"HOPEFUL INTENTIONS" Project and Exhibition 2013

Tomodachi/Softbank/Ayusa YPLAN Leadership Program @ UC Berkeley
July 22- August 10 2013

It was another transformational teaching experience for me (year two) as one of the instructors of the
YPlan Leadership Program at UC Berkeley for 100 high school students who
came from the Earthquake, Tsunami devastated region of Tohoku Japan as part of the
Tomodachi /Softbank/Ayusa Leadership Program.  (Press Coverage: KTVU and SF Chronicle-
see my class and students!)

Representing the theme of "Public Space", I had the privilege of teaching the Y PLAN leadership/planning methodology providing students the foundation for future action plans helping to rebuild and revitalize their communities back home.  The experience offered the opportunity for students to deepen their leadership skills motivating them to become agents of change at home. The discussions around "place memory" and the need for honoring personal and collective memories in planning of public spaces were profound and resonated most with my students especially as many of them lost homes, friends and family.

My "Public Space " Yellow Team Students

Human Web "Community of Practice" Exercise
Teaching the value of everyone's contribution,
strengths and involvement to community 

Similar to last year,  I was able to incorporate an element of art as a symbolic representation of the student's "hopeful intentions".  Thank you Deb and David! With the help of the Y Plan Teaching Team  (Thank you Junko, Natsumi, Carol, Jessie, Chikara and Shirl) students wrote their action plans, hopes and dreams on strips of various repurposed paper (representing the rebirth of materials often discarded). They were made into bows I designed for installation and later given to the students to bring back home. It was intended as a visual memory of their experience, reminder and source of symbolic inspiration for actualizing their vision back home.

Student Action Plans, Dreams, Hopes  on Bows 

Hopeful Intentions Installation (Wall A) 

Hopeful Intentions Installation (Wall B) 

Special THANK YOU to mentor Stephanie Lam for
your dedicated help and the creative installation work! 

Emotional Good Byes...
Student Leader Taiki Handa

Notes from my Students

THANK YOU so much for inspiring ME! 

Enjoyed our time together! 

******

LEAVING MESSAGES AT Ferryland, Oakland

Another opportunity to team up with designer, educator, urban planner Shirl Buss to incorporate a creative element to the students' service project visit to Ferry Land. Inspired by the Sendai Tanabata Festival in Japan, we cut strips of colorful paper and students left messages to the children visiting Ferryland.  Loved the process of working with the students who took seriously the mission of leaving something of value behind.   Read more about the story in the OAKLAND LOCAL

Great working with you again Shirl!