TOMODACHI and Microsoft Celebrates the Launch of a Social Innovation and Leadership Program by iLEAP
On July 13, 2016, the launch event for the TOMODACHI Microsoft iLEAP Social Innovation and Leadership Program was held at the office of Microsoft Japan Company, Limited. With its roots in the TOMODACHI Social Innovation in Seattle (SIIS) Scholars Program, the TOMODACHI Microsoft iLEAP Social Innovation and Leadership Program is now fully funded by Microsoft Japan, which has joined the TOMODACHI Initiative as a a strategic partner.
This social innovation and leadership program invites students and young working adults from the age of 18 to 25 for a four-week program in the United States. During the program, they work on cases from companies and NPO organizations near Seattle, Washington, developing their own ideas through group projects and observing social innovation take place.
The ceremony celebrated the new partnership between the TOMODACHI Initiative and Microsoft Japan, as Ms. Irene Hirano Inouye, President of U.S.-Japan Council, and Mr. Rich Sauer, CVP and Deputy General Counsel at Microsoft, gave their welcome remarks at the beginning of the event. In addition, Professor Kan Suzuki, Special Advisor to Minister of Education, Mr. Koichi Morimoto, Director-General for International Affairs, Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, and Mr. Alexei Kral, Environment, Science, Technology and Health Chief, Economic and Scientific Affairs Section, Embassy of the United States, also celebrated the launch of the program. Dr. Britt Yamamoto, Executive Director and Founder of iLEAP, participated from Seattle via Skype.
The highlight of the event was the presentations given by Mr. Shota Eda and Ms. Sayuri Ishikawa, who reflected upon their own experiences as alumni. Mr. Eda reflected on his own experience by bringing up three elements that he gained from the program: social innovators who became his role models, his own ideas and thoughts he developed through the workshops, and his own “team” including his host family and friends he made during the program. In addition, Ms. Ishikawa spoke about “learning to measure [her]self” with her own metric system. She emphasized that the program had taught her to follow her own dreams and the importance of being honest with herself.
The event launched the partnership between Microsoft Japan and TOMODACHI, as well as iLEAP, as the program continues to share and solidify the vision on social innovation while opening a new path for the TOMODACHI generation.
- For more information on the program, click here
- For the press release of the program, click here
