HOW TO - mentoring in ESC volunteering projects

This activity represents the next step, after national and regional training for less experienced mentors, that will focus on more experienced mentors by providing a platform for networking and exchanging of practices on an international level. This level-up training emphasizes learning from experience and sharing among participants. Within the training we will work on developing mentoring competencies regarding specific topics,  we will open up a space for exchange of experiences and mentoring tools but also explore how mentors can take care of themselves during the mentoring process.

AIM and OBJECTIVES

The aim of the training program is to enhance the competencies of experienced mentors with the goal of providing better support to ESC participants which will consequently improve project implementation quality. The program will cover several key elements:

• exchanging good, bad, and best practices and experiences, 
• analyzing case studies of various projects from different countries, 
• exploring mentorship in challenging, crisis, and conflict situations, 
• examining mentorship of young people with fewer opportunities, 
• looking into diverse methods used to enhance learning process within ESC (such as  reflections, learning plans and Youthpass)
• discussions on providing professional and personal support to mentors.

PARTICIPANTS' PROFILE

Mentors of ESC volunteers who:

• have experience in mentoring several individual volunteers or teams and/or several years of experience in that role
• have the ability to communicate in English
• can participate actively in preparatory tasks, online meeting and during the whole duration of the residential part of the training
• are willing to share their own experiences and mentoring tools

TRAINING FORMAT

Training is based on non-formal methodology and experiential learning therefore it will ask for a high level of participants' involvement.

Training consists of three parts - preparation task, online meeting and residential part. Participants will get the preparation task to read before the online meeting.

Online meeting serves as preparation for the training and will focus on getting to know each other and the programme, clearing all roles of a mentor within ESC and on reflection on the expectations and needs stated in the application form. In that process participants will have a chance to influence specific case studies that we will work on during the training and will agree upon the tools exchange process (based upon what they will write in the application form). Online part will take place on 25th April on Zoom platform from 4 to 7 p.m.