Mentor International

Our fantastic EF gap year interns Ella and Davis were game to observe a typical Mentor Sweden Boost program. Annika Aspholm together with volunteer mentors taught students about Ikigai, a Japanese concept involving four elements: passion, skill, purpose, and financial reward. Students filled out handbooks to explore their own Ikigai, and listened to mentors from various professions discuss their careers and how their passions related to their work. Very inspiring!

Making art more inclusive and using it as tool to help youth communicate feelings is something that Moderna Museet knows a lot about. Anita Wernstrom-Pitcher and Ylva Hillström run youth art workshops and have created a youth council to increase young people's voices and influence in art. Mentor International and our national organisations Mentor Arabia, Mentor Foundation USA, Mentor Latvia, Mentor Sverige, Mentor Stiftung Deutschland were grateful to be invited into their environment to learn and experience their workshop techniques and how they talk about art with youth.

There was much to talk about at our 2023 national summit! Representatives from widely different cultures across Europe, Middle East and USA gathered together to plan, strategize and discuss how to continue to strengthen Mentor's work in building supportive communities that inspire and encourage youth to pursue their goals and dreams. Thank you Mentor Arabia, Mentor Germany, Mentor Latvia, Mentor Sweden and Mentor USA for being part of this important event, and thank you for everything you do to contribute to the success of so many young people!

Hey everyone! Hope you are enjoying a great start to 2023! In case you haven't heard, we at Mentor have the privilege of working with an exceptional colleague who has recently published a book called "Berättelsen inuti en flykting" (The story inside a refugee). Marzieh Kheir khah fled Afghanistan as a teenager in 2015 and made a new life or herself in Sweden. Her story is truly heartening and reminds us that no natter what challenges we may face, there is always the potential for growth and success. Marzieh says that one of the keys to her resilience is focusing on the things that bring her joy and purpose, even in the darkest of times. She also emphasizes the importance of seeking out support and guidance from others, and not being afraid to ask for help when needed. We hope Marzieh's story can serve as an inspiration to all of us to find ways to thrive and pursue our passions, no matter the circumstances. Let's all strive to be more like Marzieh and embrace the power of hope and determination in the coming year! Read the full interview: mentorinternational.org

In this day in age, it is easy to overlook many obstacles your friends and peers may have had to face to get where they are today. We are lucky enough to live in such a diverse society, and every one comes with different views and perspectives of the world. As we celebrate International Day of Tolerance today, let’s remember that tolerance is more than accepting others. It is honoring and understanding beliefs that might not be your own and looking toward the future with an open mind and heart. Mentors, teachers and coaches are great people to ask for guidance about tolerance, and they can also set great examples of tolerance and kindness in their everyday lives. Today think back to a time that you reached out to someone that might be different from yourself, think about how you made them feel and how much of an impact you might have had on their life without you knowing.

We were at Mentor Boost today! Mentor International took part in Mentor Sweden’s group mentoring program at Västerholms Friskola, a public middle school in the outskirts of Stockholm. Mentor Sweden’s very own Sara Mecconen led the session, teaching the Boost students a Japanese method, Ikigai, that helps define a personal sense of purpose. Our amazing volunteer coaches today were from Snapchat Stockholm. They shared so many experiences and such great knowledge with the students. They also helped students with the Ikigai, showing them how to unlock their potential, find their passions, and identify talent! Mentor Sweden’s Alexander Rosenberg and Mentor International’s very own intern Cimran Naik were able to sit in on the lesson. Thank you for a great eye-opening, meaningful experience, Mentor Sverige

Hey there! My name is Cimran Naik and I am currently an intern at Mentor International. My role is to help with social media creation, write articles and blog posts for the website, and work alongside Elise Alpen on any other projects. I will also be reaching out to our national organizations and am even sharing offices with Mentor Sverige this month! I will be attending New York University in January to study global health after my EF Gap Year and Absolute Internship experience. I have previously worked with non-profits and am so excited and grateful for the opportunity to work at Mentor! You may see some more of me over the next few weeks, so make sure to check out our Facebook and LinkedIn as well!

Now it's a new week with new opportunities and new Mentor missions. HM Queen Silvia has gone to Jordan for a three-day collaboration on behalf of Mentor International for our regional organization Mentor Arabia to inaugurate Mentor’s satellite office in Jordan and attend the Mentor Arabia Youth Social Entrepreneurs Award, Youth Empowerment Film & Song Competition as well as fundraising gala. Mentor Arabia has done a remarkable job to build a strong cooperation with the Jordanian Ministry of Education, local schools, and strategy partners like the Royal Health Awareness Society and will expand their important work to helping youth reach their maximum potential.

