I’m someone who loves to build. Preferably from the moment when there is almost nothing yet.

A first idea, a feeling, a few conversations. That is what really lights me up. I start to see connections, write things out, look for images, think about colours and words, introduce people to each other and slowly try to make visible what until then only existed in our heads.

That is also how [IMPACT] started for me.

From the feeling that so much more is possible when we bring together young people, strong content, the right people and a special environment. I wanted to help create a place where young people can move, discover, talk, laugh, try and sometimes clash a little too. A place where personal growth never has to feel heavy or forced.

My love for young people plays a big part in that.

I love their energy and their honesty. Young people sense very quickly when something is real. You can prepare a programme perfectly, but if the atmosphere isn’t right or someone isn’t genuinely present, they see right through it.

At the same time, I see how much young people have to deal with. How early they’re expected to know who they are, what they’re good at and which direction they want to go. While those years are meant precisely for searching. For changing your mind, trying something, being bad at something and still starting over.

I want [IMPACT] to make room for that searching.

And I want that room to be beautiful.

That last part may sound superficial, but to me it isn’t at all. What a place looks like, what music is playing, how we welcome people, what’s on the table and how carefully something was prepared: it all tells the same story. It says we paid attention to your arrival. That you’re stepping into a place where someone thought about you.

I believe very strongly in the power of atmosphere. In the difference between being somewhere and truly being welcomed somewhere.

That is why I find it important that an [IMPACT] experience also works visually. That the location opens something up. That the materials are well cared for. That the food is fresh and prepared with attention. That images are created that can hold on to the energy of the moment. That everything feels recognisable, without becoming contrived.

I love beautiful things, but above all beautiful things that do something.

A long table where young people who didn’t know each other that morning sit and eat together. A space that invites you to slow down for a moment. A photo where you don’t see a pose, but feel exactly what happened that day. A brand that is visible because it is truly part of the experience.

That is where a big part of my value within [IMPACT] lies.

I guard the bigger story and at the same time I love to lose myself in the details. I think about the concept, the communication, the partners, the experience and the way we present everything to the outside world. I want what people see online to match what they feel with us. Warm, energetic, human and carefully built.

While preparing our first Camp, all of that came together.

There were lots of practical questions. Coaches, programmes, registrations, meals, equipment, partners, photography and young people who would get a place through [IMPACT] for All. Every decision led to three new decisions. Some days it felt like everything was moving at once.

Still, I found even that chaos special.

Because between the spreadsheets, phone calls and last-minute changes, I saw more and more clearly what we were making. Something that until then existed only as words, ideas and images began to become a real place.

During the Camp itself I was constantly looking around.

Of course I saw what was on the programme, but my attention went just as often to what happened in between. How someone came in. Who sat next to whom. Whether a young person found their place in the group. How the energy changed after a meal. Where the programme flowed well and where we needed to plan more rest next time.

I also saw how important the smallest things were.

A pair of basketball shoes meant a child could take part fully. A coach who stayed to listen a little longer made room for a conversation that wasn’t on any schedule. Eating together helped young people connect in a different way. Photos made visible what sometimes passes too quickly on a day like that.

Those are the moments that light me up. When all the parts suddenly come together and you feel: yes, this is why we built it.

After that first Camp I went home with a lot of pride and at least as many ideas about what could be better. For me, that is part of building and creating. I don’t want to hold on to something just because we worked hard on it. I want to keep looking, feeling, asking questions and improving.

For me, [IMPACT] never has to be “finished”.

I hope it becomes a brand that keeps growing without losing its feeling. A place where content and beauty strengthen each other. Where experts bring their knowledge together, partners truly become part of the story and young people feel that something special was made for them.

My contribution to that may be hard to capture in one job title.

I give shape to ideas. I connect people. I build stories and guard the feeling. I try to turn a programme into an experience, and an experience into something that keeps resonating for a while.

That is what I’m good at.

And honestly? It’s also simply what I love doing most.

— Mirte