Holger Jan Schmidt is one of Europe's leading networkers in the music festival branch. Holger is General Secretary of YOUROPE – the European Festival Association, the most important representation of European popular music festivals with more than 130 members from 30 European countries. Among various topics he has a special focus on sustainability and social responsibility for festivals and events leading YOUROPEÄ’s Take A Stand initiative and the pan-European think-tank GO Group (Green Operations Europe). In 2023 Holger was awarded with the two most prestigious award he could imagine. Holger was honored with the "Award for Excellence & Passion" at the European Festival Awards (EFA) and the Arthur Award "The Unsung Hero" from the International Live Music Conference (ILMC) in London in the category "Industry Champion Award". Holger also works as a booker and part of the management team of DAS FEST in Karlsruhe since 2013. He is contributing his expertise to various EU funded projects such as the Creative Europe network project "3F – Future-Fit Festivals” (running until 2028). Holger is co-author of the book „stay SOUND & CHECK yourself“ dealing with stress and mental health in the live music sector and co-wrote the „Sounds For Nature guidelines for environmentally friendly events“