From October 27 to 29, 2025, a three-day Training of Trainers was held in Belgrade as part of the project “Green Future: Youth Voices for a Healthy Environment in Serbia”, organized by the Belgrade Open School (BOS) in cooperation with UNICEF.

The training brought together 30 young participants from various cities across Serbia: Novi Pazar, Bor, Čačak, Pančevo, Kruševac, Smederevo, Kraljevo, and Niš, who had the opportunity to gain new knowledge through lectures, practical exercises, and teamwork on how they can influence decision-making in the field of environmental protection at the local level.

Over the course of three days, participants learned about the process of creating public policies, mechanisms for public participation and advocacy, and ways to mobilize their communities to protect water resources and air quality.

On the first day, participants learned how they can influence decision-making in the field of environmental protection through a session dedicated to public policies, the actors involved in their development, and mechanisms for youth participation at the local level. The participants also explored the connection between local budgets and environmental protection, as well as ways they can influence their cities’ budgets.

In the following sessions, “Water in My Community” and “Air Quality in My City?”, they analyzed the state of water and air quality in their communities and, through practical exercises, learned about relevant data sources from local and national institutions.

The second day of the training focused on public advocacy and community mobilization.
Through interactive workshops, participants learned how to formulate an advocacy goal and message, as well as how to identify key stakeholders in their communities. During a simulation of the local policy-making process, participants took on the roles of representatives of local governments, factories, youth organizations, and other relevant actors, and practically went through the entire process of preparation, public discussion, and decision-making.

The afternoon part of the training was dedicated to community mobilization through volunteer actions. Participants were introduced to the U-Report platform and the Volunteers Online website - digital tools that enable coordination and activation of volunteers in various communities across Serbia.

A special session was devoted to developing skills for preparing youth training programs. With the support of trainers, participants defined the goals, content, and methodology of the trainings they wished to organize, while also reflecting on the role of a trainer. In the end, they created proposals for training sessions they could implement in their own communities, encouraging greater youth engagement in environmental protection.

On the third day, participants put their newly acquired knowledge and skills into practice, working in groups to develop action plans for advocacy initiatives they will implement in their own cities. This part of the training provided an opportunity to bring together everything they had learned and, with the mentoring support of the BOS team, define concrete steps for carrying out their local initiatives in the areas of water and air protection. The training concluded with the presentation of draft plans in a plenary session, the exchange of ideas, and a joint agreement on the next steps.

The training is part of the project “Green Future: Youth Voices for a Healthy Environment in Serbia”, which aims to empower young people to identify and address environmental issues in their communities, participate in decision-making processes, and contribute to building a sustainable and healthy environment.

The next phase of the project will take place starting in November, when participants, with the support of mentors, will finalize their local advocacy plans and begin implementing activities in their respective communities.

Photo credit: BOS