Both Kureha and Taiga were members of the very‑first cohort of NextGen and part of the championship team that year. Ever since their first NextGen experience, they have kept exploring ways to turn their ideas into real‑world social impact.
Over the past three years, they have consistently devoted themselves to their social‑innovation project, Silver Sayang. This initiative focuses on older adults, helping them feel seen, heard and valued, so as to address the social isolation that often affects the elderly.
What touches us even more is that both of them came back to serve as teaching assistants for the two subsequent editions of NextGen. They shared their experience with new‑generation participants and passed on the reflections and lessons they had accumulated along their journey to more young people.
Especially when mentoring student teams through their projects, Taiga broke free from the utilitarian mindset commonly seen in competitions. He downplayed the goal of “winning the contest” and emphasized the journey behind winning. He guided the team toward a shift in perspective: moving from simply wanting to win to understanding how to win. Rather than chasing only the end objective, he encouraged everyone to embrace the whole exploratory process.
Compared with impressive competition results, the most precious rewards of this practice lie in critical thinking, collaboration and trial‑and‑error throughout project development, as well as the improved awareness and personal growth each individual gains from the experience.
We are incredibly proud of them this year. Kureha will pursue further studies at University College London (UCL), while Taiga is heading to Northwestern University. From students of the inaugural NextGen cohort, to three‑year practitioners of their project, and now teaching assistants and role‑models inspiring the next generation, their growth embodies exactly what NextGen hopes to bring to young people.
For this reason, we have specially invited Kureha and Taiga for an interview conducted in Japanese. Through their stories, we hope to show how young people from diverse cultures, schools and backgrounds can inspire, learn from one another and grow together within one community.
Taiga：
This years programme pushed me in areas outside my comfort zone. Coming back as an Assistant Teacher I was in charge of a group. At first it was challenging navigating the best way to guide and lead the group without inadvertently doing their work for them. In addition the theme art and AI invited me to implore my own experiences with both themes and what they mean to the future of philanthropy.
Kureha：
Returning as a Teaching Assistant for a second year allowed me to apply the skills and lessons I had learnt from my first time in this role, especially recognising the importance of guiding students to take initiative and develop their own unique ideas. At the same time, this year’s Art + AI theme broadened my understanding of philanthropy, showing me how creativity and emerging technologies can be incredibly impactful in creating meaningful social impact.