Today is World Mental Health Day. An overrepresentation of today’s youth are not feeling well and lacking a sense of well-being. This is not first, second, third world problem. It is a world problem. Yes, environmental and political factors - war, poverty, famine, flooding, wildfires, drought, etc. - afflict society. But personal factors - mobbing, discrimination, unemployment, depression, low self-esteem, etc. - take a massive toll on our youth on an individual level. Is it also exasperated by social media? Good question. Please take a moment today to reflect on how you felt as a teenager and what you would have needed in those moments. And, of course, feel free to reach out to Mentor International to see if and how you can get involved. Our country organizations are always looking for adult mentors, positive role models, who can offer an informed, measured, unconditional perspective. This can make a difference for youth's mental health.

Proud of our Mentor Germany team, chaired by Countess Bettina Bernadotte. We are grateful for our collaboration and that we stand together in support of youth development, helping young people reach their full potential.

Cecilia Bernard and Elise Alpen just returned from a visit to southern Germany to visit Mentor Stiftung Deutschland, headquartered at Insel Mainau. Well-planned, informative and enjoyable meetings! Thank you Countess Bettina Bernadotte, Sybille Perez Rodriguez, Anja Kattermann and the full team of youth professionals! Looking forward to supporting your continued important work with youth.

What does social impact look? At Mentor Sweden it looks like this. Mentor couples with a curiosity and motivation to stretch themselves outside their comfort zone, move beyond their regular circles, make new connections, expand and share knowledge, to ultimately build a shared and supportive community. On Wednesday 28 September, Mentor International had the honor to attend Mentor Sverige's Fall 2022 “Program Start” at Konserthuset in Stockholm. What a pleasure to see and meet so many mentor pairs together with The Royal Court of Sweden, Mentor supporters, partners, Board Members and goodwill ambassadors. An extra round of applause to Pedro Fuentes, Sofia Kacim and Carina Juserius. Well done everyone!

Don't forget UN's World Youth Skills Day! It's your yearly reminder of how important it is to help young people see the possibilities of building skills, both through formal and non-formal education. Every skill is an opportunity, for youth, employers and society. And it is what mentoring is all about.

So nice to be mingling again! hosted a housewarming at our new office in Stockholm's Old Town, a stone's throw from our founders place of work, near . It was high-spirited, alcohol-free event thanks to Mentor supporter . Shout out to Moa! A family therapist by training whose career it's been to reduce the effect of alcohol abuse on youth. Moa founded to offer a sophisticated alternative to alcohol and change society's perception by raising the status of being non-alcoholic. We think this is great!! Especially given our mission to match youth with strong role-models who inspire and provide a healthy alternatives to drugs and alcohol. Thank you to everyone who attended! Looking forward to seeing you again soon!

Today is the international day of living together in peace.

CATCH network. An invaluable and meaningful opportunity for the organisations that receive support from Queen Silvia's Care About The Children Foundation and whose programs are within Child Mental Illness. Mentor Arabia, 4H, Barnrättsbyrån, Ersta Fristad, Fryshuset, Ensamkommandes Förbund, Erikshjälpen, Futból da Forca, Knas Hemma, Läkare i världen, MIND, MusikBojen, Operation Smile, Org 1825, Project Playground, Scouterna, SIRA Skolorna, Trygga Barnen, War Child, Dara Institute and Solrosen / Räddningsmissionen. Many thanks to H.M. Queen Silvia's Foundation Care About the Children (CATCH) for offering this forum.

Mentor International was thrilled to host a visit with Dace Ljusa (Brencena) and Ulla Zumente-Steele from Mentor Latvia. Mentor Latvia works with the most vulnerable youth. Youth from foster homes and orphanages. Youth who, if it weren't for Mentor, would not have an adult mentor who is there solely for them - to focus on their needs and their safe development. In strategic coordination with the local arm of SOS Children's Villages International, Mentor Latvia make a life changing difference for as many youth as they possibly can. Now with Ukrainian youth on their way, there is so much more that needs to be done. Please reach out and let us know if you're interested learning how you can get involved!

Alright y’all the time has come for our internship to sadly come to an end. We want to thank Elise for taking us under her wing. There is no end of things we have learned and we hope to come back in the future. Thank you again and bye for now!

Have you have been so stressed that you you get stressed thinking about relaxing? It's apparently not all that uncommon, but the smiles on these faces tells you it's worth taking that extra nanosecond to count your breaths and exhale. Mentor Sverige's Carina Juserius ran one of her Mentor Talks: Balance vs Burnout for EF Education First staff. Since this was the English version of the seminar, our EF Gap Year interns were able to participate and add work balance to their ever growing list of employability and life skills. Ian and Rian Have you have been so stressed that you you get stressed thinking about relaxing? It's apparently not all that uncommon, but the smiles on these faces tells you it's worth taking that extra nanosecond to count your breaths and exhale. Mentor Sverige's Carina Juserius ran one of her Mentor Talks: Balance vs Burnout for EF Education First staff. Since this was the English version of the seminar, our EF Gap Year interns were able to participate and add work balance to their ever growing list of employability and life skills. They even heightened their joke-ability skills having fun with EF’s wax guard on the way out.

