What is MyPro? Explaining MyProject for First-Timers
1. MyProject in a nutshell
It is a method, a space, and a philosophy where you connect with yourself, your work, your community, and the world, leading to the creation of new actions. By taking something based on your true feelings (My) and trying to turn it into a project (Project), a story of change for yourself and the world begins.
I apologize. That was not a nutshell, and it was abstract and confusing, wasn't it?
However, if you read on for just a few more minutes, I am sure it will make sense. (If it doesn't, I apologize.)
First, by engaging in MyPro,
1) You gain the power to notice the inner voice of "yourself"
2) You find yourself affirming your past and present
3) By living honestly as "yourself," you feel more at ease while simultaneously strengthening your connections with society and your community
4) You gain the best companions who feel, think, and understand you even better than you do yourself
This is what happens. Below is just a small sample of voices from those who have experienced it.
Before experience
I was feeling frustrated alone, thinking, "I'm not doing what I want to do," "This doesn't feel right," "But work is busy...", "Where do I start?", "What is it that I actually want to do?"
During experience
"There were people who accepted me no matter what I was like!!"
After experience
"I started to envision a little bit further ahead"
"I started listening to my own inner voice"
"I have become more open"
"My perspective on things has shifted to be self-centered"
"I have become able to accept things that are different from me"
"I have gained more beloved companions who I find fun"
"I have become able to enjoy being myself"
Looking at this, it might seem like a religion, but it is based on the wonderful aspects that humans naturally possess:
"Celebrating that we have been given life in this world"
"Trying to live life better"
"Caring for one another"
MyPro creates a community of learning and practice that brings out these aspects not just through workshops, but by building mechanisms into daily life.
So, while it is 'My', it is a practice of community, or more technically speaking, group dynamics.
Now, let me explain it more concretely.
2. "Everyone has potential, and we can change the future little by little, surely, with our own hands"
MyPro was born about 12 years ago in a university seminar. The university where that seminar was held was famous for having many 'eccentric people' in a good way (or maybe a bad way? haha), but that seminar had even more 'eccentric people.' That is no surprise, as the professor in charge was also an 'eccentric person,' and the recruitment requirements (the so-called syllabus) for the seminar only said, 'Gather, those who want to change the world.' (Today, the Ministry of Education would not allow such a syllabus. haha)
That seminar was the Hideyuki Inoue Laboratory at Keio University SFC (Shonan Fujisawa Campus), and its research themes were social entrepreneurship (also called social enterprise) and social innovation, which were cutting-edge topics at the time. The learning goal of that seminar (what we wanted graduates of this seminar to embody) was the sentence in the heading: 'Everyone has potential, and we can change the future little by little, surely, with our own hands.' Some of you may be hearing the term 'social innovation' for the first time, but please don't worry about that for now; just think of it as something created by the mindset that 'we can change the future little by little, surely, with our own hands.'
To acquire this mindset, it is essential to have a real sense of it and to have actual experiences. That is why MyPro, or MyProject, was created through trial and error. I, the author of this note, participated in this seminar as a TA (Teaching Assistant) while I was in a doctoral program, and I shared in that process.
Hideyuki Inoue Laboratory http://inoken.org/
Even after the original seminar ceased to exist, graduates and those involved continued their efforts, and the program has constantly evolved. Now, more than 10 years later, it is being conducted for a wide range of people, from elementary school students to the elderly.
Its purpose is not limited to project-based learning (active learning) in educational settings or first-year education; it is used in various fields such as entrepreneur (including social and regional entrepreneur) education, leadership training and team building in companies and government agencies, career and social education for junior and senior high school students, and community development. (From Hokkaido in the north to Okinawa in the south.)
Regarding the programs currently being conducted, I introduced some of them in section 6.
3. What to do specifically
The specific methods vary depending on the implementing body, but the following is an explanation based on a case similar to the program at the Hideyuki Inoue Laboratory, which is implemented as a program with fixed members for about 2 to 3 months. (This is an article from over 5 years ago, and the program has evolved significantly since then, so I would like to rewrite it, but I will write the latest version in the note circle introduced at the end of this article or in a future sequel.)
Yoshihiko Suko, “The Challenge of Realizing a ‘Learning Organization’ in an Online University: The Potential of ‘MyProject,’ a Project-Based Learning Method Starting from Personal Interests,” BBTU Review Inaugural Issue, 2014/04 https://my-pro.me/papers/
4. Core mechanism
When people are told to plan a project, it is generally considered desirable to implement it as planned and achieve results. For that purpose, management such as PDCA is required.
However, it is different in MyPro. In MyPro, the project is just a 'means to an end.' It is merely a trigger for advancing self-understanding and self-acceptance, as well as exploring one's own Will through connections with society. MyProject assumes that it will be changed. There is no exploration without change.
The content of the project at the beginning is a prototype. It can be vague, and it is okay to be confused. It is fine if the connection with your own Will (desire, what you want to do) is not clear. Then, you perform a small execution. A small execution can be something like talking about the project content to someone close to you. When you try doing it on a small scale (e.g., explaining it), you reflect on whether you were excited, what kind of reaction or feedback the other person gave you, and how you felt about it. In PDCA, the results of execution are used to refine the project plan (Check -> Action), but in MyPro, while improving the plan, we place even more importance on reflecting on how you felt yourself. By dialoguing about that with your peers, your understanding of 'yourself' by 'yourself' advances. If your self-understanding changes, the content of the project will naturally change. In some cases, you might want to scrap and build from scratch. That is also possible and very welcome.
