Welcome address

On behalf of the Mentoring Europe network, we would like to extend a warm invitation to practitioners, researchers, policymakers, and funders in the field of social mentoring to contribute to and participate in the conference, “Social Mentoring in Europe: Prospects for Social Inclusion and Engagement.” We support this gathering in Austria as a shared space for our European mentoring community. 

After ten years of close international collaboration and five highly successful European Mentoring Summits, Mentoring Europe is taking a decisive step forward. We are transforming our vibrant, informal network into a strong, legally established European organization that will represent the mentoring field across countries. As the five national umbrella organizations spearheading this transition, we firmly believe that research and innovation are important activities to strengthen social mentoring as a catalyst for social inclusion in Europe. One of our core goals is to expand and connect expertise by encouraging, collecting, and sharing research on mentoring, thereby building a shared knowledge base that informs practice and enables evidence-based advocacy. This first European conference dedicated specifically to research and innovation in social mentoring marks an important milestone in that effort. 

We invite the entire mentoring community in Europe and beyond to join us in St. Pölten, near Vienna, on November 13th and 14th, 2026, to shape the future of social mentoring together. The conference will create a unique space to connect research and practice, identify emerging research needs from the practitioner’s perspective, and highlight valuable knowledge already produced within mentoring organizations.  

We invite you to engage actively in this conference and contribute your ideas, findings, and experiences, helping to shape the program from the ground up while building shared perspectives, strengthening capacity, and nurturing a new generation of committed researchers and innovators. Our exchange will also establish a stronger foundation for joint advocacy, increasing the visibility and impact of social mentoring across Europe. 

Let us shape this conference collectively, building a vibrant forum where practice meets research and where the Mentoring Europe network continues to grow and evolve. 

 

Mentoring Europe, January 2026
 

Gloria Amoruso, Bundesverband soziales Mentoring 

Matthieu Kusiak, Collectif Mentorat 

Raquel Carrión, Coordinadora de Mentoría Social 

Marianne Sorge-Grace, Mentoring Austria 

Julie Bodson, Mentoring Belgium