The twentieth anniversary of the Sylff program at the American University in Cairo (AUC) was celebrated on November 6, 2012. AUC became the forty-fifth member of the Sylff community in December 1992.

Provost Emeritus Tim Sullivan, who was deeply involved in the AUC’s Sylff program for many years, opened the ceremony. In her welcoming speech, President Lisa Anderson commented that the Sylff program was not only the oldest scholarship program at AUC but also a pioneering one, with its focus on leadership skills and civil engagement as well as academic performance.

Nippon Foundation Chairman Yohei Sasakawa delivered a video message, and Tokyo Foundation President Masahiro Akiyama noted that the qualities a Sylff leader was expected to have were a proactive mindset and the ability to view issues from a broad, interdisciplinary perspective.

The ceremony to celebrate the 20-year milestone was attended by both current and graduated fellows, enabling networking among those from different generations. The participants, who gave a brief introduction of their current activities, have become leaders in such diverse fields as academia, government, international organizations, and filmmaking. All of them, though, shared a clear vision and motivation for social betterment.

The day was packed with interesting programs. Ambassador Magda Shahin, professor and director of the American Studies and Research Center, delivered a speech as a guest speaker on the new government dilemma of drafting a new constitution and the signing of a loan agreement with the IMF.

In the afternoon, a panel discussion was held with four Sylff fellows and a research fellow from the Tokyo Foundation, moderated by Dr. Sullivan. The discussion was titled, “The Prospects for Democracy in Egypt: Where Are We Heading?” The first Sylff panelists to speak was Tahia Abdel Nasser, assistant professor of English and Comparative Literature at AUC, who outlined the role of poetry in the revolution and expressed concern about threats to the freedom of personal and cultural expression in the current political flux.

The second panelist was Brian Wright, a specialist in Islamic law in the Department of Arab and Islamic Studies, who explained the influence of Salafism in the current Egyptian administration.

Adham Abdel Al, a current fellow who holds a position in the Egyptian Commercial Service under the Ministry of Industry and International Trade, talked of the importance of the informal economy, which has been neglected despite accounting for up to half of the national economy. The government should provide such incentives as public financing, he said, to fully develop all sectors of the economy.

Nahla Zeitoun, a program officer at the UNDP in Egypt, shared her views on the pressing need to enhance education for youths, who account for more than half of the Egyptian population, so that democracy can take root in the country.

Ippeita Nishida, a research fellow at the Tokyo Foundation, shared Japan’s experience with democracy and provided comments on the presentations by the Sylff fellows. This was the first time that a policy research member of the Foundation took part in a Sylff forum. He noted that the transition to democracy will take time and incur many costs, and added his hope that Sylff fellows would provide capable leadership for the country.

More news on the AUC website; news@AUC

Koichi Hamada, the Tuntex Professor Emeritus of Economics at Yale University who played a key role when the Ivy League school joined the Sylff community in 1989, visited the Tokyo Foundation on December 14 to offer his thoughts on how Japan can beat deflation and overcome two decades of economic stagnation.

Hamada has been at the center of Japanese media attention recently for strongly endorsing Liberal Democratic Party President Shinzo Abe’s strategy for fighting deflation. The professor’s remarks and messages were widely quoted by the LDP leader during the campaign for the December 16 election for the House of Representatives, which the LDP won by a landslide.

Following the election victory, Abe indicated that he would appoint Hamada as a special advisor to the cabinet.

Hamada’s remarks are believed to have significantly boosted the LDP’s standing among the members of the public, many of whom are struggling to make ends meet. Hamada advocates a bold quantitative easing policy to halt deflation and ease the value of the high-flying yen.

On December 14 Hamada was joined by Tokyo Foundation Senior Fellows Shigeki Morinobu and Yutaka Harada—both experts on the economy—as well as other Foundation research fellows and program officers in a lively exchange of views.

While Hamada asserted it was high time to overturn the Bank of Japan’s cautious monetary policy, Morinobu countered that the yen was not “too high” from the viewpoint of purchasing power.

