Meet Our Dedicated Committee Members
Discover the individuals and partners working on the success of IYCC2026.
Benjamin Salzmann
Steering Committee Chair and conference coordinator
Benjamin is a social worker (M.A.) and coordinator of the only german young carer center “Windschatten” in Berlin. In this role he also coordinates the young carer work of the Ernst Freiberger – Foundation which hosts the IYCC 2026.
Dr. Sabine Metzing
Program Committee Chair
Sabine is a professor and program coordinator at the faculty of health at the University Witten / Herdecke in Germany. Her pioneering research on young carers made her the distinguished expert in Germany.
Dr. Martin Nagl-Cupal
Program Committee Chair
Martin is an associate professor and deputy head of the department of nursing science at University of Vienna in Austria. He is the distinguished experts due to his groundbreaking research on young carers in Austria.
Steering committee
The steering committee guides the conference coordinator based on years of experience in organizing the former IYCCs, in their work with young carers and perspective of young (adult) carers. We are glad to have the following individuals on board:
| Andy McGowan | Carers Trust UK |
| Carly Ellicott | University of Plymouth (UK) |
| Lena van Bergen | ZoJong! (Belgium) |
| Madeleine Buchner | Little Dreamers (Australia) |
| Maria Nilsson | Linnaeus University & NKA (Sweden) |
| Michael Buynsters | Strategische Alliantie Jonge Mantelzorg (Netherlands) |
| Oliver Fitzpatrick | Canadian center for caregiving excellence (Canada) |
| Ruth Patil | Carers Worldwide |
| Svetlana Atanasova | Eurocarers (Belgium) |
| Tessa Voorbij | young adult carer |
Program committee
The program committee evaluates the abstracts and guides the conference program. We are glad to have the following individuals on board:
| Sabine Metzing (Co Chair) | University Witten Herdecke (Germany) |
| Martin Nagl-Cupal (Co Chair) | University Vienna (Austria) |
| Amarantha Bourgeois | Jeunes Adaints (France) |
| Anna Maria Spittel | University Oldenburg (Germany) |
| Daniel Phelps | Young Carer Info (UK) |
| Elizabeth Anne Olson | University of North Carolina (US) |
| Feylyn Lewis | Vanderbilt School of Nursing (US) |
| Giulia Casu | University Bologna (Italy) |
| Licia Boccaletti | Anziani e non solo (Italy) |
| Madeleine Buchner | Little Dreamers (Australia) |
| Marianne Frech | Solothurner Spitäler (Switzerland) |
| Michael Buynsters | Strategische Alliantie Jonge Mantelzorg (Netherlands) |
| Nikki Dunne | Family Carers Ireland |
| Pauline Johansson | Linneaus University (Sweden) |
| Steffen Kaiser | University of Flensburg |
| Valentina Hlebec | University of Ljubljana (Slovenia) |
These institutions support the IYCC 2026 with their staffs commitment