By going through this process, self-understanding and self-acceptance will advance. Also, the content of the project will change to something that has a connection with your own Will (desire, what you want to do). It is similar to the cycle of experiential learning, isn't it?
This process can essentially be done alone. Many professionals, including top athletes, do this in their own lives. However, it is difficult to do it alone, so there are often coaches or rivals. Therefore, in MyPro, even if the themes are different, we create peers who are challenging themselves to rotate this cycle during the same period.
5. Key points of MyPro
Below are the key points of MyPro. I hope you will use them as a reference when relatively judging the programs being conducted nationwide and the positioning of the programs you have experienced.
I could write one article for each item, but here I will only show the items. (If you are interested, please join the note circle introduced at the end of the text ☆)
5-1)People who are seriously working to live better and more like themselves are drawing out the power to seriously care for, feel for, and think about each other.
5-4) The program for digging deep into oneself is full of love and leads to self-acceptance.
5-5) Self-acceptance and the implementation of the project lead to trusting others and society.
5-6) Self-acceptance, interaction with others, and handling with a mindful heart. The balance of these three makes MyPro what it is, and as a result, leads to major social innovation.
6. Places and opportunities to experience it nationwide
Education field
In the field of education, the 'National High School MyProject Award' by NPO Katariba is famous. MyPro by Katariba started from a small MyPro in a small port town in Iwate Prefecture that was involved in disaster recovery.
At that time, while disaster recovery was not progressing well, it is said that the local children were imitating the complaints that the adults were making. 'Because of the government, the future of this town is hopeless.' It is said that they felt a sense of crisis toward the children who were saying such words, and it started from the desire to convey, 'Wait, wait, that's not it.' It is truly 'the future can be changed little by little, but surely, with our own hands'!
For Entrepreneurs and Working Professionals
In the context of entrepreneurship and general working professionals, the "MyProject Dojo" by the Organization for Small & Medium Enterprises and Regional Innovation, JAPAN (SMRJ) TIP*S is well-known. I am directly involved in this through program design and facilitation, and it is conducted in a form close to the original Inoue Hideyuki Laboratory, as a program for a fixed group of members lasting about 2 to 3 months. To date, there have been over 1,000 participants. There are about 200 graduates of the full-size, multi-month program.
Regional
Kochi (Kochi MyProject Dojo, Kochi University Faculty of Regional Development) and MyProject Nagoya (Nagoya City, Nisshin City) are derivative programs from the aforementioned MyProject Dojo. It is also popular in Shimane. Furthermore, it is being conducted in various parts of the country under the name "MyPlan".
Stakeholder Communities
The "KAIGO MY PROJECT" for those involved in nursing care is also a derivative program by graduates of the MyProject Dojo. Additionally, online MyPro sessions are held within "ikumado", a community for those on maternity or childcare leave.
PBL (Project-Based Learning) at Online Universities
Also, at the Faculty of Management, Department of IT Solutions of "Business Breakthrough University (BBT University)", a 100% online university primarily for working professionals, the essence of MyPro is incorporated into the mandatory project-based learning, serving as a track record for implementing PBL (active learning) online.
7. Summary
As I mentioned at the beginning, have you gained a better understanding of the expression: "A method, a space, and a philosophy where I connect with myself, connect with my work, connect with the region and the world, and new actions are generated," and "By taking something based on my true feelings (My) and trying to do it in the form of a project (Project), a story of change for myself and the world begins"?
I hope so.
By engaging in MyPro,
1) You develop the power to notice the inner voice of "me"
2) You find yourself affirming your past and present
3) By living honestly to "me," you become more at ease while simultaneously strengthening your connections with society and the community
4) You gain the best companions who feel, think, and understand you better than you do yourself
I hope you are interested in the fact that this is realized not as a religion, but as a technology for creating spaces.
For more details, please see the related materials and articles on the following page. I will continue to serialize the latest findings on this note, and I will also post links to notes below.
ARTICLES about MyPro | MyPro Research Group https://my-pro.me/papers/
Also, in this day and age, I have tried to explain it in words as much as possible, but ultimately, experiencing it for yourself is best. Additionally, the following MyProject Dojo is planning an online program. (Currently, only trial sessions are scheduled; I will decide whether the main series of workshops will be held online or offline based on the situation.)
MyProject Dojo https://tips.smrj.go.jp/myproject/
Furthermore, I feel more than ever the importance of sharing my 12 years of experience and know-how with the world.
I would like to deliver it in the form of a book someday (currently writing), but it will be a long time before it becomes a book. Also, there are many other practitioners besides me.
Therefore, while I will continue to work on compiling it into a book over time, I have started an alumni organization called "MyPro Bus" as a place to easily share existing know-how and knowledge with many practitioners and experienced people. If you are a MyPro veteran and would like to join the alumni association, please contact us.
Also, if you are creating MyPro spaces or are a facilitator and need a place for mutual learning, let's learn together!