The Blue Book Foresight Hub: Equipping future policymakers with foresight skills

The Hub’s goal is to build foresight capacity among European Commission Blue Book trainees, foster cross-service collaboration, and create dedicated spaces for young people to contribute their perspectives to EU policymaking.

Launched in 2024, the Blue Book Foresight Hub has now completed its third edition, wrapping up with the October 2025 cohort of trainees. Supported by a board of six dedicated trainees, the Hub has engaged nearly 200 trainees across the European Commission through its collaborative platform and foresight activities.

What we've been doing

This third edition of the Foresight Hub has focused on three main workstreams:

• Contributing to the Commission’s foresight processes – the Hub organised participatory foresight workshops contributing to the Strategic Foresight Report 2026 and the Intergenerational Fairness work in support of the Strategy.
• Trainee-led initiatives – small groups of trainees designed and ran their own foresight exercises on topics of interest ranging from the Twin Transition to alternative wellbeing metrics.
• Capacity building – trainees enhanced their futures literacy through interactive workshops, future-oriented exercises and serious games, and participation in ESPAS Horizon Scanning activities.

The Hub worked closely with the EU Policy Lab to learn about foresight methodologies and promote intergenerational dialogue across the Commission. Altogether, these activities resulted in six foresight exercises and two capacity-building events that brought together trainees and officials from across DGs and services.

Highlights from the 2025 edition

Trainees were involved in a series of activities which gave them the opportunity to learn and experiment with foresight methodologies. Here are some of the highlights: 

• Stress-testing workshop contributing to the Strategic Foresight Report 2026 (with JRC, Secretariat General, Directorate‑General for International Partnerships) [spell these out]
• Systems mapping on intergenerational fairness (with CAB-Micallef, Directorate‑General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture, European Research Executive Agency)
• Scenario analysis on EU digital sovereignty by 2035 (with Directorate‑General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology, Secretariat‑General of the European Commission)
• Polycrisis exploration workshop on EU external action and the Global Gateway (Directorates‑General for: International Partnerships, Middle East, North Africa and the Gulf, Trade, European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations, Service for Foreign Policy Instruments, European External Action Service)
• Three horizons workshop on the twin transition and trade unions (JRC, Directorate‑General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion)  
• Mapping future enablers and barriers of Beyond GDP metrics within the Commission (Directorates‑General for Climate Action, Regional and Urban Policy, Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs)
• Serious game “Better Images of AI” and a movie screening of The World of Tomorrow [post blog and link to it]
• ESPAS Horizon Scanning activities, including the identification of signs of new and collective sense-making sessions

A youth-led foresight community

In under two years of existence and three trainee cohorts, the Hub has helped advance foresight literacy across the Commission, equipping future policymakers with practical understanding of how to think strategically about long-term challenges. It has also encouraged cross-service collaboration, breaking down silos by bringing together trainees and staff from Directorates-General.

Through its participatory methodology, the Hub has shown how foresight and intergenerational fairness can be applied in practice, stimulating forward-looking debate on issues from geopolitical leverage and digital sovereignty to beyond-GDP wellbeing metrics.

A unique feature of the Blue Book Foresight Hub is its renewal with each Blue Book session, ensuring that every new cohort builds on the legacy of the previous one. We look forward to seeing how future generations of trainees will continue to promote youth-led foresight in the Commission.

What trainees had to say

“Through the Hub, I was able to immediately apply all the knowledge I gained on participatory foresight processes at the EU Policy Lab by conducting our own trainee-led foresight exercises. We need more young voices in EU policymaking, and the Hub offered us the opportunity to contribute.” 
Irene Cresci, Blue Book trainee at the Competence Centre on Foresight (EU Policy Lab)

“Being part of the Foresight Hub equipped me with practical foresight capacities that are essential to navigate uncertainty and think strategically about long-term challenges. It was a unique opportunity to facilitate a workshop on intergenerational fairness – a topic that matters deeply to me.” 
Robin Fauconet, Blue Book trainee in the Cabinet of Commissioner Micallef

“Foresight became a lens to reflect on our current systems and how to drive positive change. Learning about new scientific discoveries is exciting, but building a just, green world is even more rewarding.” 
Bartłomiej Rey, Blue Book trainee at JRC.T.4 Digital and Data Sovereignty

If you are a trainee in the 2026 March cohort, will you join the Foresight Hub?  

Sign up here:jrc-foresightec [dot] europa [dot] eu ( jrc-foresight[at]ec[dot]europa[dot]eu)