Envisioning the Future with a New Mission: Unleashing "Everyone's" Potential Through the Power of Technology.

NPO Minna no Code (Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture; Representative Director: Akiko Suginohara; hereinafter "Minna no Code") announces the establishment of a new mission. This mission aims to realize a society where all children and youth believe in their potential through trial and error with technology, and are motivated to change society and their own future.

**■ Background of Mission Establishment**
Since its establishment in 2015, Minna no Code has undertaken a wide range of initiatives. These include policy proposals for expanding technology education in public schools, empirical research in collaboration with academic institutions, development and free provision of programming teaching materials for classes, planning and hosting various training programs for teachers, and operating "Creative Hubs" as third places where children can freely interact with technology.

Our activities, which began with promoting programming education, have reached a new turning point with the advent of the AI era. While technology can widen disparities, it also has the power to expand the potential of each individual. Minna no Code aims to realize a society where all children and youth believe in their potential through trial and error with technology, and are motivated to change society and their own future. To achieve this, we will continue to update existing structures in collaboration with schools, government, academia, private companies, and local communities.

**■ Three Missions**
Towards realizing our vision of "making Japan a country where everyone creatively enjoys technology," we will deepen the foundation of our business activities built so far for the next decade. To ensure that technology becomes a force supporting the potential of all children, we will tackle the following three missions, balancing practical implementation in children's learning environments with structural engagement.
▲ Minna no Code's Impact Map

**1. Deliver "I want to try again" to all children.**
We will create entry points where all children, regardless of gender, mother tongue, presence or absence of disabilities, or whether they attend school, can have a positive encounter with technology. Furthermore, by accompanying each child's "I want to do it," we will create environments and opportunities where they can feel "I want to try again" repeatedly.

**2. Envision the future with children living in the AI era.**
In an era where technological evolution is accelerating, we will envision the ideal state of future information education. We will encourage adults around children to understand the significance of technology, take on challenges, and collectively transform learning approaches. We will also recognize the value of trial and error, which cannot be measured by conventional evaluation criteria, and foster a social atmosphere that supports children's challenges.

**3. Create an inclusive information education environment for children's diversity.**
We will identify challenges in structures, locations, and areas that are difficult to reach with existing mechanisms. By connecting resources from schools, government, businesses, academia, and local communities, we will create an information education environment that leaves no one behind.
▲ At the Mission Creation Workshop

**Thoughts from Minna no Code Members**

**1. Deliver "I want to try again" to all children.**
・A future where technology reaches every region and every individual, and new possibilities become part of daily life. Like this digital map, we aim for a society where all of Japan is connected by the light of hope, and everyone can make technology their ally. (H.O.)
・I want to break the current situation where futures are narrowed and disparities are perpetuated due to a lack of contact with technology. We will create an environment where all children can experience technology and choose their lives from diverse options. Regardless of their upbringing, we will create a future where children can maximize their potential through encounters with technology. (K.H.)
・I want to support the creation of good encounters with technology and the development of environments so that as many children as possible can experience moments where they think, "I want to try again." (R.T.)
・Technology is not just for "amazing people" or "capable people"; everyone encounters it in some form. We aim for a future overflowing with changes from "That looks interesting!" to "How do I do it?" and creative improvisations where both users and those around them expand their possibilities! (Y.K.)
・We thought about what we have done and what we want to achieve. We want to provide children with digital encounters that make them think, "I want to try again!" When they want to continue learning, we want to remove obstacles and create a state where they can seek adult support when needed. These are the thoughts we put into this. (M.T.)
・In an era where AI can easily create forms, a strong "subjectivity" like "I like this" holds more value than objective correctness. Instead of tracing someone else's instructions, we want to create "what we want to make" according to our own desires. Isn't it in this passionate creative process that humans find the meaning and joy of learning? (N.N.)
・Towards a society where the experience of enjoying creation, together with the community, leads to one's own career. We will expand opportunities for children to be self-driven and grow through collaboration with others, fostering an environment where they can envision their own future. (A.M.)
・When someone wants to challenge something, it's important to create an environment where they can achieve it, to be a companion who tries to achieve it together, and at the same time, to watch over them from "just the right" distance so they can challenge themselves with their own strength in the future. (K.N.)

**2. Envision the future with children living in the AI era.**
・Adults often recommend creative activities and technology to children, focusing on their educational significance. However, children who engage in these activities actually encounter many elements such as fun and difficulty. I believe that when adults themselves experience and understand more than just the significance, it leads to walking alongside children and their content without limiting their potential. (E.K.)
・The boundary between "fun" and "not fun." Adults tend to give up quickly, but children can be engrossed for hours because they are savoring the "gradual process of becoming fun." I want to be an adult with such a playful spirit, who doesn't immediately demand results but enjoys the gradient of moments when the heart is moved. (N.S.)
・To support the creativity of children opening up the AI era, I believe it's important for adults to first believe in their potential and enjoy it themselves. A world where both adults and children are affirmed for "having fun." A free future can only be envisioned when those who support are excited. Let's enjoy and create together. Adult curiosity is the best key to expanding children's potential. (M.T.)
・I believe "failure" is a "Happy Accident" in the process where creativity blossoms. I want to create a society where children repeatedly try and error with technology as a tool, and even unexpected situations can be laughed off as "Nice try!" I wholeheartedly support the courage to step into an unknown future, transforming every stumble into a force for progress. (M.H.)
・A scene where a grandmother and a child naturally talk about "making" in a village along a mountain river. I want to envision and continue to support a future where such everyday life spreads, together with children living in the AI era. (Y.S.)
・While technology evolves rapidly, children's trial and error is a step forward, a step back. We aim for a community that doesn't rush their progress, accepts challenges and failures as valuable, and gently watches over and supports them. (M.N.)

**3. Create an inclusive information education environment for children's diversity.**
・There are various differences in the quality of education depending on where one lives and the conditions of the school. Through providing teaching materials, teacher training, and sharing best practices, we are promoting the creation of an environment that delivers creative and reliable learning to children in every region, fostering the ability to live in the future. We will proceed step by step while connecting with educational sites nationwide. (I.S.)
・Towards a society where, in 10 years, children will have rich choices and become adults who can carve out their lives without letting go of their creativity. This future cannot be realized by our efforts alone. We want "everyone" to support the potential of children. (A.H.)

**Akiko Suginohara, Representative Director of Minna no Code**
We want to cherish, above all, the trial and error moments when children's eyes sparkle. The mission we have established this time was put into words based on the "wishes" and "frustrations" we have felt in children's learning environments, with the concept of "Minna no Code created by everyone" and accompanied by external collaborators.

Technology has the power to greatly change society. In this accelerating era, we keenly feel that our vision of "making Japan a country where everyone creatively enjoys technology" cannot truly be achieved by the power of our single organization alone. By understanding the voices that fall through the cracks of existing systems, and by actively engaging in the field ourselves, we will work with schools, government, academia, private companies, and local communities to update the forms of learning that reach "everyone."