Mentoring under Construction

There's a new community with meaning and great intentions!

If you want to better understand what solidarity means and how it can be manifested in projects within the European Solidarity Corps, this is the place to be. Project coordinators, volunteer coordinators, mentors, trainers, current and former volunteers come together to talk about solidarity and find common ground for projects and other initiatives. Learn more about the community in this episode & join SoliDARE @ https://www.facebook.com/groups/solidarecommunity

This is a special edition about the Task Force activities, a group of committed professionals who have been working together in 2023 to create the first competence framework for mentors. Listen to their stories as they share their impressions on how this journey has been for them.

We continue the series of talks around a mentors' competence framework with Darko Marković, trainer, coach & consultant in the youth field and other sectors. You will discover what makes the mentors' competence framework different from any other one developed so far, practical tips & tricks on how to approach the process and some great thoughts about the future of these types of frameworks. And some more! :)

In this episode, we discuss about the competences needed by mentors from the perspective of a National Agency. Our guest is Anca Derjac, the Coordinator of the European Solidarity Corps Department, with a lot of experience in project monitoring and a good understanding and overview over challenges encountered in volunteering projects. Enjoy!

Our guest is Ingrid Danckaert, facilitator and consultant with Service Civil International, sharing about how to prepare mentors and foundational skills for mentors needed when recruited. Let's explore the lessons learned from an organization that turned 100 years old!

For more information regarding the infographic mentioned in the podcast, please check the following link: https://www.scicat.org/en/volunteering/projects-and-campaigns/grassroots-change/

As we embark on this great journey to create a mentors' competence framework, we explore together with different guests needs and challenges of youth in order to better identify what a mentor should and could do in the context of volunteering projects.

This episode features Silvia Misu, learning architect with Association Education for Real Life, Romania, sharing on the need for mentors to focus on creating more non-directive spaces for youth to express and find solutions to their challenges.

Enjoy!

This episode looks into the why and the how of wellbeing so that mentors, volunteers and anybody for that matter can pick up on a few approaches that they could accommodate in their lives. Less talk, more action in terms of wellbeing, how and why we should say NO more often, here's a short insight into what this episode will bring.

Our guest is Eliza Zadłużna, trainer and coach with eighteen years experience of working with various groups. On a daily basis she conducts trainings in Poland and abroad in the field of well-being, resilience, communication, coaching, creativity and intercultural education. She works also with European Solidarity Corps volunteers, mentors and project coordinators.

If you are looking for more resources to keep up inspiration and practice, here are a few great ones that we would like to recommend:

1. Johann Hari " Lost connections"

2. Rick Hanson "Hardwiring happiness. How to reshape your brain and your life"

3. Rick Hanson "Resilient. Find your inner strength"

4. Sarah Peyton "Your resonant self. Guided Meditations and Exercises to Engage Your Brain's Capacity for Healing"

5. Brene Brown "Rising Strong"

We all know that summer comes with joy, but also with challenges for volunteers in ESC projects - activities slow down, holiday becomes a priority and motivation level can fluctuate.

In this episode we will discover how to create learning opportunities when you have a holiday mindset and lots of autonomy. Our guest is Iris Kasper who is based in Graz, Austria. In recent years, she gained experience as a project manager in several non-profit art institutions in Graz. Currently, since September 2021, she works in Rotor - association for contemporary art as an intern mentor for the volunteers within ESC projects.

Enjoy!

In this episode we discuss with Natassa Dedousi, NET Officer with the Hellenic National Agency for Erasmus+ Youth & European Solidarity Corps and Olga Kiriakidou, trainer and youth worker, about the learning opportunities that the Hellenic National Agency has created for mentors. They share about the training program they have developed, about key competences and invite you to take a deeper dive, in your own terms, in online learning.

Here you can access the online version of the training for mentors, on HOP Platform: https://hop.salto-youth.net/courses/Mentors

Enjoy!

This episode focuses on experimenting with autogenic training exercises to enable readiness for learning both in volunteers and other parties. It helps us work more on exercising self-directed learning.

The following resource is to be consulted while listening to the podcast, Zone of proximal learning: https://www.simplypsychology.org/Zone-of-Proximal-Development.html

Enjoy!

Autogenic training (AT) is a technique that teaches your body to respond to your verbal commands. These commands "tell" your body to relax and help control breathing, blood pressure, heartbeat, and body temperature. The goal of AT is to achieve deep relaxation and reduce stress and it could be a great tool both for mentors and mentees to take care of themselves while managing their processes of learning and personal change.

More information available at this link: https://www.verywellmind.com/how-to-practice-autogenic-training-for-relaxation-3024387