“Mentoring Austria”: atmospheric performance in Eferding Castle

The number of mentoring programs in Austria has been steadily increasing for several years: In most cases, a mentor, usually an adult, spends time with his “mentee”, usually children or young people. The aim is to strengthen children in difficult situations, to support them in developing their skills and to teach them values.

How diverse the focus of the individual projects can be was shown on Friday at Starhemberg Castle in Eferding: “Mentoring Austria” celebrated its founding yesterday with a “kick-off” after six months of preparation. Eleven organizations have joined forces to form the “umbrella organization for child and youth support” in order to strengthen networking among themselves and their external presence. The target groups are different – “younus”, for example, offers children and young people in difficult life situations a contact person, while “Sindbad” helps them find training.

“Cement for the social fabric”

The venue is no coincidence: Georg Starhemberg is a member of the “Sinnstifter” group. The group, which consists of private foundations and socially committed people, initiated the founding of “Mentoring Austria” and will continue to support the association. “So many divisions have opened up in society that we should do everything we can to support initiatives like this one, which are the glue that holds the social fabric together,” said Starhemberg in his welcoming speech.

To provide insights into the work of the mentoring programs, several teams introduced themselves: Lena Hofmann from Braunau has known Abas Noori since 2016, when he came to Austria as a refugee from Afghanistan at the age of 16. The “Paten für alle” program arranged the mentoring relationship. “We accompanied him on his journey, and we still spend a lot of time with him today,” explains Hofmann. It was difficult for Noori to be able to stay in Upper Austria at all. “But we overcame all the hurdles, and it is incredibly enriching.” He is happy about the support, and will soon complete his training as a social worker, says Noori: “I feel like part of the family.”

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