The Mentorship Initiative for Indigenous and Planners of Colour
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Areas of communities we serve?
The Mentorship Initiative for Indigenous & Planners of Colour (MIIPOC) serves students and residents of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA).
Q: Who qualifies for the program as a mentor?
Mentors should have a minimum of 3 years experience working in the field and have prior professional, volunteering, or lived experience with BIPOC communities. Mentors should have a commitment to deepening understanding of the experiences and barriers faced by Indigenous or Black and Planners of Colour and to identify opportunities for more meaningful inclusion.
Q: Who qualifies for the program as a mentee?
Mentees must be enrolled in an undergraduate / graduate planning program, or have recently completed their program, or are considering / submitted an application to a post-graduate planning program or accreditation program, or alternatively are already working / volunteering in a planning related field. Mentees must identify as Indigenous, Black or a Person of Colour and must be willing to commit 6 months to participate in the program including 3 in-person meetings, a monthly check-in, MIIPOC community building events, and feedback/reflection at the end of the program.
Q: What does BIPOC stand for?
BIPOC is an acronym meaning Black Indigenous and People of Colour. It is often used to refer to people who are racialized.
Q: What is the process in selecting a mentor?
As we do this in a volunteer capacity we can only accept 15 matches (mentee and mentor) at this time. After you have filled out the application form and submitted your bio and CV, the MIIPOC organizing team will review all the applications we receive and do our best to match you to a mentee based on the application filled out, as well as the responses to the application questions. We also keep in mind the mentee’s interested area of planning. Additionally, participant selection will be first come first serve basis so please do not submit incomplete applications! For any mentor that does not make it for the current cohort (such as due to higher volume of mentors than mentees or similar situations), we will keep your application on file and circle back after the current cohort to see if you are still interested in being part of the program. We warmly welcome any previous mentors who would like to come back to participate again as well.
Q: What is the process in selecting a mentee?
As we do this in a volunteer capacity we can only accept a limited amount of mentees and mentors at this time. After you have filled out the application form and submitted your bio and CV, the MIIPOC organizing team will review all the applications we received and do our best to match you to a mentor based on the application filled out, as well as the responses to the application questions. Additionally, participant selection will be first come first serve basis so please do not submit incomplete applications! For any mentee that does not make it into the current cohort (due to higher volume of mentees than mentors or vice-versa), we will keep your application on file and list you as a priority applicant for the following year’s cohort.
Q: Is the mentorship program free?
The mentorship program is free of charge as our mentors and MIIPOC organizing team currently do this voluntarily to be able to provide this opportunity to our mentees and community.
Q: How long is the program?
Currently we run a 6-month program for each cohort