CONNECT is a Knowledge Alliance Erasmus Plus project for Audience Development that promotes innovative cooperation between universities and enterprises in the cultural sector across Europe. The innovative training programme called Twin-Track Programme (TTP) is based on the concept that postgraduate students and practitioners from cultural organisations work together on an audience challenge.

A mentoring programme was initiated to support both students and practitioners undergoing an essential shift in their development, at the core of the twin track: transitioning from university to job market; seeking a new position; undertaking new responsibilities within an existing role or starting up a project or new business.

In Italy, for example, we thank the 12 mentors involved because of their experience in audience development but also for their willingness to nurture future leaders.

This toolkit has been compiled by Adrian De La Court and Sian Prime from Goldsmiths University with the support of Melting Pro for Mentors on the CONNECT –Twin Track Programme. The kit is a reference guide that aims to help the mentors enrolled in the CONNECT Programme to understand:
– the mentoring methodology within the project;
– their role;
– tools and practices to manage the one to one relationship with the mentee;

The exercises in the toolkit have been sourced from many people and that have inspired us. Some are approaches that are familiar and it is difficult to know who invented them. Many of these tools have been developed with Nesta (www.nesta.org.uk), or at Goldsmiths. Others of these are tools that we have created or adapted to better suit our needs in training mentors and working with entrepreneurs.