This year’s Mentoring Days are open for the participants from 50 countries – members of Youth Business International (YBI) and are conducted in English and Russian with simultaneous translation.
For whom:
for entrepreneurs – continuing and potential mentors and mentees
for experts – leaders of organisations implementing or planning to launch mentoring programmes, managers and coordinators of such programmes
What’s on the agenda:
master classes from international mentoring experts – Bob Garvey, Auriel Majumdar, Lis Merrick
best international mentoring practices from India and Sweden
networking between mentors from different countries and Russian regions
Mentor of the Year for Eastern Europe / Central Asia award ceremony
The moderator of the Mentoring Days is Boris Tkachenko, YBI Trustee, CEO of Youth Business Russia and the Mentoring Institute.
All events on the Mentoring Days agenda are free of charge.
Summary of Day 1 of the International Mentoring Days
The IX International Days of Mentoring in Entrepreneurship swept past in a single burst of activity in November 22-24. Following the advice of Auriel Majumdar, key speaker at the Days, we reflected on the event and are happy to share the results and our impressions.)
The Day brought the joy of meeting at one platform between mentors and experts, of new encounters and useful information.
Mentors from different countries could meet each other and talk and discuss the personal impact of mentoring.
Master class by Bob Garvey (Professor, Managing Partner of “The Lio Partnership”, UK) “” helped to understand the relationships with mentees, dealing with ego and the importance of continuous self-improvement. The participants’ comments prove it best:
“Bob, thank you! It is a great way to help mentee to consider mindfully their goals and to unlock potential.”
“I particularly like it about history and artifacts, you can use it to produce a powerful energy battery, if you want to change yourself and your world!”
“All techniques are just flames! As for me, not only about “learn from mistakes skills”, but about self-acceptance as well.”
“Listening to you, I realise again that mentoring is history as well. The history of self-making’s, the history of changes. Bravo!”
“Wonderful session, where I’ve learnt to use right approaches in mentoring, especially sharing personal stories and experiences. Thank you, Bob!”
“I particularly like the idea to describe oneself with the use of metaphors and similes.”
“I admire simplicity, the deeps and particularity of your observations, Bob. Thank you!!!”
Morning the same day the Mentoring Institute (MI) and Youth Business Russia Programme (YBR) summarized the results of Mentor of the Year 2021 Russia in the network of Youth Business International (YBI), a global network of organisations supporting bourgeoning businesses in 56 countries. Tatiana Volchegorskaya was announced the winner.
At the end of the Day a stage of the YBI Mentor of the Year award for Eastern Europe and Central Asia took place.
Together with Tatiana Volchegorskaya, Gayane Sokhakyan, mentor from Armenia, and Oyunchuiuun Tsedev from Mongolia were the finalists. All of them rendered very efficient support for their mentees-entrepreneurs, and the participants’ sympathies were with every competitor.
Each mentor who won in her country was represented by her mentee. Tatiana Volchegorskaya was represented by Daria Mironova, founder of kindergarten network “Seven Dwarfs”, Nefteyugansk. Mentors from Russia, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyzgyzstan, Mongolia and Uzbekistan took part in the jury, and Tatiana Volchegorskaya was awarded the Mentor of the Year for Eastern Europe and Central Asia. Tatiana will represent our region at YBI final in January.
Day 1
Summary of Day 2 of the International Mentoring Days
The Day 2 was the day of inspiration and reflection.
First, mentees joined the mentor participants. Joerg Schoolman, YBI mentoring expert from Germany moderated networking in mixed format.
After having known each other better, the participants listened to several inspiring stories told by mentoring matches at the session moderated by Irina Gorelova “Effectiveness and benefits of mentoring firsthand”.
The speakers frankly shared their stories and told about their expectations at the start of mentoring relationships and about the impact of mentoring on their businesses and life: a match from Voronezh Fedor Borisov (singing school “FaSol”) and his mentor Margarita Maslennikova, Maria Kuznetsova (Arts Traditions, Moscow) and Zhanna Trotsenko (a facility for the children with special needs ‘KaDiKu’, Nizhnevartovsk) – two other mentees of Tatiana Volchegorskaya, the day before announced YBI Mentor of the Year both for Russia and for Eastern Europe/Central Asia. The key learning for the participants was their understanding of mentoring in entrepreneurship as not just mentee’s business upgrade but significant changes in the outlook, perception of the world, of themselves and their dreams and abilities.
