How can we create connections that don't end as "temporary"?
Certified NPO SET held a closing ceremony for its "Change Maker Study Program (CMSP)" in Rikuzentakata, Iwate Prefecture, where young people deeply engage with local residents for six months. This program aims to create a non-temporary 'relationship population' and bring about change for both the youth and the community.
📋 Article Processing Timeline
- 📰 Published: March 31, 2026 at 19:10
- 🔍 Collected: April 1, 2026 at 13:39 (18h 29m after Published)
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: April 22, 2026 at 01:02 (491h 23m after Collected)
People come from outside, but eventually they leave. For communities, this has been a repeated experience. Connections end just as they deepen. The next year, different people come. And so, the word "temporary" has clung to the relationship between communities and outsiders.
So, how can we create relationships that go beyond that?
"Show us your元気な顔 (energetic face) again," "It seems like you've gained many grandchildren," "Work hard wherever you are. Come visit again" — local residents spoke these words to the young people who had completed six months of activities. Not as program participants, but as something already close to "family."
Certified NPO SET (Headquarters: Rikuzentakata City, Iwate Prefecture) held a closing ceremony for the "Change Maker Study Program (CMSP)," a program where young people immerse themselves in the community and engage in practical activities, marking the end of six months of work.
## What is CMSP?
CMSP is a program where young people from all over Japan come to Rikuzentakata City, Iwate Prefecture, and engage in activities for six months while building relationships with residents. SET believes that the "process of nurturing relationships" itself has value, rather than short-term experiences or one-off exchanges. The experience of young people facing people in the community, struggling, and sometimes shedding tears while building relationships, not only creates a new 'relationship population' for the region but also changes the way young people themselves live.
## Voices from the Community — Six Months Like Family
During the six months of engagement, voices like these were heard from local residents:
"I'm just happy when you come back with a smile," "I feel energized by your youthful energy," "I wish I had been involved sooner, I could have given more opinions. Show us your energetic face again."
The level of acceptance has long been surpassed. Young people from outside blend into the daily life of the community, and before they know it, they are welcomed as "grandchildren" or "friends." The answer to connections that don't end as temporary lies in these words.
## Voices from the Staff — I Changed Myself in Six Months
Engagement with the community also changed the young people themselves.
"I never used to cry, but I cried in CMSP. I felt that much emotion and regret," "I realized I had built walls around people, and from now on, I want to live openly," "I decided to face my weaknesses and difficult things."
For young people, engagement with the community was not a "social experience" but a "place to face themselves." As young people enter regions facing population decline, the region changes. At the same time, the young people themselves change. What CMSP creates is this bidirectional change.
## Next Staff Recruitment — Starts April 6
The relationships built by the current staff will be passed on to the next generation. Young people who received the words "Show us your energetic face again" will pass them on to someone else. This is SET's vision for the cycle of relationships between communities and young people.
Recruitment for the next CMSP staff will begin on April 6, 2026. Details will be sequentially released on the official website and various social media channels.
Official HP here
So, how can we create relationships that go beyond that?
"Show us your元気な顔 (energetic face) again," "It seems like you've gained many grandchildren," "Work hard wherever you are. Come visit again" — local residents spoke these words to the young people who had completed six months of activities. Not as program participants, but as something already close to "family."
Certified NPO SET (Headquarters: Rikuzentakata City, Iwate Prefecture) held a closing ceremony for the "Change Maker Study Program (CMSP)," a program where young people immerse themselves in the community and engage in practical activities, marking the end of six months of work.
## What is CMSP?
CMSP is a program where young people from all over Japan come to Rikuzentakata City, Iwate Prefecture, and engage in activities for six months while building relationships with residents. SET believes that the "process of nurturing relationships" itself has value, rather than short-term experiences or one-off exchanges. The experience of young people facing people in the community, struggling, and sometimes shedding tears while building relationships, not only creates a new 'relationship population' for the region but also changes the way young people themselves live.
## Voices from the Community — Six Months Like Family
During the six months of engagement, voices like these were heard from local residents:
"I'm just happy when you come back with a smile," "I feel energized by your youthful energy," "I wish I had been involved sooner, I could have given more opinions. Show us your energetic face again."
The level of acceptance has long been surpassed. Young people from outside blend into the daily life of the community, and before they know it, they are welcomed as "grandchildren" or "friends." The answer to connections that don't end as temporary lies in these words.
## Voices from the Staff — I Changed Myself in Six Months
Engagement with the community also changed the young people themselves.
"I never used to cry, but I cried in CMSP. I felt that much emotion and regret," "I realized I had built walls around people, and from now on, I want to live openly," "I decided to face my weaknesses and difficult things."
For young people, engagement with the community was not a "social experience" but a "place to face themselves." As young people enter regions facing population decline, the region changes. At the same time, the young people themselves change. What CMSP creates is this bidirectional change.
## Next Staff Recruitment — Starts April 6
The relationships built by the current staff will be passed on to the next generation. Young people who received the words "Show us your energetic face again" will pass them on to someone else. This is SET's vision for the cycle of relationships between communities and young people.
Recruitment for the next CMSP staff will begin on April 6, 2026. Details will be sequentially released on the official website and various social media channels.
Official HP here