Cultivating the ability to create things from scratch
The children of the future will live in a rapidly changing era. Yawata no Mori Kids aims to develop the ability to transform future anxieties into an exciting future that they themselves desire. In the program for elementary school students, real social issues are dealt with and the children set the tasks. They then have fun and stimulate diverse ideas through workshops where they can freely explore ways to solve the issues, creative experiences where they can express their ideas through play and art, and watching plays that deal with social issues.
"Yawata no Mori" is a project that was started with the desire to give the children who will carry the future of Japan the strength to live a rich life in any situation. As volunteer staff, we worked with local organizations to manage the program and facilitated (supported) the children's discussion group. In preparation for the actual event, we learned about design thinking and then repeatedly practiced facilitation. We felt the importance of being able to respond flexibly while watching over the elementary school students who were participating, and of acting while paying close attention to a wide range of situations, and on the day of the event, we were deeply moved to see the children having fun while thinking hard.
Yuki Ishida (graduated from Sawara High School)