Unleash the Potential of Young Changemakers

Dear all the supporters and donors,

Thank you so much for your generous donation to our Youth Venture program.

On Dec. 21st, 2022, six Youth Venturers presented their projects at a school in Fukuoka in front of students, teachers, and parents. The participants chose which story to listen to, and they said that they had an amazing time learning how young changemakers are acting on their ideas and making difference in the society.

One student said, "I listened to Hayato who is helping patients with severe food allergy get immunity through his cockies he invented. I know a few friends of mine who have food allergy, but I never thought about taking actions for them at all. I'm 17 as Hayato is, and that made me wonder what kind of change I can make in this world!"

Another teacher said, "Sara's Book Swap project seems very cool! We as a school want to be connected with local people more, so I would like to organize such space by opening up the school to the local community!"

For more on the events, please take a look at these photos from this trip:
https://note.com/ashoka_japan/n/nec7e9cefc04f

If you are connected to a school in Japan and would like to bring in these young changemakers, feel free to contact us! 

Thank you always for your support!

Warm regards,

Yoi Ashida on behalf of Ashoka Japan Team

Links:

• Photos from the event

Hi our supporters! Hope this email finds you well! 

I'd like to share the event we held in Osaka on Oct. 23rd, the fourth We Are the Change x Kansai. We have started this event last December, and we've been orgazing an event every three months.

The event started with Youth Venture selection panel, and as a result, Iori was elected. Iori is exploring how "young carers" (those children who are tasked to take care of other family members despite their young age) could balance between care of others and their own lives.

Iori himselves has been a young carer since his childhood, and the burden became much bigger when he was 16 due to his mother's depression. Back then, he didn't even know he was one of them. But now, he wants to help others who are in a similar situation as he is. There are many initiatives which are focusing on lifting their burden, however, Iori thinks that's not enough. What the young carers need is to be connected to several adults in the area who they can trust and who can help them realize what they want to do. This insight based on his own experience is what distinguishes him from other programs, and Iori continues exploring what are the effective and accessible support he can provide.

If you are interested in learning more about him, please read this blog entry about his presentation (in Japanese only): https://note.com/ashoka_japan/n/nd5304b68491c

Also, Reina and Rinyu had final report sessions after one year of being Youth Venturers. Their journeys were not straightforward, and that's exactly what made them belive in what they do even more strongly. Reina is now working on updating the teacher training system in Japan. Rinyu, who will be graduating from high school soon, is researching how private library could foster the sense of joy in reading books among children. He also secures funds to implement his idea on how the new model of private library could look like.

You can learn more about the whole event from here: https://note.com/ashoka_japan/n/nbe70e169c219

This event embodied what Youth Venture is about: supporting the youth with passion to create change who will experience trial and error for the better solutions. We will continue searching, selecting, and supporting those rare young changemakers in Japan! Thank you for your support!

Warm regards,

Yoi Ashida on behalf of Ashoka Japan Team