Hey y’all! My name is Vera and I am the social media intern here at Mentor. I’m from State College, Pennsylvania and I plan on going to university for international relations after my EF Gap Year. I’m grateful to learn so much about non profits and social media over the past few weeks.

Hey guys, my name is Ian Rainsberger. I’m 20 years old and I was born in the US in Colorado. I’m currently headed towards art school in Berlin with a bachelors in illustration on the way. I’m an intern here at Mentor working on collaborative illustrations for Mentor. I’m currently doing illustrations to help explain complicated emotions that are taught in the Mentor Boost program. I work along side Vera, Rian, and Elise. So grateful for Mentor and Elise to offer me this internship!

Moonlight on the water. We received this beautiful picture from Lotta and Greger Hagelin who are enjoying International Day of Happiness at Soneva Jani in the Maldives. Lotta and Greger were our generous and lucky Soneva auction winners at our December CFHILL vernissage dinner with HM Queen Silvia. Thank you again Greger Hagelin, Jeanette Bolin, Soneva Jani!

Friday report. We interns had a great week at Mentor. We got to spend time with the Mentor Sweden "prao" interns. We also got a chance to sit in on the most important part of mentor work: the first meeting between mentors and mentees. The activity was coordinated by Mentor staff together with the interns. You could easily see how well everyone worked to cover the basic rules of mentoring and what they had to look forward to! While keeping to the schedule, jokes and smiles were shared all around. Even the most shy and nervous souls started to relax when they got their mentor and headed out for a “fika”. At the end, four groups of 100 students were matched and paired with mentors all across Stockholm. It was a big day!

There is an important connection between image and language. Pictures can lead to words for things you would not otherwise talk about. Art arouses a need to nuance and gain access to words that can open doors to conversation. Mentor Sweden is launching a five part workshop series with Maria Taube and Snežana Vučetić Bohm at Moderna Museet. Youth from Mentor’s focus schools will spend the coming weeks gaining knowledge about art, art expression and the art world including what professions are possible. For more details: tinyurl.com/39hr2hba

Hi there, my name is Rian Jones. I am an Intern at Mentor International coordinating international development communications with local organizations. I am from Olympia, Washington and am currently an EF Gap Year student. I have previously worked with non-profits and was so excited to get the opportunity to work with Mentor. I really believe in the mission and the work we do with youth.

Here are a few ways that people in communities close where Mentor works, in Germany and USA, are coming together for Ukrainian youth and their families in need. The links for how you can support will be on our stories.

Hey everyone it’s Vera from the Mentor International EF Gap Year Absolute Internship interns! We are over the next week going to introduce ourselves and our amazing boss Elise. Do you have any questions you want to ask us? DM us and we will be more than happy to try and answer them!

Starting today, Feb 1-2, at Sweden at Expo 2020 in Dubai, Mentor International, Mentor Arabia and Choice Foundation will co-host a series of 45-minutes live sessions surrounding youth issues, each targeting high school students, parents, early childhood educators and professionals. The sessions will be high level seminars that aim to raise awareness about mental health topics, including prevention from risky behaviours, positive parenting and more.

Anne Frank once said, “I still believe, in spite of everything, that people are truly good at heart.” Today we remember the victims of the Holocaust. With this remembrance comes a reminder of what hate, intolerance, and violence can do to a society. Several generations later, the world still feels the pain from this loss of life. It is our job to educate future generations on the importance of tolerance and understanding, as well as consequences of hateful behavior. No youth, no matter race, gender, religion, or ethnicity should feel unsafe. They need an environment where they feel accepted and safe, so they can build a future where these atrocities will never repeat themselves. United Nations Mentor Arabia Mentor Latvia Mentor Stiftung Deutschland Mentor Sverige Mentor Foundation, USA

Hello Dubai! In support of Health & Wellness Week, Mentor International / Mentor Arabia are collaborating with Swedish-based Insamlingsstiftelsen Choice to host high-level seminars surrounding youth health issues at Expo. Will we see you there? Read more about our involvement on: mentorinternational.org

At Mentor International we believe that it is a human right for all to have access to an education. Our youth deserve the opportunity to have a safe place to grow and develop into successful adults. Mentors and teachers can help facilitate these opportunities, allowing for this right to be used to its full potential. It is our hope that soon all children will have these opportunities in their life; a life with caring mentors, happiness, and education. Mentor Foundation, USA Mentor Arabia Mentor Latvia Mentor Sverige Mentor Stiftung Deutschland Mentor International Danmark United Nations

