The Institute for Youth Development KULT proudly started the third cycle of the mentoring program, seeing off the previous generation of mentees and welcoming a new one. They reconnected and recognized the energies of great people – motivated, eager for knowledge, hardworking and optimistic, who believe in change and work for the benefit of society.
The purpose of this program is primarily to empower representatives of non-governmental organizations, and in this way round off the support that the Institute provides to civil society organizations through the strengthening of organizational capacities and performance. Strong civil society organizations will be ready to create positive changes and operate more effectively in their environment.
Listening to the different wishes, reasons and motives that led the mentors and mentees to this process, we also received very interesting answers to the question: How did I end up here?
Some of the mentees learned about the Institute’s mentoring program through communication with other representatives of non-governmental organizations. But that’s not all! This creative group of people expressed and described their expectations in very specific ways. One of the mentees and at the same time the youngest participant in this process, seventeen-year-old Nadine Brka, a representative of the REaktiv Association from Zenica, described his expectation when it comes to the relationship between mentor and mentee as a tourist trip with a tourist guide – a completely new experience, which will give birth to countless new ones. impressions, experiences and answers to numerous unknown questions.
Brankica Ždero from the Dinarica Association from Mostar compared that relationship to a dance in which the dance partners have to follow each other, because no matter how good they are individually, in the end it is important that they listen to each other in order for the choreography to be successful.
The representative of the LINK Association from Mostar, Dženis Duračić, mentioned his favorite culinary show, in which “little experts” learn very important things from “big experts” , as an example of what he expects.
“If we don’t have support, it’s hard to reach the goals we’re aiming for ,” concluded Sanja Križanović from the Fojnicani Association, Maglaj and Anesa Markin from the Mostar Local Democracy Agency.
From this process and the mentors with whom they will spend time, with whom they will grow and from whom they will learn, the new group of mentees emphasized that they especially expect relaxation, commitment, friendly relations, positive energy from both sides and help when needed.
Edisa Demić, director of the “Dignitet” Association from Mostar, whose role in this process has changed, also shared her interesting experience. Edisa was originally a mentee, and thanks to dedicated and hard work, desire for success and constant motivation, in the last cycle she had the opportunity to be a mentor and share her knowledge and examples of good practice with other people.
“As a mentee, I had the opportunity to learn from Jasmine, my mentor at the time, and then as a mentor I could add my stamp, a dose of my originality and specificity to all of that and share that with my mentee. “I definitely felt a greater responsibility as a mentor than as a mentee, because I knew that I needed to focus specifically on that person and not so much on myself, so that some positive changes would take place in them ,” she states.
Mentoring is a process in which, in addition to sharing knowledge, new opinions, attitudes and ideas are also created. Mentoring not only brings additional skills, but also motivation and courage to realize dreams, goals, to take new paths, recognize one’s own strengths and overcome obstacles.
Mentors and their role can be an inspiration that opens doors to new possibilities and encourages mutual development. Every advice and step in this process lays the foundation for growth, because good mentoring does not only make what is learned and applicable for the organization, but also a way to motivate mentees and teach individuals to believe in themselves and their abilities.
Formed teams that will work together are: mentor Sehija Dedović from the Association Center for Education and Research NAHLA and mentee Anesa Markin from the Local Democracy Agency Mostar, mentor Edisa Demić from the Association “Dignitet” and mentee Nadin Brka, representative of the Association REaktiv, mentor Amir Hasanović from Association for the Prevention of Addiction NARKO NE and mentee Brankica Ždero from the Association Dinarica from Mostar, mentor Marina Jovović from the Sarajevo Open Center and mentee Dženis Duračić from the Association LINK, and mentor Anita Šimić from the Network of Active Communities and mentee Sanja Križanović, Association Fojničani.
And in the following period, we bring several interesting stories written by the joint work of our mentors and mentees from the previous cycle. All stories will be available at: mladi.org
Source: mladi.org
