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Mentoring is changing. Traditional “mentor teaches, mentee listens” models are no longer enough — especially in diverse, multicultural sport environments. Today, mentoring must be flexible, learner-centred, and respectful of different life experiences.
In Mentor on the Move, mentoring is not one-directional support. It is shared growth, shared learning, and shared empowerment. Mentors and mentees build skills together, learn from each other’s backgrounds, and create trust through movement, wellbeing, and communication.
For women and girls with migrant backgrounds, the right mentoring approach can:
Evolving mentoring is not a trend — it is a necessity for fair and culturally sensitive sport systems.
Mentoring is a structured, developmental relationship between a mentor and a mentee. Traditional mentoring often focuses on transferring knowledge from mentor to mentee, following hierarchical patterns. MOTM shifts this dynamic toward collaborative, reciprocal learning, where both participants bring knowledge, perspectives, and strengths.
MOTM is designed for culturally diverse contexts, particularly involving migrant and refugee women and girls. Inclusive mentoring explicitly recognises systemic barriers (e.g., language, cultural unfamiliarity, discrimination, economic factors) and works to remove these barriers, ensuring equitable participation and belonging.
Sport is not just an “activity” in MOTM — it is a core method. Shared movement creates informal, low-threshold spaces where hierarchies soften, trust builds through shared experiences, cultural and language barriers can be bridged nonverbally, and access to community networks (through sports clubs and groups) becomes tangible.
This is why linking mentoring to existing sports club activities is central: it embeds inclusion into local structures rather than creating parallel systems.
Inclusive mentoring involves three key stakeholders with interdependent roles:
Mentors – relational facilitators, allies, and cultural bridges; Mentees (actors) – active participants shaping their journey; Coordinators – structural enablers ensuring accessibility, partnerships with clubs, and programme quality.
In MOTM, inclusive mentoring means moving from a mainly mentor-led model toward a shared journey. Mentors act as allies, mentees as active participants in their development, and coordinators as enablers who create inclusive structures and sport club pathways. Sport and physical activity are not extras — they are practical tools for trust-building, inclusion, and sustained participation.
Note: The comparison below describes common tendencies. In practice, programmes may include elements of both approaches.
Often mentor-led, with guidance flowing mainly from mentor to mentee.
Collaborative and based on mutual learning; power is more shared through dialogue and activity.
Uses broadly standard methods; adaptation may happen, but not always systematically.
Differences are actively considered; mentors adapt style and activities, with coordinator support.
Strong focus on orientation, practical guidance, and navigating existing systems.
Focuses on agency, belonging, confidence, and reducing barriers to participation.
Access can depend on existing networks and informal matching.
Access is intentionally widened through outreach, transparent matching, and club links.
Adviser and role model, often helping set direction.
Ally and facilitator; supports mentee-defined goals and decision-making.
Primarily receives guidance and responds to mentor input.
Active participant and co-creator; expresses goals, preferences, and pace.
Often administrative and variable, depending on programme design and resources.
Strategic enabler: supports quality, mentor learning, safeguarding, and club partnerships.
Activity may be optional or occasional, depending on mentor style and context.
Sport and movement are intentional mentoring methods for trust, confidence, and inclusion.
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What one structural change (coordinator), one relational change (mentor), and one personal step (mentee/actor) will you prioritise in the first month?