Last year, Gianmaria Scapin from VSP ODV (Italy) had his article published in the Italian newspaper "Corriere della Sera" concerning the role of the Mentor. We believe it is the first time that there has been an explicit mention of CESES in the Italian news.
Today's mentors, the nonprofit's bet
"A word and a figure that seem a bit self-serving: Mentor, who was he? It all comes to a head on the shores of Ithaca, when the wily Odysseus embarks for Troy, entrusting his son Telemachus to the care of Mentor. A task that Mentor handles so well that even the Goddess Athena takes her likeness to come to his aid, and which ends with her providing Odysseus with crucial help in the final battle against the usurping Proci. But today? Who is the mentor and what can he do?
Exactly as in the myth, mentor is a guide - linking the young to the expert, the junior to the senior - capable of making himself present, if and when needed, to help evaluate choices and take the right path. This is the concrete project that non-profit organisations such as our Vsp - Senior Professional Volunteers - have chosen to develop with the support of the European Community to accompany, in Italy and abroad, young people who are about to enter new geographies, physical, professional and otherwise. How? By supporting them in their educational, training and personal development through the instrument of mentoring provided by elderly persons, still active in their field of work or already retired, distinguished by a rich professional background.
Today, 13 associations - three of them Italian - from 9 European countries, led by the European Confederation of Senior Expert Services, participate in the ambitious project, which stems from the idea contained in Erasmus+ Est - European Senior Together, in support of active ageing. The objectives are twofold and at the same time the advantages: to draw on the wealth of knowledge and experience of the over 50s for the benefit of society and the economy, putting this precious baggage back into play; and, on the other hand, to guide younger professionals and those at risk of marginalisation in the 18-30 age group, to enhance their professional and personal skills, in particular by supporting civic participation.
Experience teaches us how strengthening mutual understanding and solidarity between generations through cooperation is the best possible bridge to contribute to the well-being of both the younger generation through their voluntary contribution to society and the younger generation through their supported involvement in the so-called system.
A role, therefore, that takes its cue from intergenerational relations to bring into the world - and it has to be said - tangible contributions of optimal integration between past, present and especially future as Germany and France already successfully apply this methodology in government programmes using non-profit associations."
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