#growr

Growr is a global learning community for education and career growth, where young people, however also individuals from international companies, NGOs, academia, think-tanks, or other institutions can join hands together to foster their real world-skills. This can be done through peer-to-peer mentorships at the Growr platform, or through sharing and following each other's Growr Tuesday tips on Facebook.

Why is mentorship important?

Mentorship is important, as it can open relationships of mutual learning and friendship for both the mentor and the mentee who agree on a mentorship partnership. The idea of Growr is that this is done peer-to-peer: the mentors is someone who will care for the whole person of its peer-mentee, not just their academic or career side. The mentor takes the serious task to push the individuals boundaries of the mentee, to push her or him out of their comfort zone. The mentee cannot be a mentor to the same person in the same mentorship, however he or she can mentor someone else. It doesn't matter who is more experienced in any of the relationships - there is so much to learn from each other despite our backgrounds, our countries or our beliefs.

How is online distant mentorship successful? What are the challenges?

I think that the main challenge is that both the mentor and the mentee respect what they will agree for their mentorship, for the aims of their learning and the outputs, otherwise the effect will be small. It takes a discipline to follow up on communication, and that is a commitment for the both parties. If they can overcome communication issue, anything else could work very well. I also think it's important the moment of "nowness", meaning, that when you would like to write to your peer they respond in the moment. That moment is powerful, as moment-to-moment connection. Imagine, you are somewhere in the Balkans and you type in the same time with your peer in India, or Nigeria.

What it the reach of Growr? How many countries participate?

Growr boomed on Facebook in 2014. What we have started as sharing authentic Growr career or life tips each Tuesday morning has become a Growr ritual, so many people are following it and contributing to it. In this manner, tips have arrived so far from more than 25 countries. Eminent challenge:future leaders, community members, but also successful managers, professors, CEOs have shared so far tips and their reached is amazing: to an audience of more than 220,000 young people worldwide.

> visit web page at growr.net

How can people try out Growr? What are the best 3 things a person can get from the platform?

An online mentorship with someone from another continent is by far something most valuable you can get out of Growr. Intercultural experiences are invaluable today. The other dimension, is the friendship which Growr promotes: pushing people out of their comfort zone, having someone who will care for you for your whole personality. We all have so many different personal challenges and if this connection could tackle those challenges, the experience is valuable in an instance.

What is the plan? How is Growr to change in the next years? 

Growr will grow. The board has discussed launching a crowd-funding campaign, which could be immense and important experience for everyone on board, and for Growr itself. We would like to have the Growr platform fully operational and boost its tools in order to facilitate the work of the mentors and the mentees.

And what about the team behind the project? 

Ales Maticic from Slovenia initiated Growr in the first place. We have management board but it is important to underline that Growr functions through the principles of open innovation, just like the C:F. That's why we share this call to everyone. We would take in account and listen anyone who has energy, and a valuable input to share, and make the space for mutual collaboration.

Thank you! __ Growr is a global learning community for education and career growth. See how it works and join the network for free. Also keep yourself updated and inspired by great content on the Facebook page.

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Growr life or career TIP for this week co-relates to three BIG questions: "Who am I • Who are you • What we do?", and it...