Training of Trainers in Budapest

Building capacity for Local Facilitator Trainings & Blue Schools across Europe

From 18 to 22 November 2025, the BLUEFRONT consortium met in Budapest for a five-day Training of Trainers (ToT) that brought together youth workers, educators, and project managers from Finland, Hungary, Greece, Malta, and Italy. Hosted by Youth Bridges Budapest, the training equipped participants with the shared methodology, facilitation skills, and community-based tools needed to launch both the Local Facilitators Training & the Blue Schools in their local contexts.

A shared understanding of the Blue Schools methodology

The ToT introduced partners to the full learning journey that young people will experience through Blue Schools. Using the Blue Schools Implementation Guide, the consortium examined each phase of the programme—exploration, research, analysis, visioning, planning, and engagement. This ensured that all partners left Budapest with a clear, shared framework for guiding youth toward creating their own Water Roadmaps.

Facilitation, mentoring & working with youth

Participants explored how to build inclusive, motivating, and youth-centred learning environments. Sessions focused on trust-building, group dynamics, non-formal learning, conflict navigation, and supporting youth motivation through mentoring rather than directive teaching. These discussions helped align partners around a human-centred approach that positions young people as active agents in the Blue Schools programme.

Community mapping & participatory research

A core element of BLUEFRONT is its emphasis on community-based learning. Participants practiced both digital and physical community mapping, learning how young people can document water-related challenges and opportunities in their surroundings. This practical work strengthened the consortium’s ability to guide youth through meaningful, evidence-based research that will later inform their Water Roadmaps.

Advocacy, campaigning & youth voices

The ToT also introduced partners to tools that will help young people communicate their findings and influence their communities. Sessions on advocacy and campaigning showcased how youth can transform research insights into powerful calls to action. Partners explored campaign strategies, messaging techniques, and ways to make youth voices visible within public discussions on water sustainability. A creative component focused on zines and storytelling, offering a flexible, youth-friendly medium through which participants can express concerns, ideas, and solutions. These tools will support young people in shaping narratives around water justice and community wellbeing.

Connecting with local practice

The training included a visit to a Budapest Blue School, allowing participants to see how local educators envision implementing their Blue School. A guest workshop led by the Valyo Association added additional perspectives on community engagement and place-based learning, inspiring partners to think creatively about implementation in their own regions.

Preparing for Local Trainings and National Blue Schools 

Building on everything learned during the ToT, partners dedicated time to planning two key upcoming activities:

1. Local Trainings, where each partner will train five local facilitators using the BLUEFRONT methodology so they can lead and support future Blue Schools in their regions.

2. Blue Schools, where youth will engage in community research, map water challenges, and co-create Water Roadmaps.

With fresh insights, strengthened competencies, and a clearer sense of the programme’s potential, partners began shaping both their youth-focused and facilitator-focused local trainings and the Blue Schools. This dual planning process, made possible by the knowledge and experience gained during the ToT, ensures a strong, scalable foundation for BLUEFRONT’s implementation across Europe.

A strong start for Blue Schools in Europe

The Training of Trainers in Budapest marked an important milestone for BLUEFRONT. Over five days, partners built a shared foundation—methodologically, pedagogically, and strategically—for empowering young people to take meaningful action on water sustainability.

With national trainings and Blue Schools soon unfolding across Finland, Greece, Hungary, Malta, and Italy, the momentum created in Budapest will soon translate into youth-led research, community engagement, and Water Roadmaps across Europe.