Orientation for TOMODACHI Summer SoftBank Leadership Program 2.0
On June 23, the orientation program for the TOMODACHI Summer SoftBank Leadership Program 2.0 was held online.
This 6-month program started in June 2024, is designed for high school and university students (who were living in Iwate, Miyagi, and Fukushima prefectures at the time of the Great East Japan Earthquake and are currently living in these prefectures). Students will learn about community contribution and leadership at the University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley) and other organizations from July 30 to August 18. They will also learn how to develop ideas to solve social issues, plan and execute them, and create action plans to solve each issue. In December, the participants will share the process and results of the program at the final presentation. Mentors with experience in entrepreneurship development and regional revitalization in Iwate, Miyagi, and Fukushima prefectures will support the participants from planning to implementation of the action plans after their return.
The orientation brought together 12 participants, program mentors, program administrative staff, and employees of the SoftBank Group online. In the first half, they deepened their understanding of the program and learned about important reminders for the training in the U.S. In the second half, they communicated with other participants and mentors and thought of ways to build their communities.
Participant, Rino Sato, commented on the orientation and her excitement about the program as follows.
“During the orientation, we were able to learn details about activities in the U.S. from last year’s alumni and local staff, which eased my concerns about traveling and living abroad for the first time. Since I am considering a future career in revitalizing my local community, I am delighted to listen to the representative from SoftBank and I am very excited to participate in the program that will directly relate to my future goals. By meeting students and mentors who have a passion for their own communities, I was able to share my ideas and be exposed to various perspectives that were different from my own. This makes me even more excited about the experiences in this program. I want to proactively engage with many people, learn from their diverse viewpoints, and return to Japan with a wealth of knowledge. In the action plan, I would like to continuously think of challenges that my community is facing based on what I have learned. My hope is to gain a new perspective on these issues by the time I return to Japan from the U.S.”
Dr. Deborah McKoy, the co-implementer of the program at UC Berkeley and David Beiser, CEO from Global Seed, our partner organization based in Berkeley, welcomed program participants as follows. “We are really excited to welcome you to the TOMODACHI program. YPLAN is a program at UC Berkeley in the Graduate School of Education and the Department of City Planning, and it is about teaching young people, like yourselves, to really rebuild their communities, to bring joy and justice to their work, and to revitalize the communities today for an incredible, sustainable future tomorrow. I’m really excited to see what the next 10 years holds for your group.”
The participants will continue their preparation for their program in the U.S.
