Notes from the October 7th Conference Call

Please add your comments to these notes in a response; be sure to quote the section(s) that you are responding to:
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Discussion: How to create a mentoring system? Do we mentor people we already know, or field new requests for mentoring relationships from people ‘out there’ who may stumble onto the VSN site?

www.DigitalDisciples.net put forward as a model that works with already established relationships…(Antoine)
How to guide to a mentor someone who shows up to the website?

Sub-tap on VSN site not so good for that…better to create a tap…site can be re-designed to accommodate that (Brian)

What about students who don’t make the cut when applying to Act One? (the ones with talent who aren’t far enough along, but who should be encouraged to keep going and not give up) (Brian)

How about keeping them in the pipeline (and so offer encouragement) by giving them an alternate intermediary destination that fits their current ability?
How to refer people to “skill-appropriate” level of mentoring…next step? These folks need both encouragement AND a dose of reality.

“ACCESS” to people with credentials is like gold to young people, the perception that they have been ushered past the receptionists and through closed doors to someone with experience who is willing to help them on their journey (Brian)

Spiritual / Professional Journey – the word “Sherpa” was put forward (defined below) in suggesting that mentoring should be limited to developing people spiritually in the context of their professional development, and not be a situation where their writing is evaluated or their short film critiqued (Gary)
What will this look like?

What are the boundaries?

What are the categories?
A “Linking Group” for folks at the 101 level – is this a new thing? Is anyone else doing this?

Jerry Gibson was not at the Summit, but weighed in on this conference call

- see International Media Ministries: www.imm.edu

- contact him at jerry.gibson@agmd.org

International Media Ministries conducts nine week to 2 year programs overseas to help produce media relevant to one’s culture, and also cross-cultural material that will more easily cross borders. Mentoring these people in their countries of origin is of interest to Jerry…

Can mentoring be extended to a group of people/students in one specific geographic location?
There seems to be a need to compile a list of all resources at all levels of mentoring
Need a clearing house to determine where potential ‘mentees’ are at in the process – who is qualified to point them in the right direction?
Is there an existing entity that could do this filtering?

Act One grads are asked to “give back” – they could be the perfect “sherpas”
Entry level for mentoring is “general counsel” at first, not skill specific – more specific guidance comes later (Gary)

Mentoring - coaching

Sherpa - guide
Jerry asked that we not forget to look for an international application of this mentorship
Conclusion: Plans were floated to make the next call during the afternoon rather than the morning so instructors and students in our task force can get in on it