Impact: Key Insights & Emergent Themes
“They [student scholars] often have someone in mind around the work they are doing – they are doing it for someone or something they love.“
– Mutsumi Ogaki, Program Manager for TOMODACHI
Leadership as a Form of Resilience
Youth are ready to lead but traditional processes of civic change can shut them out, as they are less likely to wield economic and voting power; this can be especially true in cultures which highly value deference to adults and expertise. Without nurturing their voices and supporting them in their development, the leadership ability of youth can be stunted. This is doubly troubling because youth navigate their communities in particular ways that can make visible to them issues that adults might never see and they are the leaders who will guide us in the future.
When the students are empowered to see themselves as change agents, they become more resilient as individuals, knowing they can change their individual circumstances and can offer that strength in service of others in their communities. This was illustrated clearly in TOMODACHI, in which students who had experienced great personal loss drew strength from working toward the development of another community “… one separated by geography but aligned in the need for social, economic development and led most importantly by the young people,” and were able to leverage that growth to improve their home communities.
