To advance personal and professional development, strengthen cross-centre collaboration and facilitate an inclusive work environment, the Geneva Centre for Security Policy (GCSP) partnered with its sister organisation the Geneva Centre for Security Governance (DCAF) to pilot a new mentoring programme at the Maison de la Paix. Launched in November 2023, the six-month programme successfully concluded in early May 2024.

 With GCSP and DCAF joining hands in its implementation, the programme offered an opportunity to expand networks beyond the individual mentoring exchange, it served to cultivate a shared vision and nurture cross-institutional collaboration across the two centres.

Over the course of the programme, staff from both organisations were paired to engage in regular one-on-one mentoring sessions, exchanging knowledge and experiences, developing skills, and receiving tailored career support. 

Participants were encouraged to think of the mentoring relationship as a mutually beneficial exchange in which both mentee and mentor learn from each other, rather than a unidirectional knowledge transfer. Empowering young professionals to step into the role of mentors and inspiring more seasoned professionals to take the role of mentee, the programme was anchored in the idea that learning is continuous and that each employee - regardless of how advanced they are in age or career - has valuable expertise, skills or perspectives to offer. By asking participants to indicate their area of interest relating to different themes of diversity, equity and inclusion on their profile, the mentoring team also aimed to stimulate dialogue towards an inclusive organisational culture.

Overall, the programme saw the participation of 31 mentees and 19 mentors, forming 32 pairs. 18 of these pairs brought together one participant from GCSP and one from DCAF, including some cross-continental pairs with participants from DCAF’s field offices in Honduras, Gambia, Niger, Moldova & North Macedonia.

An end-of-programme survey revealed the following results: 100% of respondents think that the programme should run on an annual basis, with 96% answering that they would recommend the programme to a colleague. 88% of respondents believe to have benefitted professionally from the programme, with the remaining 12% believing that they will reap benefits in the future. On a personal level, 100% of respondents believe to have benefitted from participating. Among the gains most frequently mentioned by respondents were increased self-awareness (64%), expanded network (64%), and increased confidence (40%). 24% of respondents indicated that the programme had a direct positive impact on their career development and helped them further their professional trajectory. Among the programme’s success stories, two of the mentees obtained new career opportunities at the United Nations and another decided to start a Ph.D.! 

Curious to take a look beyond these statistics and learn more about the experience of our participants? 

Take a look at this article from DCAF which highlights the mentoring experience from both a mentee and a mentor of the programme!