TOMODACHI Alumni Regional Framework Welcome Event Held by Tohoku-Hokkaido Region, Team A

On June 1, 2019, the Tohoku-Hokkaido Region, Team A kicked-off its  TOMODACHI Alumni Regional Framework Welcome Event in in Morioka City, Iwate Prefecture.This event was organized by Regional Leader Sakura Hayashi and Regional Mentor Kanako Ishikura.

Inspired by the theme of “TOMODACHI Encounter: Let’s Make New TOMODACHI, Friends!” about twenty TOMODACHI Alumni gathered and discussed the future of the Tohoku-Hokkaido region.

First, presentations were given by three TOMODACHI program participants: Ayaha Kanno, a Regional Leader of the Tohoku-Hokkaido Region, Team B, and Kazumasa Motomiya and Momoka Sato, TOMODACHI Alumni. They talked about what they learned from their TOMODACHI programs and recent activities. Using these topics, they shared what they can do as members of the Tohoku-Hokkaido region and the TOMODACHI Generation. All three have different backgrounds in terms of age and hometown: they hail from Fukushima, Iwate, and Miyagi. Thanks to their regional diversity and thought, the three participants were impactful and inspirational.

After the presentations, participants divided into groups and attended workshops to discuss their feelings and help work through one another’s thoughts. They considered strengths and weaknesses about their own regions, but also about other regions and places in Tohoku-Hokkaido they had visited. It was a good opportunity to think about the whole Tohoku-Hokkaido region with a wide lens.

Finally, they shared what they want to do and what they can do as TOMODACHI Alumni. One participant said, “Because I only lived in my hometown, I didn’t realize other points of view about its strengths and weaknesses. And I didn’t know what other regions were like. I learned and shared these viewpoints at the workshop.” Another participant commented, “I would like to be able to act based on our discussions together from bottom of my heart.”

The event was held as a part of the TOMODACHI Alumni Regional Framework, the TOMODACHI Generation Alumni Leadership Program supported by Prudential.