Overview:

Since May 2013, IsraAID in partnership with Hilton Tokyo, conducted several workshops and activities for high school students in Tohoku region.

These activities include:

• 3 intensive leadership workshops for 14 high school students from Watari.
• 6 days training in Hospitality and communication skills for 13 high school students from Fukushima and Ishinoamki in partnership with Hilton Tokyo.
• Meetings with local coordinators and planning of a community event in Ishinomaki on coming October.
• Meetings with new communities in Fukushima and Introduction of IsraAID leadership and skills model.

Workshops:

In Watari, IsraAID youth group is becoming energetic and motivated about the leadership project.

The 3 workshops conducted so far was focused on Presentation skills, Creative thinking and group building activities. Both teachers and students mentioned this is the first time they are able to express themselves freely and they are looking forward for the next session in September and for the Hospitality training in January.

Hospitality

During the first week of August, a group of 13 students from Ishinomaki community Cafe- Kagikakko, and 2 students from Futaba-Shoyo, a high school of youth evacuated from Fukushima radiation area, participated in the 3rd leadership & skills session conducted by IsraAID and Hilton Tokyo.

The students learned practical communication skills such as English, Body Language and Emotional expression, while receiving intensive job training in cooking, marketing, house keeping and Hospitality.

The training was a great success and the students expressed their appreciation and gratitude to IsraAID and Hilton staff.

The students felt very satisfied mostly because they learned practical skills that will support their daily work in the community cafe in Ishinomaki.

Future plans for 2013

• Hospitality training for Watari youth group-January 2014
• Community event with Ishinomaki youth group-October 2013

Voices of Tohoku

May 2013 – Aug 2013

Project Report

Overview

The “Voices of Tohoku” project is currently expanding its reach into new communities and platforms.

We are continuing to interview on a regular basis. Our work has expanded into three new communities.  

We are meeting affected community leaders across Japan to decide where to expand next.

A website is under development with the help of design students and volunteers.

Our academic advisors are working with us to prepare an archive catalogue for researchers. We are writing the program guidelines for a general book that will be distributed to communities interested in initiating the project.

Community Response

After we distributed the personal copies to participants in Watari and Yamamoto we received great responses from people telling us they watched their own interview with their entire family, and it was a meaningful experience. Due to this we are getting new requests for interviews from these communities.

Web Site Development

-We are fortunate to cooperate with the 

 prestigious Musashino Art School in Tokyo.

 Their students are working with us to develop

 a video web site platform that will be the

 main tool to raise awareness for Tohoku  

 outside of Japan.

 Utilizing their amazing talents as designers,

 we believe this will be a huge addition to

 the project’s artistic value.

-Volunteers are helping us to catalogue and

 translate interviews to be posted onto the

 website. 

Current Communities

-Ishinomaki City – The community book is currently being printed. We finished designing it, and collecting messages for the book from local residents and the Vice Mayor. We are collecting interviews on a regular basis to establish a wide range of people from different aspects of this community.

-Watari – Interviews are conducted on a regular basis. The library has dedicated a corner to display the project.

-Yamamoto – We are establishing the project 

 into new areas of the town. We are planning

 community events to raise awareness about the

 project.

Expansion of the Project

-Osaka- We started to interview members of a

 group of evacuees from Fukushima. They are

 happy to share their stories and see this as

 an important opportunity to save a memory for

 their children. 

-Sendai- We started to interview residents in

 temporary houses. In this community we are  

 cooperating with a professional Japanese

 television director from NHK (a major Japanese television station).

Academic

-We are currently cataloging the material to

 include metadata crucial for research

 purposes.

-With the help of our academic advisors we are

 developing an assessment procedure to

 evaluate the effects of the program on

 individuals.  

-Japanese professors have notified us they  applied for a Japanese government research grant to study the content of our interviews.

IsraAID leadership project

Summary of activities Feb-May 2013 

Since Feb 2013 IsraAID project rebuilding 10,000 lives in Tohoku, expanded to Ishinomaki as part of IsraAID partnership with Taylor Anderson memorial fund: "smile together Ishinomaki."

The Project includes intensive Leadership and skills training for high school students in Ishinomaki.  

As of May 28^th 2013 IsraAID conducted the following activities in Ishinomaki:

• IsraAID team in Ishinomaki conducted needs assessment research and met with High school teachers and local Japanese NGO's in order to build the working model and the target groups.
• IsraAID team identified a local High school students group who runs a community café as a social business initiative called Kagikakko.
• There are 38 high school students in Kagikakko group, and the project is supported by Nippon foundation.
• The students and the local facilitator asked IsraAID to conduct trainings in the field of Service industry, Hospitality, cooking,  event planning and communication skills.
• On May 25^th & 26^th IsraAID team in partnership with Hilton Tokyo volunteers conducted a first of its kind leadership and skills training for the High school students who are running the community cafe in Ishinomaki.

 The training included: Creative thinking activities, Communication skills workshop and professional cooking and Hospitality training by Hilton Professional Chef and IsraAID staff.

IsraAID Leadership program activities in other locations:

• In Watari, IsraAID team conducted several meetings with the town officials and High school teachers, including a pilot meeting with some of the active young leaders in the community. The group has been decided and the first leadership training will take place on June 22^nd.
• In Fukushima, following up on the success of IsraAID leadership training in January, a youth group of 10 high school students from Futaba Machi ( a town evacuated due to high radiation level), asked IsraAID to conduct an intensive leadership training that will include: Creative thinking, social activism and a documentation project.(as part of IsraAID "Voices of Tohoku" program supported by GlobalGiving). The training will start on June 2013, and will continue throughout 2013-14. 

Future plans: 

On June & July 2013 IsraAID team will conduct workshops in Watari, Fukushima and Ishinomaki that will include: group building activities, event planning and presentation skills as well as life story interviewing techniques.

On August 2013, IsraAID in partnership with Hilton Tokyo will conduct an intensive leadership and skills training for 15 students who are part of the Kagikakko community café group in Ishinomaki.