are the things that writing can do. Things that art can do. Anahita would like to be a vessel of that… while holding a hot beverage at all times, of course. She is passionate about trying and learning as much as possible to keep a broad parameter in terms of her perspective. As a side occupation to "living", she studies psychology at Maastricht University. Since ultimately, isn't understanding ourselves, thus everybody else, at the basis of everything? To the motto: "Get in loser, we're going (self-)discovering.” Other things to know about her: Shes is an Iranian who grew up in Germany. She is devoted to human rights matters and her strongest opinion is that questions are most valuable type of sentence.

After leaving her home country of Taiwan at the age of 16, Ninetin was whisked off on a whirlwind odyssey. Life’s voyages have rotted her passport with the detritus of the border controls of over 60 countries and matured her like a fine wine… or rather, a stinky cheese. She has been chased by an orangutan, pounced on by a hyena and stalked by a stingray. She has trod on a Nile crocodile, herded Bedouin goats, spooked a brown bear and been slapped by a colobus monkey… okay, one of these is not true. Ninetin’s experiences are the materials of her writing. When she is in an introspective mood, she likes to quote Dr. Johnson when he wrote that all judgements are comparative. The different places she has seen and the history she has learned are the frames of reference against which she makes judgements about the subjects of her writings, judgements not made in comparison to imagined ideals or future utopias, but rather to what is and has been extant.

This is Chiara and she's 21 years old. She comes from Düsseldorf, Germany and studies European Studies in her second year. It is already her second year at the Maastricht Diplomat and she's excited for the upcoming year with lots of new projects. Writing as well as filming, recording podcasts and photographing is a passion of hers. While being part of the audiovisual team last year, she'll focus more on writing this year. Here in Maastricht, you'll probably find her somewhere in a nice café, good bookshop or outside in the park.

Meet Becci, a 20-year-old, first-year Global Studies student. As a child, she envisioned herself as either an angel or a pirate. Unfortunately, neither of these careers has taken off so far. That's why she decided it is time to try something else. With Journalism combining her passions for discussing political issues like capitalism or sustainability and expressing herself through the art of writing, joining the Maastricht Diplomat seemed to be the perfect opportunity to gain some experience.Before coming to Maastricht, she tried to escape the grey European winters by traveling and exploring new countries, always in search of a little adventure. Her most current adventures, however, involve biking through the cobblestone roads of Maastricht, having picnics by the skate park, or enjoying Blueberry muffins at the Markt.

Charlotte is a 19-years-old French-Dutch student in her second year. She studies at the University College Maastricht, where she focuses mainly on International Relations and Law. Besides writing, she particularly finds interest in reading, especially philosophy and Albert Camus’ books, watching David Lynch’s and French New Wave movies, and listening to 70s Rock/Indie music.

Carolina was born in Peru but moved to Germany at a young age. She has since been navigating the intricacies of building a home in vastly different places. Hence, she is especially interested in culture and cultural identity and what drives human beings. In this regard, she loves to explore how we can improve as a society and is passionate about social justice and sustainability. Other passions involve food, art, music festivals, hiking and overthinking. During her travels, Carolina had the opportunity to learn about different issues from multiple perspectives and is determined to keep expanding her horizon. Pursuing a Liberal Arts and Sciences degree at UCM enables her to delve into many of her various interests and combine topics from the Humanities and Social Sciences. By joining the Maastricht Diplomat, she hopes to present these interests in an accessible manner and channel her love for creative writing to make a positive impact. 

Jaap is someone who knows too many obscure factoids for his own good. His curiosity is easily awakened, by a book, video, or Wikipedia article. He is Dutch and currently he's studying at the European Law School, but he is quite certain he won't end up being a lawyer. That's much too boring. At the Maastricht Diplomat, he hopes to share what he discovers through his internet rabbit holes or travels in his articles. In his free time, he enjoys exploring every inch of Maastricht, taking bike rides, reading, or cooking a new dish. His favourite author is Tiziano Terzani. 

Martha is a first-year student at Maastricht University. In her free time, she used to to dig up unusual stories that she would tell other people lateron. Now that she doesn't have any spare time, she has decided to join the Maastricht Diplomat to have a valid excuse to continue. 

Having moved countries every 3 to 5 years, I have always found an interest in cultural understanding and global affairs. After living in Maastricht for three years, and completing a Minor in Entrepreneurship, I moved to Hong Kong for the Fall semester of 2023 for my exchange! During this time, I look forward to writing many Hong Kong-focused articles, unpacking the unique city and its culture, while further exploring Journalism as one of my interests. When I'm not writing, you can find me at the beach or hiking, cooking dinners for my friends, journalling away, and drinking plenty of coffee.

Vanille is a second-year French student at UCM, majoring in International relations and International Law, focusing on human rights violations, peace and conflicts studies, and international crimes. By integrating the Maastricht diplomat, she hopes to be able to write about societal political issues and global affairs. She fervently believes in the values of journalistic integrity, factual objectivity and due-diligence. Finally, you can usually find her at the inner city library, pretending as best she can to work and trying not to be distracted by her friends. 

Jonathan talks a lot. No wonder thus why they joined the MD’s podcast team in February 2022. Over the past year and half, they have been able to live their childhood dream of becoming a journalist and been around Maastricht, Europe and the world, telling people’s stories for the Diplomat. This year, they are living the Emily in Paris life, working in an art gallery in the 3rd arrondissement of the French capital. But because ‘you can leave Maastricht, but Maastricht never leaves you’, they’re in for another ride with us.