The European Center for Evidence-Based Mentoring has been launched

Last March the European Center for Evidence-Based Mentoring, established in the Friesland region, in the Netherlands, was presented to the public. This is a centre promoted by MentorProgramma Friesland, together with other Frisian institutions for higher and vocational education, and aims to give a quantitative and qualitative leap forward to research in mentoring programmes developed until now within the framework of this organisation.

The Centre will be conducting research to generate knowledge and will promote evidence-based methodologies. The goal is to contribute to improve the effectiveness of mentoring programmes to achieve a greater impact in areas such the fight against youth unemployment and school dropout, or the development of entrepreneurship projects.

Also, the Center already has the support of a consolidated institution in this field: the MENTOR/UMB Center for Evidence-Based Mentoring.

European Mentoring Summit 2016: weaving networks and exchanging lessons learnt

The European Mentoring Summit 2016 was the venue to officially present the European Center for Evidence-Based Mentoring. This forum was also useful in advancing in the creation of two initiatives involving the collaboration of several organisations: the European Learning Network of Migrant Mentoring Programmes, promoted by the King Baudouin Foundation, and the European Mentoring Network.

The event was also the occasion to present several good practice initiatives, as well as the outcomes of research projects linked to mentoring. From the Associació Punt de Referència, one of the organisations participating in the forum, they highlighted that the research projects presented showcased 4 success factors in mentoring programmes: an adequate selection of mentors, coupling based on shared interests, quality relationship between the mentor and the child or young person that last in time, and an intervention that is based on the person’s strengths.