Intergenerational mentoring as a practice for building sustainable communities

A person’s skills development can be accomplished by both their personal effort and the support received from another person. Mentoring is the process that can support a person’s personal and/ or professional growth through the exchange of practices and knowledge.

An interesting fact is that the phrase ‘mentor’ was coined nearly 3,000 years ago to describe the relationship in Homer’s ‘Odyssey’ between Odysseus’s son Telemachus and Mentor, who was appointed by Odysseus to act as his son’s guardian and adviser in his absence. Since then, the term ‘mentor’ has been further developed and in the modern era we speak for both mentors and mentees; a relationship that can be established in formal and informal settings using different methodologies and a relationship that can even switch between the two becoming a peer relationship.

Through the peer mentoring relationship, intergenerational learning can also be initiated when the people involved belong in different generations. Intergenerational mentoring is described as mentoring across generations; a practice that aims to bridge the gap between intergenerational learning. Living in a world where the only constant thing is change; intergenerational learning is a valuable tool

and practice that can support the process of personal and/or professional development. This creates agile and resilient people who acquire the knowledge and skills necessary to build upon existing practices and values. Through intergenerational mentoring, people from different generations have also the opportunity to further connect and create sustainable communities by exchanging practices and skills that are green and digital.

A sustainable community focuses on reducing the environmental impact while guaranteeing a good quality of life for its people.

The InterGenic Project - Supporting the European Union's twin transition through intergenerational learning, knowledge exchange, and joint actions, is co-funded by the European Union and the ERASMUS+ program in the field of adult education.

It supports this initiative by spreading awareness and knowledge on the EU Digital and Green Transition, promoting digital, green, and sustainable practices using intergenerational mentoring and learning as tools.