How do you speak to teenagers about inland waterway transport (IWT) in 2026?
Probably not with long brochures or formal slogans.

That was the idea behind the latest phase of the ITB campaign, part of the broader bilingual initiative “Binnenvaart. Buitengewoon.” / “Le transport fluvial, c’est phénoménal”, developed to promote inland waterway transport among younger generations in Belgium. Targeting young people aged 13 to 21, the campaign framed the IWT sector from a fresher angle using humour, social media culture with slang language familiar to the youth.

Questions such as “En vrai, ça rapporte combien / Wat schuift dat?” (‘’How much does it pay?”), “C’est carré si je ramène mon crush à bord / Kan mijn chickie mee aan boord?” (‘’ Can I take my crush” appeared on visuals, short videos and social media posts. The tone was intentionally informal and somewhat playful, closer to internet meme culture than traditional institutional communication.

The campaign was rolled out across the ITB website and social media platforms including Instagram, Facebook and TikTok. Short-form videos and striking visuals were used to catch attention quickly and encourage young people to click through for more information.

Once on the website, visitors could explore the sector more concretely. Whether they were still in school, wanted to work for a short time, looking in technical careers, or aimed to become a captain, they were guided towards different educational paths and recognised training centres in both Wallonia and Flanders.

The website combined a visually accessible approach with practical information, including: inland navigation schools and training centres, available qualifications and certificates, career possibilities in the sector and more.

The results of the first phase were significant:

  • more than 591,000 young people reached;
  • over 90,000 video views;
  • nearly 8,000 website visits.

The campaign is now moving into a second phase focused more strongly on direct experience: encouraging young people to visit schools, attend information days and discover the sector first-hand. We will closely follow the next phases of the campaign hoping that young Belgians will end up loving IWT as much as we do!