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Actors in Open Mentorships

A mind map represents the actors in open mentorships. "Actors in Open Mentorships" appears at the center of the diagram within a rounded-square container. We have the following actors in open mentorships: (1) Mentees (2) Peers (on the same level as Mentees, implying they may be derivative) (3) Collective (4) Mentors (on the same level as Collective, implying they may be derivative)(5) Sponsors (6) Facilitators (7) Organizers.

Mentees

Emerging individuals in training to become new contributors, successors and/or leaders. Mentees may be of any age, professional or educational background. Their defining characteristic is their liminality: mentees are in a transitional state, and look for open mentorship opportunities to complete the transition from one state (e.g. novice contributor) to another (e.g. experienced contributor).

Peers

Individuals with shared circumstances and experiences with mentees. Peers may be participating in the same or similar open mentorship activities, or may have recently crossed the same transitional stage.

Collectives

A group of individuals who make up a project, community, field and/or organization supporting open mentorship activities. Mentors are associated with collectives.

Mentors

Senior individuals guiding mentees in a series of psychosocial and instrumental activities. Mentors may be of any age, professional or educational background. Mentors are defined by their expertise in an area of interest and their direct pedagogical commitment to their mentee. They may mentor mentees independently or with the assistance of other mentors in a practice called co-mentoring.

Sponsors

Organizations or individuals providing financial (e.g. stipends) or structural support (e.g. development environments, tickets to conferences) to individual open mentorships or open mentorship programs.

Facilitators

Individuals recruited by organizers to offer their expertise to mentors and mentees upon request. Facilitators may conduct workshops, offer consulting calls, and/or review specific artifacts of open mentorship activities.

Organizers

Individuals responsible for structuring, monitoring and supporting open mentorships activities. Organizers are preoccupied with a more systemic and structural view of all open mentorship activities: they may be responsible for tasks such as matching the right mentee with the right mentor, reviewing feedback from mentors and mentees to measure the success of an open mentorship relationship, or intervening in mentor-mentee conflicts.