Page 45 - Guiding-at-risk-youth-through-learning-to-work-Lessons-from-across-Europe

Guiding at-risk youth through learning to work
Lessons from across Europe

confirmed that three-quarters of participants established and used their own
networks to find support; most (70 %) remained in education.

Nightingale, Sweden

The Nightingale mentoring programme was first introduced by the University of Malmö in 1997.
The rationale was for university students to provide support to children aged between 8 and 12
who come from schools with large numbers of pupils from ethnic backgrounds.

Today, the aim of the scheme continues to be based on the concept of ‘mutual benefit’ by
fostering interaction and solidarity between students and children from different ethnic and social
backgrounds. The idea is that the mentor acts as a positive role model to the child and helps to
build up their self-confidence. The founders of the project believe that this form of activity can
enhance the understanding of the similarities and differences between people from different
cultural, social and ethnic groups. Further, to improve diversity in Swedish universities there is a
need to recruit students from different cultural and social backgrounds, which have little or no
tradition of continuing into higher education studies. The Nightingale scheme is one way of
familiarising children from disadvantaged backgrounds with the opportunities that higher
education studies can bring them. The goal is that the child will perform better in and out of
school and will be more likely to apply for a place at a university later in life.

The mentors meet the child once a week for two or three hours during one school year. They
then take part in leisure activities together. Around 90 university students act as mentors every
year and each student has one mentee.

So far, around 1 000 children and 1 000 students have participated in the scheme. According to
Malmö University, the project has generated clear and visible benefits for both mentees and their
mentors. Positive results for the children include an opportunity to have access to an adult who
listens and is able to offer support. Other benefits include improved self-confidence and an
opportunity to do things, which some children would not have been able to do without the project.
Participation has also helped to improve many children’s Swedish language skills.

Positive results for mentors include opportunities to gain new experiences and an insight into the
lives of people and children from different socioeconomic, cultural and ethnic backgrounds. The
project has also enabled many mentors to address their own ideals and prejudices and they have
recognised the important contribution they have made to the education of their mentees.

The Nightingale project is still hosted by Malmö University but related Nightingale projects have
been introduced in Lund, Helsingborg, Kristianstad, Växjö and Borås. In 2005, the university
received EU funds (Comenius) to initiate the project in six other European countries: Austria,
Germany, Norway, Slovenia, Spain and Switzerland.
Based on information from http://www.mah.se/thenightingale

Mentoring does not have to be a static process. Many mentormentee
partnerships cover a range of different activities from discussing school and
homelife issues, to compiling CVs and making future career and/or education and
training plans, organising work experience and arranging outings together.
Activities should be tailored to the individual and should take into account the
needs, age and interests of the young person to ensure their full participation and
to promote a sense of enjoyment in taking part in the programme. The mentoring
project run by the Rainbow Association in Slovenia gives mentors and their
mentees the freedom to decide on the activities they want to pursue during their

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