Mentoring: Giving a “Boost” to Young People from Disadvantaged Backgrounds

It’s Back-to-School season: let’s talk about education! While education should be the great equaliser, our public systems remain far from egalitarian. Young people from underprivileged backgrounds are more likely to underperform in both secondary and higher education, and many end up in precarious jobs with limited prospects. This is precisely the cycle that Boost, a Belgian non-profit initiative, is determined to break.

Why Boost Matters

Motivation and discipline can move mountains — but they are not always enough. Growing up in a family with low educational attainment often means fewer career opportunities, fewer connections, and fewer chances to climb the social ladder. In Belgium today, it takes four generations for children from the most vulnerable families to reach the average national income.
This is why the Candriam Institute for Sustainable Development supports Boost: to change the odds and accelerate social mobility by giving talented young people the chance to aim higher and achieve more.

Boost: A Holistic Program for Long-Term Empowerment

Created in 2011 by the King Baudouin Foundation— one of Europe’s largest philanthropic organisations - and the Sofina Boël Fund for Education and Talent, Boost provides a unique six-year trajectory of academic, personal and professional support.

The program includes:

• Mentoring and coaching: trusted mentors accompany each student along their journey
• Training and workshops: around 15 sessions per year on languages, study methods, personal development, and orientation for future careers.
• Financial and material support: laptops, printers, internet access, and grants

What Makes Boost Unique?

• Beyond Education: Personal Development
  Boost doesn’t only prepare young people for exams or diplomas. It nurtures confidence, communication skills, social responsibility and cultural awareness. From language courses to workshops on public speaking and leadership, the program broadens horizons and teaches the “hidden curriculum” of social codes often taken for granted.
• A Program for the Long Term
  Unlike short-term scholarships, Boost commits to young people for at least six years. Starting around age 15, a turning point in a young’s life, it accompanies them from secondary school all the way into higher education and the first steps into the job market. This long horizon allows participants to grow both academically and personally.
• Stronger Together: Building a Community
  Role models matter. Boost connects participants with mentors, professionals and peers from diverse socio-economic spheres. Alumni are encouraged to “give back” as role models themselves, creating a virtuous circle of inspiration and support. This growing community helps Boosters realise that they are not alone in their journey.

Boost’s impact is not limited to its direct participants. As one Boost coach puts it:

“Our Boosters do not develop in isolation. They influence their brothers, sisters, parents, teachers and friends through their own success. The overall impact is therefore much greater than just on the young people we support.”

Voices of the Boosters

Mohamed, from the 2017 promotion, shares:
“For me, Boost represents the key that enabled me to open doors that used to be inaccessible. I want to get a degree in engineering and now I know that this is possible.”

Kyra echoes this sentiment:
“I want to show the world, and especially my family and friends, that nothing is impossible.”

These are more than individual success stories- they are proof that change is possible now, not four generations from now.

Discover more about Boost
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