Reversed mentoring includes youth in decision making  

This article series presents cases of innovations built here in Espoo that strive for a better tomorrow for all.

We cannot dream about the future of the cities without involving the future generations. With the global youth population expected to reach 1.34 billion by 2050, their role in socioeconomic development and urban planning is crucial.

Espoo’s Future Mentors Programme is a model for inclusive youth participation in decision-making processes, now also successfully replicated in cities like Eindhoven and Stuttgart. The programme bridges the gap between policymakers and youth through reversed mentoring. Young mentors share their hopes, fears, and dreams with local decision-makers, whose role is to learn from the next generation’s perspective. In 2022, as part of the European Year of Youth, the programme was run in 26 European cities, with 94 young people mentoring their local leaders. With the guidance of Espoo’s Center of Excellence for Sustainable Development, the youth also explored themes from the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), learning and exchanging on global concerns such as climate change, resource depletion, inequality, poverty, and health.

The programme feedback showed high satisfaction, with mentors rating it 4.2 and mentees 4.1 out of 5. Comments from participants emphasized the value of dialogue which in turn made both the youth and city leaders realize they share the same interest, optimism and the common grounds towards shaping the city of their dreams. As a result, many cities created new youth participation instruments and forums, strengthening the collaboration between youth and decision-makers. The programme has won several accolades, including Espoo city Mayor's Innovation Competition and an honorary mention in Finland’s national Quality Innovation Award 2023 competition.