Own Your Spot for mentors
Own Your Spot is the youth programme of the municipality of Leeuwarden (2026–2029). It gives young people the space to come up with, shape and run their own 'places' and activities (Spots).
Who are you as a mentor?
You are a professional or expert working at or on behalf of an organisation in youth work, education, sports, culture, wellbeing, liveability, social support or another social field. In any case, you work in the world of young people.
As a mentor you help young people develop and carry out their ideas. You are not the owner of the Spot, but a partner in the process. You support and activate young people in developing the Spots.
As a mentor you help young people develop and carry out their ideas. You are not the owner of the Spot, but a partner in the process. You support and activate young people in developing the Spots.
Mentoring according to Code Young
As a mentor you help young people turn their idea into a real Spot. Within Own Your Spot we work according to Code Young. The most important principle: young people take the lead.
That means you guide the process as a mentor, but you do not become the owner of the idea. You help young people with steps they find difficult, ask questions, think along and open doors where needed using your knowledge and network. Whatever young people can do themselves, you leave to them as much as possible.
You will find more practical guidance on mentoring young people according to Code Young in the toolkit for mentors.
That means you guide the process as a mentor, but you do not become the owner of the idea. You help young people with steps they find difficult, ask questions, think along and open doors where needed using your knowledge and network. Whatever young people can do themselves, you leave to them as much as possible.
You will find more practical guidance on mentoring young people according to Code Young in the toolkit for mentors.
What do you actually do in each phase of Own Your Spot?
- Idea phase: young people submit ideas for Spots. As a mentor you may also submit an idea, as long as it comes from (the needs of) young people and is developed together with them afterwards.
- Plan phase: you are matched with one or more young people with an idea. Together you develop the idea into a more detailed plan with a budget and submit it.
- Voting phase: after a feasibility check, young people vote for the plans. After applying the equal-shares method, a number of plans go through.
- Action phase: if the plan of your young people goes ahead, you formally apply for the Spot's funding. You then guide the young people in carrying out the plan and act as budget holder. In this phase, funding is available for the mentor's work.
You will find more information about the mentor's role in the different phases in the toolkit for mentors.
The network
As a mentor you work together with other mentors, organisations, the municipality and partners who work with young people. In this network we share knowledge and experiences and work together to reach and support young people better, with a focus on meaningful youth participation. Sometimes new collaborations emerge, when that fits what young people need.
The municipality's role and what it delivers
The municipality makes the programme possible, organises meetings for the mentors, organises the Open Calls and voting rounds, encourages collaboration between young people and mentors, and safeguards the process of the overall youth programme.
What does it deliver?
What does it deliver?
- More and better Spots
- Stronger collaboration
- More ownership for young people
- A better fit with their world
Do you want to guide young people towards a Spot?
Look around your network to see where young people are already active and join in there.