Guidelines for Social Mentoring Programmes for Newcomers

Mentoring has long been a common intervention to address an array of problems and inequalities and has been applied to numerous populations, settings, and goals. Some of the most common types of mentoring are youth mentoring and mentoring to or at work. While mentoring has many different definitions, it essentially involves a process in which an experienced person (the mentor) guides and supports a less experienced or more disadvantaged person (the mentee) in pursuit of a specific goal. In recent years, mentoring for newcomers has become a more widespread practice, particularly in the EU where active participation and integration of newcomers are high on the (political) agenda.

This handbook is for service providers who want to set up a social mentoring program aimed at foreign-language newcomers. We describe common practices and offer recommendations for each step of the mentoring process. This handbook is the result of the AMIF project ORIENT8 of HIVA KU Leuven, Beyond the Horizon ISSG vzw, the Municipality of Mechelen (Belgium), the Municipality of Nikaia-Agios Ioannis Rentis (Greece), and the Municipality of Sala (Sweden) that runs from 2021 to 2022. It will be further developed, tested, and adjusted during the course of the project.