Harada, meanwhile, noted that the dramatic rise in the yen’s rate from around 120 yen to the dollar prior to the Lehman crisis to around 80 yen today was too heavy a burden on Japanese companies. The optimum exchange rate, he noted, was a level that does not adversely affect the domestic economy.

Regarding his recent media fame, Hamada noted he was grateful that “Finally, someone is listening to what I’ve been saying for years. It’s high time that bolder monetary measures are seriously and broadly discussed as an option in reviving the Japanese economy.”

SYLFF SUPPORT PROGRAMS

Our Sylff support programs are being enhanced. The first awardees under the renewed Sylff Research Abroad program were announced in March, and 27 fellows used the award to conduct research for their dissertations. Ten more fellows were named in September. The reports written by the recipients can be read here. We are planning to launch additional programs in 2013 to encourage social initiatives. We look forward to receiving your applications in 2013!

SYLFF WORLDWIDE

Universities that celebrated the twentieth anniversary of their Sylff programs in 2012 included the American University in Cairo (Egypt), Jagellonian University (Poland), and El Colegio de México (México).

Many Sylff fellows sent news of their activities: Helena Tužinská published English translations of reports to protect the rights of immigrants; Kamei Aphun convened an international seminar on North East India; Merewalesi Nailatikau was appointed UNICEF Ambassador for the Pacific Islands; the Sylff fellows’association of the University of Deusto in Spain published a book on the global financial crisis; Sylff Prize Winner Goran Svilanovicoffered a video message; Sylff fellows at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna held a mini concert; Dorjkhuu Otgontuya spoke at an international conference on productivity and sustainable development; Itamar Zorman, winner of the 2011 International Tchaikovsky Competition, performed as a solo violinist in Tokyo; Egla Martínez Salazar published a book on the persecution of indigenous peoples in Guatemala; Ekaterina Frolova won the Grand Prix at the Osaka Music Competition; Hisayo Katsui published a book on the human rights of Ugandan women with disabilities; and Yusuke Tanaka, Keiti da Rocha Gomes, Bryan M. Thompson , Linda Richards , and Dimithri Devinda Jayagoda contributed articles to “Voices from the Sylff community.”

SYLFF@TOKYO

We were delighted to welcome many members of the Sylff community to our office in Tokyo this year. Articles detailing the visits can be accessed by clicking on the names/links below. We hope to welcome many more visitors in 2013, so please be sure to contact us when you have plans to visit Tokyo!

Koichi Hamada (Tuntex Professor Emeritus of Economics, Yale University, United States), Michael Frazier (Associate Professor, Howard University, United States), Ekhleif Tarawneh (President, University of Jordan, Jordan), Uwe Vollmer (Professor, Institute for Theoretical Economics, University of Leipzig, Germany), Marcin Grabowski (Assistant Professor, School of International Relations and Politics, Jagiellonian University, Poland), Takeo Hoshi (then Professor, School of International Relations & Pacific Studies, University of California, San Diego), and Ulrike Schaede (Professor of Japanese Business, IR/PS, UCSD, United States).

TOGETHER IN TOHOKU

The Tokyo Foundation organized a memorable week of workshops and concerts in August 2012 that brought hope and courage to areas devastated by the March 2011earthquake and tsunami. Participating in the project as members of the Sylff Chamber Ensemble were Barli Nugent, Merideth Hite, Moran Katz, Dylan Corlay , Carl-Emmanuel Fisbach , Marie Collemare , Panju Kim, Dietmar Nigsch, and David Panzl ; Sylff fellow Simon Hutchinson volunteered as a coordinator and interpreter. An article on the Suntory Hall concern was carried in the August 30, 2012, issue of the Japan Times.

Hisayo Katsui, a Sylff fellow from the University of Helsinki (2002) has published a book titled Human Rights and International Cooperation: Human Rights-Based Approach and Lived Experiences of Ugandan Women with Disabilities.