Volunteers make the world go round. Without them, so many life-changing organizations and programs would not have the hands and feet they need to reach their community. Mentor International is one of many organizations that prosper because of the hard work and passion their volunteers put forth. They want to see our youth succeed and grow into successful adults, and it shows every day. Thank you, volunteers! You are so very much appreciated. United Nations Mentor Arabia Mentor Sverige Mentor International Danmark Mentor Stiftung Deutschland Mentor Foundation, USA Mentor Latvia

Check out this awesome collaboration Mentor International is a part of! Read more to learn about the auction taking place, full of beautiful and amazing experiences and items:
CFHILL have curated an exhibition “Mentors” by Sandra Weil that features some of the most innovative and ambitious artists creating work today. All have been mentors to their community, pushing ideas around race, mediums, conversation, and artistic creation and using their medium to make a difference, acting as a “mentor” in a credible and authentic way.
In connection with this, Mentor’s long-term partner, SEB has sponsored a series of events to help raise funds to support Mentor programs. Starting with an auction dinner in the presence of HM Queen Silvia of Sweden, Mentor’s founder and President, and followed by two Private Banking events that bring SEB customers closer to art and Mentor.

AUCTION HERE – BID NOW !
Please click the link below for the auction link with password: BidMentor!

https://www.cfhill.com/auction/mentor-auction/login

To bid, please contact Caroline Wieckhorst who can also accept bids via +46 70 985 08 68 or [email protected].

The live auction will take place on Wednesday 1 December 1, 9:30 PM (Stockholm time) to bring extra funds to mentoring programs in socio-economically vulnerable communities. We hope you want to be involved and support our youth.

Children are the hope for our tomorrow. They are being raised in an everchanging world and are having to constantly adapt. Considering the Covid Pandemic, children have had to deal with changes at an accelerated rate. Youth need support systems throughout this difficult time. A mentor in their life can be the constant supporter they need, giving them encouragement and guidance. This gives them a safe space to learn and grow into their personality. When given the opportunity, these children will make the changes we wish to see in the world as our future leaders. Mentor Sverige Mentor Arabia Mentor Foundation, USA Mentor Stiftung Deutschland Mentor International Danmark Mentor Latvia United Nations

The world is full of vibrant, diverse cultures. Each come with different worldviews and perspectives, providing something unique to bring to the table. Although people around you may come from a culture differing from your own, this does not mean you cannot form friendships and respect for one another. Tolerance is a step towards preserving these independent cultures, while also unifying a region. Within schools, tolerance of other peers from differing backgrounds is key for a safe and welcoming environment for youth. Mentors and teachers in these schools can be the example for youth to see tolerance and acceptance in action. Can you think of how you can reach out to someone in your school, workplace, or daily life that is different from yourself? You may find a friend or learn something new when you do. United NationsMentor ArabiaMentor Foundation, USA Mentor Stiftung Deutschland Mentor Latvia Mentor International Danmark Mentor Sverige

A recent article in The Wall Street Journal highlighted a current uptake in “tics” developing among youth due to social media. Depression and anxiety among teens have been heightened and they have been turning to social media for help, comfort, and a sense of unity. In some cases, this has proved to be detrimental. Youth are focusing so closely on the individuals that they follow on apps, such as TicTok, that they are physically manifesting tics and habits that they are witnessing. Youth need personal connections to help them in times of stress and confusion. Mentor offers young people a healthy context for friendship and discussion.
Instead of turning to social media, with little to no one-on-one interaction, they can speak with an individual face to face who cares about their well-being and future. Mentor Foundation, USA Mentor ArabiaMentor Stiftung Deutschland Mentor Sverige Mentor Latvia

To read the full article: https://www.wsj.com/articles/teen-girls-are-developing-tics-doctors-say-tiktok-could-be-a-factor-11634389201
If you are unable to access the article via the link, feel free to reach out to Mentor at [email protected] to receive a pdf copy.

All around the world girls are breaking the stereotypical mold of what it means to be a woman. They are showing that they are capable, strong, independent, and brilliant. For these girls to be able to shine in this way, they need the proper support and guidance through their adolescent years. This starts with rights to equal education, healthcare, and a safe environment. Do you know of a girl who could use some encouragement? All she needs is the opportunity, then you can watch her change the world. Mentor Arabia Mentor Sverige Mentor Latvia Mentor Foundation, USA Mentor Stiftung Deutschland Mentor International Danmark United Nations

The Covid-19 Pandemic has had an immense impact on youth’s mental health. They have had to deal with isolation, online learning, sickness, and constant life changes. In these uncertain times they need someone to reach out a helping hand, listen to their concerns, and offer guidance for their present and future endeavors. A mentor can be this lifeline for a youth that feels alone and confused. Do you know someone who needs a trusted friend? Try being that friend. Mentor Arabia Mentor Foundation, USA Mentor International Danmark Mentor Stiftung Deutschland Mentor Sverige Mentor Latvia United Nations