Action Plan Title: Project STAR: Stuttering Awareness and Empowerment

Feiru M.

Hometown/Country: Japan

Program/Year: Leadership Institute Online, 2022

 

How has your project changed since you present on it during your Pre-College course?

My project has changed entirely since I presented on it during the Leadership Institute Online Course., after the course, I decided to reflect and take inspiration from the content I learned, and combine it with my interest in dance and tackling issues related to stuttering, as I shared my struggles with a stutter with my instructor and peers. Now, my project is called "Project STAR", and it aims to empower individuals with stutters to express themselves through movement (contact improvisation as a method of dance therapy). Through conducting monthly workshops in Japan, we have expanded our audience to not only people with stutters, but also anyone who is interested in learning more about stuttering, in order to raise awareness of stuttering as a disorder.

What impact do you think your project has had? 

My project has led to more people in my community gaining a deeper, more accurate understanding in stuttering as a disorder, and I believe that I have built many connections between the workshop participants as well, which empowered them to improve their communication skills.

What challenges and obstacles have you experienced and how have you addressed these challenges?

The main challenge I experienced is being unable to reach my target audience, which was initially people who stutter. To address this challenge, I expanded the audience to anyone who is interested in learning more about stuttering, so that I can first raise awareness of stuttering and then be able to target children with stutters and engage them in the workshops.