The guide for youth professionals has a specific objective: to assist in implementing mentoring activities within their organisations on a European scale. It is designed to improve the capacity and knowledge of youth professionals, helping them in adopting new methods and practices related to mentoring.

As it is closely linked with the findings of the Transnational Study carried out under the MENTOR project, it incorporates insights from mentors and mentees across Europe who participated in the research. The guide is designed to address the identified needs of the participants and provide guidance on how to meet those needs.

The guide corresponds fully to the main objective of the MENTOR project which is to strengthen the capacity of youth professionals to implement and/or reinforce their mentoring system to facilitate the integration and support of future international mobility participants.

The MENTOR project proposes an innovative mentoring method called “Mentor+”. This method innovates by complementing existing mentoring frameworks already required within European international mobility programs. Indeed, programs such as ESC, Civic Service, or Erasmus+ demand that each participant be accompanied by a mentor throughout their mobility project. However, the “Mentor+” approach does not aim to replace these systems but to enhance them by offering additional and reinforced support.

Designated mentors, as in the ESC program, are responsible for providing support for volunteers’ self-reflection on learning and professional and personal support. Within the MENTOR project, partners aim to develop a method that will allow participants to be accompanied by mentors (Mentor+) on intercultural and personal aspects, by individuals who have already experienced similar situations.