Annual Review Mentor International

2019 ANNUAL REVIEW MENTOR INTERNATIONAL Empowering Youth Globally Our Vision: A world where children and young people are empowered to make healthy decisions and live drug-free. What We Do Mentor International works with our national member organizations to implement programs aimed at promoting the health and well-being of young people. We are represented in Europe, Middle East and North America, including Denmark, Germany, Latvia, Sweden, USA and Lebanon serving the 22 Arab League countries. Mentor International’s President & Founder H.M. The Queen of Sweden Since founding Mentor International together with members of the World Health Organization, I have always believed in the power of prevention to keep young people healthy. Mentor’s mission is – and always was – to help young people find their way Photo: Anna-Lena Ahlström, the Royal Court of Sweden and avoid falling into drug and alcohol abuse or other destructive behavior. Mentor’s aim, in every community where we work, is to meet young people on their terms and run programs that address the On my very first visit to Beirut and Lebanon this type of support they need to help them succeed in past October, Mentor Arabia and AUB signed a the future. In this evolving world, young people’s memorandum of understanding to work together situations are changing with time. to improve youth health in the Arab region. Part of their goal is to become a centre for providing both When we started in 1994, the internet barely existed. the low- and high-tech skills youth need to take on Today, it is the place where young people spend a today’s challenges. With such partners, Mentor can large portion of their time. According to a recent gainfully explore opportunities to develop innovative UNICEF State of the World’s Children Report, young solutions, and digital tools that connect youth with people are the most digitally connected age group. mentors and healthy interventions. Two thirds of the world’s youth are online. Rates of internet and smartphone use are rising rapidly in Mentor’s overarching goal is always developing economies. to support young people’s conditions for a healthy and drug-free lifestyle. Current findings show that combining traditional mentoring methods with technology to promote healthy behavior may offer a more sustainable To that end, I would like to thank everyone who intervention. Technology could help enforce supports Mentor International, that includes routines that would be in place even after the mentor governments, scientists, communities, corporate relationship winds down. partners, our board of trustees and thousands of individuals who engage with us as volunteers I have been fortunate to meet with international and participants. Every single one of you are philanthropists and institutions who are passionate instrumental in our success as strong advocates for about the health and well-being of youth and youth. I look forward to continuing our important supportive of finding new forms of prevention work together. tools for our mentoring methods, for example the American University in Beirut (AUB). SI A word from our Secretary General Half a year has passed since joining Mentor International and better ways in one of our core programs to make a as Secretary General. In this period I have been difference for young people in need of support. The upshot continually impressed by the expertise, competence and is that we will sharpen our youth perspective, create extensive network dedicated to civil society issues that more efficient internal processes and incorporate digital gather under the Mentor umbrella and I feel privileged to tools to a much higher extent. Such developments mean be leading such important initiative on behalf of youth. that the long-term opportunities that lie ahead can be accomplished and carried out with great momentum going An initial review of the organization involved meeting forward. with youth, partners, board members, staff, volunteers, schools, other stakeholders, as well as reviewing studies The consistent, enduring presence of a caring adult in a on the needs of youth today. This aggregated outtake young person’s life can be the difference between staying emphasised a great relevance for our work. The need in school or dropping out, making healthy decisions or to provide young people with support for a healthy and engaging in risky behaviours, and finding courage to drug-free upbringing will unfortunately be extensive and pursue one’s dreams or not even trying. Mentors can relevant in the foreseeable future. Moreover, Mentor has make a profound difference in the lives of mentees — the ability to respond to this widely engaging and existing and in turn, strengthen our communities, economy, and societal need that is a necessity for societies to bring focus, country. The stakes are high, and we are encouraged competence and resources to. to find that young people’s experiences with different types of mentoring relationships provide powerful and Championing and advocating for youth complementary benefits. Young people with mentors, especially at-risk youth, have more positive visions of are of vital importance for humanity and themselves and their futures, and they also achieve more a sustainable society. positive outcomes in school, the workplace, and their communities. Mentor is a good complement to schools and other youth organizations, and it is also an attractive and easy way With the right efforts, Mentor will strengthen both the for companies to get involved with their communities. effect that initiatives have for young people and to increase Mentor’s activities are in line with the global sustainable the efficiency with which the organization performs its development goals set by the UN within the framework mission. Thank you for supporting Mentor. I look very for Agenda 2030. The goals supported by the program much forward to working together. operations are; 3 - good health and well-being, 4 - good education, 5 - gender equality, 10 - reducing inequality and 16 - peaceful and inclusive societies. Still, there is always room for improvement, and, together with McKinsey & Company, we evaluated and assessed Sara Revell Ford out of how we could be even more effective in finding new Secretary General Our Purpose Mentor is an international non-profit development organization working to help young people find a path towards a promising future. With the help of strong adult role models, Mentor International’s programs focus on keeping young people engaged in education, preparing them for adulthood, promoting healthy lifestyles, and reducing risky behaviors including drug abuse. We concentrate our efforts in three core areas: Individual mentoring: a one-to-one relationship between an adult and a young person with the goal of empowering, inspiring, and motivating the young person and their outlook for the future. Group mentoring: with career focus, these programs offer young people insight into working life, motivate studies and help set goals for the future. Parent seminars: this program provides effective tools and strategies to improve communication and deepen parents’ and carers’ connection with their children. Innovation and the rise of digital technology have forever changed how we work, interact with one another, and create and share information. Innovative technologies are also changing how we are supporting children and young people around the world. – Henrietta H. Fore Executive Director of UNICEF The App Advantage: How innovative tools can complement a youth mentoring relationship Since the advent of the internet, the use destructive (bad) behavior. Social media can of social media applications (apps) among strengthen information and give users new young people has risen with every year. forms of expression. Social media moves At the same time, the number of youth information faster than ever before, and its reporting anxiety and depression has also role in young people’s lives is very pervasive. increased. Even when adjusting for the fact that diagnosing mental illnesses has become These past years, Mentor has been looking more common than before, it is still possible into and investing in ways to use technology to draw a connection between a decreased in positive ways to better support youth. We sense of well-being and use of social media. see a future where digital apps and social media could have a collaborative role as a Whatever the case, the fact is that mental form of intervention in youth prevention and disorders and stress have a cumulative empowerment programs. effect on our youth. They affect schoolwork and school attendance. They can intensify The world that shapes social media is the feelings of isolation and loneliness and same world that shapes our young people. increase the likelihood of social withdrawal. Mentor International will continue to develop programs that are meaningful and Many of the most used social media relevent to young people. If that means platforms place a disproportionate emphasis meeting them where they spend their time, on “followers” and “likes”. This can be a self- we will take the best of what technology esteem and self-confidence roller coaster has to offer and effectively use it in context. as impressions can be amplified. Despite With the support of an adult mentor as a this, there are also well-defined benefits to facilitatator and coach, customized apps can the digital world. Social media can provide help give youth the skills and support they support for young people. Social media can need to grow and flourish even after the facilitate and reinforce both empowering mentor relationship winds down. (good) behavior and discouraging In November, Mentor Denmark ran workshops at a partner school with a high level of social problems. These workshops were included in a Korean TV documentary about youth counselling methods in Denmark. ★ Broadcast date March 2020. ★ (Photos Guldberg TV1 and TV2) ★ ★ For the third year in a row, Mentor USA partnered with the SFIG Foundation In the beginning of September, and Scholarship America to further Mentor Germany held a youth educational opportunities for students summit in the first school where they in our programs.

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