TOMODACHI Story Jam for Youth with Disabilities Participants Visit Northrop Grumman Corporation

On February 5th, 2024 the 2023 participants of “TOMODACHI Story Jam for Youth with Disabilities” visited the program sponsor Northrop Grumman Corporation. This event, which was held in a hybrid format, had a total of 15 participants. Twelve people, including 2 program participants, gathered at the venue, and 3 people participated online.

At the beginning of the meeting, there was an overview of Northrop Grumman’s program support and an explanation of the program. The participants then introduced themselves, highlighting the videos they had created, and then watched the videos they created during the program with all of the event participants.

In response to the participants’ stories and the videos, Northrop Grumman employees asked a variety of questions and shared feedback with the participants. In addition to asking questions of the participants about the video production process, what they are studying at schools, and career paths, the participants also asked employees questions about their work and their backgrounds.

When asked how he would like to utilize this experience in the future, Sena Someya said, “This program made me aware that even if you have feelings, if you can’t express them in words they are meaningless. I’ve heard that people treat minorities differently overseas, so I want to improve my English so I can communicate more effectively.” Minori Kato, who is majoring in journalism at university, said, “I will be making a documentary for my graduation project. By making a video that focused on myself, I learned the importance of capturing and savoring the momentand I want to make use of it in the future.”

Program participants learned leadership, storytelling, and advocacy skills during the program, and it is expected that those skills will play an active role for their future in society.

The program is implemented by the Institute for Community Inclusion (ICI) at the University of Massachusetts Boston, with support from Northrop Grumman Corporation.

Videos created by 2023 participants in the program can be viewed here.