Human Rights and International Cooperation: Human Rights-Based Approach and Lived Experiences of Ugandan Women with Disabilities

She is currently a research and development manager at the Abilis Foundation in Helsinki, a development fund founded by people with disabilities in Finland in 1998. Its mandate is to support the activities leading to the empowerment of disabled persons in the developing countries of the Global South.

The focus of her book is Uganda, a Southern country that has a progressive Constitution, which is often cited as a “human rights charter.” Uganda was one of the first countries to acknowledge sign language as the official language for deaf people in its Constitution in 1995, together with the Slovak Republic and Finland.

Furthermore, Uganda has an affirmative action quota system, with five members of Parliament representing persons with disabilities—an outstanding achievement of the disability movement. These are the factors that persuaded Katsui to choose Uganda as her case country.

Believing that information useful for the disability movement should be provided freely, the book is not meant for profit making. It can be downloaded, chapter by chapter, from the link below.

Disability Rights in Uganda - Research Blog

Sylff is a fellowship program with global significance that nurtures leaders to address the needs of a world with increasingly diversifying values and lifestyles, noted Professor Andrzej Mania, vice-rector for educational affairs and chair of the Sylff Steering Committee at Jagiellonian University in Krakow, Poland.

Ceremony participants gathered in the very room that the Sylff Agreement was signed 20 years ago.

He made the remarks during a ceremony commemorating the twentieth anniversary of the Sylff program in Poland, held on September 7, 2012. Jagiellonian University became the forty-second member of the Sylff community when it signed the Sylff Agreement in May 1992.

The ceremony was attended by the university rector, Sylff steering committee members, Sylff fellows from Poland and other countries, and members of the Nippon Foundation and Tokyo Foundation.

Mr. Sasakawa, second from right, is greeted by Rector Nowak, next to Mr. Sasakawa, and Vice-Rector Mania

The ceremony was held in the venerable Main Hall of Collegium Maius—the oldest building on campus. The university was founded in 1364, and the six-century-old setting lent an atmosphere of history and distinction to the event.

The celebration began with a congratulatory address by Professor Wojciech Nowak, rector of Jagiellonian University, followed by Professor Mania’s speech.

Yohei Sasakawa, chairman of the Nippon Foundation, then commented on the characteristics a leader should have, and Takashi Suzuki, the Tokyo Foundation’s director for leadership development, offered his remarks on the need for leaders to be able to deal with the most challenging of situations, such as a natural disaster.

The ceremony was held in Main Hall of the Collegium Maius, the oldest building on campus.

Finally, Pawel Laidler, president of the Jagiellonian University Sylff Fellows Association (JUSFA)—which co-organized the event—noted that a Sylff fellowship is valuable not just for enabling research but also for providing access to the global network of fellows around the world.

Another feature of the twentieth anniversary celebration was the Sylff Fellows Conference, organized by JUSFA with support from the Tokyo Foundation. The topic of the conference was “Europe and the World in Economic Crisis: Challenges and Opportunities.”

Participants included fellows not just from Jagiellonian University but also from Hungary, Portugal, Latvia, Germany, and Indonesia.

Sylff fellows networking during coffee break.

They presented their views on the conference topic based on social scientific research, covering a broad range of issues from the impact of the crisis on regional economies to the potential of the tourism industry.

Fellows from other countries were invited with the aim of strengthening the Sylff network. They introduced the activities of the Sylff fellows associations in their respective countries and explored the possibilities of enhancing cooperation.

Michael Frazier, a specialist in US politics and community planning, looked back on the recent US presidential election in a visit to the Tokyo Foundation in late November 2012.

Frazier is an associate professor of international security and development at Howard University in Washington, DC. He visited Japan to speak at the University of Tokyo and Aoyama Gakuin University on the theme of “African-Americans and the American Political System: From Slave Ships to the White House.”

In his visit to the Tokyo Foundation, he met with Policy Research Director Tsuneo Watanabe and Research Fellow Shoichi Katayama to exchange views on US politics and international security, focusing on the results of the US election and the influence of African-Americans and other minorities on US society and politics.