As from 2020, the JCI European Development Council now has a mentoring program available to JCI members in all levels. "We are not mentoring individuals as such, the point is to develop the functions of an organization, "said Heidi Jäntti, one of the program co-creators. "The seed for the mentoring program was planted couple of years ago. The members of EDC laid grounds for the initial idea," a peer to peer help and a twinning opportunity for Local and National organizations". Jäntti and Havlíčková are both long-time JCI members of the current framework committed to training as well as the JCI European Development Council members. The Mentoring program lasts 6-12 months and covers topics from strategic planning to membership recruitment, sustainable partnerships and project management modules. The first official group in the pilot program finishes in December. The mentee and mentor relationships benefit both. Hence, it is still largely the mentee's responsibility to take the proactive approach and ask the mentor as many questions as possible. An experienced tourguide Before signing up, write down future goals and what kind of help is required, and “think about what kind of mentor you are looking for," is the advice from Havlíčková. "I was looking for an experienced JCI member to guide me well through my ambitions within JCI. I felt the need for an outsider to give me honest feedback and more on the plans that I had for my Local Organization," said Peter Van De Velde, a mentee from JCI Belgium for his reason to join the program. As a JCI "graduate'" in his final year before turning 40, UK member Mark Smith said: "I had recently done a coaching and mentoring course (during lockdown) and wanted a way of practising and developing my skills." He saw that being involved in this pilot project was a great way to test how he may be able to support JCI members in the future as a senator. "I think it's important for me to give back and share with others, just like others who have helped and supported me throughout my JCI journey," said Smith. The participants are supported throughout the program with regular meetups online. Each pair is given free of choice to use the platforms they like the best. "So far, 1:1 mentoring has worked well and most possibly next year will be adjusted based on the results from this year's pilot program," said Havlíčková.