The Intuitive Meeting: Existence and Ethics in Bindeleddet’s Expanding Social Work with vulnerable youth

This project explores how volunteer mentors can build meaningful relationships with young people in vulnerable situations. By combining philosophy and practice, it examines experiences, dilemmas, and ethical questions within mentorship. The aim is to strengthen and investigate a small NGO's work by developing sustainable and ethically grounded mentorships.

• Insights into meaningful mentorship experiences
• Ethical guidelines for volunteer mentoring
• Handbook and practical tools for mentors
• Stronger organizational structures for sustainability

This project looks at how volunteer mentors can make a difference for young people who face difficult challenges, such as homelessness, loneliness, or other vulnerable situations. At Bindeleddet, young people choose their own mentor based on trust and good chemistry. We want to understand what makes these mentorships work: What happens in the meetings between mentor and mentee, what dilemmas and challenges arise, and how both sides experience the relationship.

By listening to both mentors and young people, and by bringing in ideas from philosophy and social science, the project aims to create new knowledge about meaningful and ethical mentorships. The results will help Bindeleddet develop clear guidelines, practical tools, and stronger support for mentors, so that more young people can benefit from safe and sustainable mentoring relationships.