On 16 July, the Law of Ukraine ‘On Mentoring’ came into force. For the first time, the legislation comprehensively regulates the mentoring system in Ukraine at a legislative level and creates the conditions for its development in every local community.
Mentoring is a voluntary, unpaid, regular activity aimed at developing a person’s personal potential, taking into account their individual needs and characteristics.
The Act sets out standardised approaches to the training of prospective mentors, the matching of mentor-mentee pairs, and professional support for mentoring, whilst also expanding the range of children and young people who are eligible for a mentor. In particular, this includes orphans, children deprived of parental care, children and young people who live or have lived in residential care homes, those in difficult life circumstances, those affected by the war, those who have returned from deportation or temporarily occupied territories, as well as the children of fallen Defenders of Ukraine and war veterans.
The entry into force of the Act marks a new phase for local communities. It is these local communities that will play a key role in developing the mentoring service. This involves identifying and training prospective mentors, matching mentor-mentee pairs, and providing professional guidance and support for the mentoring process at every stage.
In this regard, the regional military administration is calling on local authorities, social services centres, social service provision centres, and civil society and charitable organisations to begin preparations for the roll-out of mentoring services in the region’s local communities.
‘We have established the legislative framework for the development of mentoring. It is now important for communities to take advantage of these opportunities and develop mentoring services. After all, this decision not only supports children and young people, but also contributes to the long-term development of human capital and the economic capacity of the community,” said Tetiana Skrypka, Member of the Ukrainian Parliament and co-author of the Law of Ukraine “On Mentoring”.
The development of mentoring is a shared responsibility of the state, local authorities, the voluntary sector and the business community. It is precisely this kind of cooperation that will make mentoring accessible to children and young people in every community across the region. The regional military administration is ready to support the development of mentoring in the region and calls on all interested communities and organisations to actively participate in implementing the new opportunities provided for by the Law of Ukraine ‘On Mentoring’.
The Ministry of Social Policy, Family and Unity of Ukraine is currently finalising the drafting of the subordinate legislation required to implement the new law. These regulations will set out the procedures for organising mentoring, training candidates, supporting mentors, assessing the needs of children and young people, and ensuring coordination among all parties involved in this work. At the same time, the training programme for trainers and prospective mentors is being updated. It takes into account the practical experience of Ukrainian organisations that have been working in the field of mentoring for many years, modern approaches to child rights protection, issues of safety, ethics, the psychological aspects of interaction, and international experience in developing such programmes.
You can find out more about mentoring on the dity.gov.ua platform, on the social media pages of the ‘DIyMO’ Office for Children and Young People, and in the free educational series ‘Mentoring: What It Is, Who It’s For and How It Works’ on the Diya.Osvita platform.