Future Mentors programme gets an honourable mention in Quality Innovation Award competition
Our Future Mentors programme has received an honourable mention in the prestigious Quality Innovation Award competition. The competition is known both nationally and internationally as a top-level competition where awards are granted to the best innovations in different sectors.
According to a global UN forecast, the number of young people will grow sharply in the future, and young people will play a key role in the development of the world and cities. Created in honour of the European Year of Youth 2022, the Future Mentors programme highlights young people’s important role as future visionaries and urban developers. The aim was to make young people’s voices heard in discussions concerning their future. The initial concept was developed in cooperation with Aalto University students, and the programme was successfully implemented through cross-administrative cooperation.
The innovativeness of the Future Mentors programme is based on reverse mentoring that enables dialogue between young people and city decision-makers. The programme allows young people to share their views on the sustainable future of their city. The mentees, in other words decision-makers, listen to the young people and their views on how the city should be developed.
“This was a great project. It was wonderful to see how enthusiastically cities joined in. The issues brought up by young people are very important. I hope that cities take them into consideration in future development and that dialogue with young people becomes a permanent way of working. I am delighted that so many decision-makers wanted to listen to and interact with young people,” says Participation Development Manager Marianne Julkunen.
The programme is particularly useful when looking for new perspectives on decisions affecting young people’s lives. In 2022, a total of 26 cities in different parts of Europe participated in the programme. The programme has received positive feedback from both young people and city leaders. A new round of mentoring is already taking place in Eindhoven, and the mentors in Stuttgart will hold an international conference in November to continue strengthening youth participation. The participating cities have also established meeting places for young people and decision-makers.
The Future Mentors programme was enabled by Eurocities, a network of large and medium-sized European cities, providing a platform for the entire programme and cooperation between cities. The programme was carried out in 26 European cities and coordinated by Espoo.
“The honourable mention in the Quality Innovation Award competition is an important acknowledgement of the uniqueness of our programme and our work to promote youth participation. It encourages us to continue our work for young people, Espoo and a sustainable future. We want to thank all the young people and cities that participated in the programme,” says Mayor Jukka Mäkelä.
The Future Mentors programme offers a model that is easy to reproduce in cities and organisations of all sizes to promote dialogue between different generations on any theme. Espoo offers ready-to-use materials to help implement the programme.
More information about the Future Mentors programme and a summary of the issues highlighted by young people: www.espoo.fi/en/city-espoo/innovative-espoo/innovative-espoo-initiatives/future-mentors-programme-co-creating-future-cities-through-dialogue
Enquiries:
Marianne Julkunen
marianne.julkunen@espoo.fi
Ville Leino
ville.leino@espoo.fi