Russia сelebrates Mentor Day for the first time: how the National Centre RUSSIA brings up young journalists and tour guides

Russia is celebrating a new holiday — Mentor Day — for the first time. The date was chosen for a reason: it was on 2 March 2018 that the decree establishing the "For Mentorship" award was signed. On this same day in 1823, Konstantin Dmitrievich Ushinsky, the founder of scientific pedagogy in our country, was born. His understanding that a teacher should be not only a bearer of knowledge but also a friend, that one must educate with both mind and heart, remains relevant today.

Mentorship has always been part of the Russian cultural code. In pre-revolutionary Russia, in the USSR, at factories, in schools, and in creative workshops, mentors always helped newcomers. Today, this institution is coming back at a new level. In 2023, the Year of the Teacher and Mentor was held, the Concept for the Development of Mentorship was adopted, the "For Mentorship" badge of merit was established, and the status of mentor and guarantees for their remuneration were enshrined in the Labour Code.

But mentorship concerns not only the economy, personnel training, and productivity growth. Above all, it is about people caring for people and their future. For teenagers, a mentor often becomes that very adult who helps them believe in themselves, see their strengths, and connect a dream with real steps. This is precisely the role mentorship plays in the educational projects of the National Centre RUSSIA — in the "Young Journalists School" and the "Young Tour Guides School of Russia."

The "Young Journalists School" is an original project of the National Centre RUSSIA, implemented with the support of the Ministry of Education of Russia, the Movement of the First, ANO "Dialogue," the New Media Workshop, and the Russian Children and Youth Centre. More than 100 schoolchildren from 12 to 17 years of age successfully passed a competitive selection to try their hand at a profession many of them have dreamed of since childhood.

For most of the participants, the path to the project began precisely with a mentor. The format of the "Young Journalists School" is built around live communication with professionals. At the first session, television and radio presenter and Head of the Directorate of Analytical Radio Programmes at the Zvezda media holding, Anna Shafran, spoke to the participants. She discussed not only technique but also the mission of journalism, responsibility for the spoken word, and how to navigate the modern media space.

The very structure of training in the "Young Journalists School" is built as an up-to-date model of mentorship: from a theoretical foundation to the creation of one's own media projects, from first attempts to support and analysis with experienced journalists. The students learn to ask precise questions, build the logic of a story, and work with facts and emotions. Meanwhile, the adult mentors act not as "unattainable stars" but as attentive guides into the profession.

Additionally, the "Young Tour Guides School of Russia" has been operating at the National Centre RUSSIA for over a year. This project has become a first step for many schoolchildren towards museum and tour guide activities. In this programme, mentorship is a key part. Sessions are led by professional guides and methodologists who know not only how to tell visitors about the exposition but also how to explain to teenagers what makes a good tour.

Participants aged 12 to 17 master the fundamentals of tour guiding, undergo public speaking and stage speech training, learn to work with information and texts, try to find their place in a creative team, and — most importantly — conduct real tours of the expositions at the National Centre RUSSIA. Behind every step they take are mentors who carefully accompany the process: they are helping the young guides to plan the route, find their own tone, and overcome nervousness standing in front of a group.

Mentor Day is a good opportunity to say "thank you" to them. At the National Centre RUSSIA, words of gratitude are heard at every session, every tour, every project where adult professionals help teenagers take their first steps in their chosen profession.