glolab is organizing “Mirai (Future) Challenge” Program, the program helping young people between the ages of 15 and 20 who have immigrant background to have broaden perspectives on their career, to think about the future, and to take on new challenges.

　This program is part of Sumitomo Corporation’s “100SEED” social contribution program, which is a collaborative project with the “Future Creation Project for Foreign Roots Youth” of the Japan Center for International Exchange (JCIE), and is being implemented with the cooperation of the pro-bono team of Sumitomo Corporation, the Tokachi Urahoro Raksha, and volunteers from Urahoro town. The program is also sponsored by the Dentsu Scholarship Foundation.

We would like to report on “Online Training Camp” session that is the part of this programs.

Overview of the “Mirai Challenge Program” Online Training Camp

　■ Date: June 31 and August 1, 2021
　■ Participants: 2nd year junior high school students to 3rd year high school students
　■ Number of participants: 9 (including 2 absent)
　■ Format: Hybrid (face-to-face and online) workshop
　■ Aims:
　　　1.　To listen to the story in Urahoro town and observe “work” from various perspectives
　　　2.　To acquire the ability to think about the future by oneself.
　■Contents
【Day 1: Morning Session】
 ・Question and answer session about the life in Urahoro town
 ・Workshop to think about the variety of works
 【Day 1: Afternoon Session】
 ・Online tour of the work by Mr. Kenta Mori (representative of ciokay Co., Ltd.), who produces the organic cosmetic brand “rosa rugosa”, and Mr. Hikaru Komatsu, who runs “Hahaha Hostel”.
【Day 2: Morning Session】
 ・Mr. Tomoaki Takamuro of Urahoro Printing Ltd. and Ms. Yuka Miyadera of Tokachi Urahoro Raksha will talk about their working experiences.
【Day2: Afternoon Session】
・Experiences of “Senpai”
・Work to think about yourself 10 years from now

About the Training Camp

　According to the original plan, this camp was to be a hands-on camp in Urahoro-cho, Tokachi-gun, Hokkaido, but due to the spread of the new coronavirus infection, the work site visit and working experience were conducted online.

Due to a change in the content of the camp, the schedule was packed from the morning for the two days, but we were very impressed by the way the participants, who were high school students, listened intently to the guest speakers and thought hard. Their troubled faces during the workshop, their serious faces when they thought of questions, and their embarrassed faces when they made their presentations all showed that they were feeling and digesting something. Although they sometimes looked tired, none of them left the class halfway through, and they really worked hard until the end.

On the second day, high school students received a program delivered from Urahoro town. In the part of the program where working people from Urahoro town talked about their experiences, they shared their impressions, saying, “It gave me new insights which I can’t usually hear from people close to me. It gave me a new awareness. In the work session where they thought about themselves 10 years from now, they gave a presentation that showed what the people in Urahoro town thought why they have lived in Urahoro town, which encourages various ways of working.

As face-to-face participation is limited, we would like to continue to provide such opportunities for junior and senior high school students to communicate with each other, even though it was online.

What about “work?” What about people who do “work?

　During the camp, participants learned about “work” and “life” in Urahoro Town with the cooperation of Urahoro Town, Tokachi County, Hokkaido. At the afternoon session of the Day 1, we invited Mr. Kenta Mori, who produces the organic cosmetic brand rosa rugosa in Urahoro Town, and Mr. Teru Komatsu, who runs the accommodation facility Hahaha Hostel.Mr. Mori talked about an idea that was born from junior high school students in Urahoro who wanted to use a Japanese native rose called “Hamanasu”, which grows wild in Urahoro and is also the town’s flower, and how they made the most of their idea to create organic cosmetics.

Mr. Komatsu talked about how her experience as a dairy helper in Urahoro-cho, a town with primary industry, led her to run a lodging business as a space where people can stay in the community, experience the local lifestyle, and enjoy the daily life in the community.

And the thoughts of both of them behind it. As if their thoughts were conveyed to the participants, their eyes twinkled and their imaginations were filled with ideas about “work” and “work style”.

At the morning session of the Day 2, we welcomed Mr. Tomozane Takamuro of Urahoro Printing Co., Ltd. and Ms. Yuka Miyadera of the general incorporated association Tokachi Urahoro Raksha, both of whom live in Urahoro Town. They talked about what they value in working and what they value as members of society, using their own experiences. At the end of their talk, they included a message for the participants of this project.

“No experience is ever wasted. “
“Be curious. When you find something that interests you, do some research. ”

This message became the words that came out of the mouths of the participants many times during the workshop discussions and in their impressions after the camp, and it was easy to see that their stories had greatly touched the hearts of the participants.

“What about me in ten years?

At the afternoon session of Day 2, we had a work session called “Thinking about me 10 years from now,” in which we had to imagine our goals 10 years from now in concrete terms based on what we had learned up to that point, connect them to our current selves, and think about how to put them into action.

The adults in the group, as facilitators, had to think about how to give advice, and the work was a great opportunity for the adults to gain new insights. It was a difficult work, but when it came time for the presentation, each participant was able to make a presentation after careful consideration.

Each of us had different goals, but we were able to gradually narrow down the direction we should aim for.

The next session will be the first post-event study. Two months have passed since the camp, and we are looking forward to seeing what steps each participant has taken!

Report author: Li Shu