Mentor Summit

As part of Youth Mentoring Week, mentors from across Victoria came together on Saturday to share ideas and experiences, celebrate their contribution and give input to the sector.

About 30 mentors and 15 mentoring program coordinators took part in the event. It was a cold, but sunny morning in the lush playgrounds of Parkville. It was an early start from Port Fairy (even earlier from Hamilton for Kathryn Hamill from Southern Grampians Adult Ed's Youth Education Program - thanks for making the effort Kathryn!) but my energy picked up with the sight of so many volunteers enthusiastically giving up their precious time to attend.

The morning session, in which groups discussed four key mentoring issues, was dynamic, noisy and productive. The topics for dicussion (highlights of mentoring, challenges, how to best support mentors and lobbying & networking) provoked much thought and plenty of terrific stories. At our table, which was mostly made up of men - a rare event when you work in the community sector - talk was of the preference many male mentors have for structured relationships or tangible activities to work on with their mentees.

Other points included the frustration with mentor training that goes over the same ground, particularly for existing mentors attending sessions with new mentors. A suggestion was that more experienced mentors be given roles in training sessions to value their input.

It also came up several times at our table that being a mentor can be expensive financially over time. It was suggested that programs that do have a budget to cover some activity expenses need to make mentors aware of how to access it and to make that process mentor-friendly... otherwise the mentors may be reluctant to ask or feel like they're putting their hand out.

Thanks also to Petrina Hare from Barwon Youth's In-School Mentoring Program for her attendance and good company on the drive up and back. The Summit was put together by the Victorian youth Mentoring Alliance (VYMA), the national Youth Mentoring Network and the regional coordination projects.

I will be putting up a link to the notes from the day when they become available.