The agenda was highly topical and encouraged participants received a master class for mentors and mentees “” delivered by Auriel Majumdar, creative mentor, coach and supervisor from the UK. Her presentation was very creative, while proposed approaches to dialog and reflection offered much food for thought to all session participants and on both sides.
There is a good reason to call the Mentoring Days as International, and it is not just about the authors of master classes, internationally acknowledged experts, but the possibility to exchange experience with colleagues from other countries, to learn how they implement mentoring programmes at home and to get inspired by their success stories.
This time we learnt the best international mentoring practices from Sweden and India.
was presented by Therese Kaeck, Head of Mentoring at NyföretagarCentrum, YBI member and YBR partner. Caxton Njuki (CAxton Sports Management), Mentor of the Year for Sweden and Europe, and his mentee Jessika Sillenpää (Jessikasstory) shared their mentoring relationship experience.
are being implemented by a partner organization BYST, for 30 years like in Sweden. Aruna Vinodh, who came in Russia for the VII Mentoring Days, BYST Director, together with Naina Shah, mentor, and Mohammed Bilal, mentee and entrepreneur, spoke about mentoring practices in their country.
Boris Tkachenko, founder of the Mentoring Institute and YBR, and John Cull, who established mentoring at YBI, opened and summarized the results of the Days 1 and 2. Since mentors and mentees finished their participation at the event, John wished them success in business and improved mindful mentoring relationships. Boris reminded mentoring programme managers from Russian regions and from other countries to come back on Day 3 with the information on the challenges they are facing while implementing mentoring programmes, since Day 3 was intended for active and future mentoring programme facilitators.
Day 2
Summary of Day 3 of the International Mentoring Days
The last day was dedicated to mentoring programmes implementation, and key participants were either already facilitating or planning to implement such programmes. And, since the event was international, the Mentoring Institute and YBR made the Day 3 open for mentoring programme managers from YBI network.
This approach proved effective – that high level of insights provided by the experts and a clever combination of practical training and upgrade for newcomers have long since happened even at international events. Last time we had witnessed such a discussion in November 2017 in London when only one participant could represent a country. While this online event made it possible for everyone interested.
The Day was started with addresses by Natalia Shamanskaya, Head of SME Infrastructure of the Department for Investment Policy and SME Development of the RF Ministry of Economic Development,
Boris Tkachenko, founder of the Mentoring Institute and YBR Programme, YBI Trustee.
Jo Gray, YBI Director of Membership Services and Engagement (UK).
Joerg Schoolman YBI mentoring expert from Germany, followed with a networking for participants to discuss “Why are they organizing mentoring programmes?”
In the course of introduction and discussion it became clear that the event brought together the likeminded, those who believed it important and exciting to develop mentoring as systemic entrepreneurship support.
The next discussion panel “Effective Mentoring Programme: how to launch and implement” was moderated by Irina Gorelova. Joerg Schoolman and Boris Tkachenko explained consistently and elaborately the global approach that helps to design an effective programme. An example of a long-term systemic application of this approach in Russia, that could be practicable for “My Business” entrepreneurship support centres, was presented by Roman Kolupaev, Director of “My Business” in Yugra. The mentoring programme is being implemented in this region since 2016 with the support of the Mentoring Institute.
Anatoly Evseichev, Mentoring Manager at Tambov Regional Centre of Financial Literacy (NGO) told about the first year of such programme being implemented on the initiative of a local organisation that proposed to do it together with the local “My Business” centre and invited the Mentoring Institute.
However there are issues emerging in the course of even ideally designed programme and the next session was dedicated to Trouble Shooting. Lis Merrick, CEO of Coach Mentoring Limited was supposed to lead this session but failed to attend due to force major circumstances, however, the replacement was immediately found. Lis’ friend and colleague, Bob Garvey, also Boris Tkachenko’s mentor, helped both out and held the session. Since Bob was acquainted to the participants of Days 1 and 2, he applied more sophisticated format when the participants described their issues in live chat and asked questions, and Bob provided feedback on the spot. There were no unanswered questions to everybody’s satisfaction.
Summarizing the results of the International Mentoring Days and of the Day 3 in particular, the Mentoring Institute will draw up recommendations on the programme implementation in the regions, that will be offered to the Department for Investment Policy and SME Development of the RF Ministry of Economic Development, organization that provided support for the Days.
The Mentoring Institute and YBR will pursue the initiate on support for Russian-speaking mentors, namely, all three Mentor of the Year finalists in Eastern Europe/Central Asia confirmed their commitment.
At global level, YBI mentoring managers agreed to ensure regular interaction.
We will see you at the jubilee Xth International Mentoring Days in November 2022!
