Mobility Mentors for refugees in Europe

Our application was driven by the need to improve access to voluntary service opportunities for young refugees in Europe, particularly in cross-border settings. Despite the challenges posed by the...

With MentorME, we aimed to foster access to cross-border national and European voluntary service programs for young refugees in Europe and create a sustainable network of youth workers as mobility mentors. These mentors would be equipped with the tools to guide and support young refugees interested in cross-border national or European voluntary service programs. Additionally, they would inform and support organizations active in the voluntary service sector (hosting, sending, supporting) and the integration/migration sector, helping them promote and provide access to voluntary service programs for young refugees. To achieve this, we focused on training youth workers to become mobility mentors for young refugees in their local contexts. These mentors would consult, inform, guide, and support young refugees throughout their cross-border volunteering experiences—before, during, and after their stay. Furthermore, they would train peer youth workers in their local and regional contexts to become mobility mentors, equipping them with the tools and knowledge to build networks of organizations active in the voluntary service and integration/migration sectors.

In the framework of MentorME, and to achieve our objectives, together with our partners, we implemented the following activities: For the creation of the Training Concept for Mobility Mentors and the Mobility Kit, we conducted research and collected material on national and European voluntary service programs (including special national/European programs for refugees) and reached out to key stakeholders. We also utilized the material created during our previous KA2-moveurope! project (legal framework information), which served as a foundation for MentorME. The training concept included two parts: a Training of Trainers (ToT) with guidelines and materials, and a self-paced online training course on the HOP platform, which could be accessed by youth workers and learners across Europe at any time, independently of the ToT. To develop, test, and train participants in using the training concept and the kit, we involved youth workers in a Learning, Teaching, Training Activity (LTTA1). This was followed by focus groups in each country, conducted by LTTA1 participants, together with young refugees and youth workers in their local contexts, to test the Mobility Kit. Both the Training Concept and the Mobility Kit were uploaded to the Mobility Platform, an information, learning, and networking platform for youth workers working with young refugees, as well as organizations in the voluntary service and integration sectors. The platform also included an info point for refugees. To further develop, test, and train participants in using the platform, we engaged youth workers (including those from stakeholder organizations in the volunteering sector) and young refugees in a second Learning, Teaching, Training Activity (LTTA2), followed by local multiplier events in all the countries of the project.The objectives of these local multiplier events were to: Bring together stakeholders at the national level from different backgrounds to open a dialogue and establish a platform for concrete collaboration and the shaping of future partnerships. Present the role of mobility mentors and how they could support organizations and refugee participants in cross-border voluntary services. Introduce and disseminate the following: The Mobility Platform Mobility KITs The opportunity to join the online self-paced training course on HOP or receive training as a mobility mentor during one of the offered training cycles. The developed MentorMe Manual, which included a Mobility KIT (PR1), a Mobility Mentor Training Concept (PR2), and other comprehensive information and documents from the previous project MoveEurope that led to MentorMe. Combining PR1 and PR2 into one document was seen as beneficial for beneficiaries and would facilitate dissemination. IFYD took the lead role in creating and structuring the Manual, which was developed together with partners to make PR1 and PR2 easy to access and share, providing more insight into previous work and the reasons for creating these PRs. Throughout all planned activities, from the beginning to the end of MentorME, we aimed to connect the three target groups, build new collaborations, and create and strengthen the European support network, as well as foster new local, regional, and national synergies. All participants had the opportunity to benefit significantly from the activities and were supported by our partner organizations on an ongoing basis. All developed materials (PRs) were revised and underwent quality checks at various stages of the project. We held monthly online meetings with our partners and organized three project meetings (TPM)—kick-off, mid-term, and evaluation—to ensure the smooth implementation of the project’s activities.

The project resulted in several concrete outputs. Youth workers in the partnering countries were informed and trained to promote the social inclusion of young refugees in a European context through cross-border volunteering opportunities and mentorship. The various activities led to a significant awareness-raising process for all involved actors (partners, participants, beneficiaries), resulting in increased knowledge that extended beyond the direct project beneficiaries and countries involved. Additionally, the project developed a supporting network of various national and European actors. One key outcome was the establishment of new collaborations across Europe, with a focus on partner countries. These collaborations launched and implemented cross-border voluntary service projects accessible to young refugees, raised awareness on the topic, and advocated for easier access to cross-border volunteering programs for young refugees, contributing to structural change. Tangible results, which were also disseminated for informational purposes, included the creation of various types of informational material (mainly digital). These materials were linked to all partners' websites and social media and targeted both direct and indirect project stakeholders. One of the key outputs was the "Mobility KIT" (PR1), a toolkit in English designed to help future mobility mentors familiarize other youth workers, young refugees, and stakeholders with the Mobility Mentor concept, making cross-border volunteering opportunities more accessible to refugees. The toolkit also provided important resources for stakeholders in the voluntary service and integration sectors, such as country-specific modules, checklists, multilingual infocards, videos, and contact lists. Furthermore, the project created a "Mobility Mentor Platform" where all these materials were made freely accessible. The final result was the development of the MentorMe Manual, which included the Mobility KIT (PR1), the Mobility Mentor Training Concept (PR2), and other comprehensive documents from the previous MoveEurope project, which ultimately contributed to MentorMe.