Our mentorship programmes are modelled off of near-peer mentorship because we have seen firsthand how successful it can be and the positive impact it can have, when facilitated effectively.
Near-peer mentorship is where mentors are an average of 3-5 years ahead of a mentee, or just a couple of life stages ahead of them. This form of mentoring results in highly relevant advice and enhances both the mentor and mentee’s ability to relate to one another.
Additionally, we have designed our programmes with the idea of ‘giving and receiving’ whereby women can be and receive mentorship simultaneously. As people, we have an innate desire to give back, but we also have a desire to learn, so we’re offering the opportunity to do both. This is where our name – OneUpOneDown – came from.