Members of the Sylff Association secretariat were saddened to learn that Frances Seeds, one of the Sylff program’s very first fellows, passed away in November 2018. She received a fellowship in 1987 while attending the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy and worked for many years as one of the top interpreters in Japan.

After graduating from Tufts University’s Fletcher School, where she received a master’s degree in international relations, Seeds became a Japanese-English conference interpreter, working at many important events in both the private and public sectors, including international conferences, negotiations, and summit meetings. As a fully bilingual speaker of English and Japanese, she was frequently praised for her ability to fully convey the meaning of remarks in both languages.

Her skills were in evidence very recently, when she provided interpretation at the farewell lunch party for the Sylff Leaders Workshop in September 2018. Her poise and masterful rendering of comments by Nippon Foundation President Takeju Ogata and other speakers made a deep impression on all participants.

We are all pained by the sudden news of her passing and feel a deep sense of loss. May her soul rest in peace.

Frances Seeds (far left) interprets for Takeju Ogata, president of the Nippon Foundation (standing with microphone), at the farewell lunch party for participants of the Sylff Leaders Workshop in September 2018.

Sylff Association Chairman Yohei Sasakawa (first row, second from left), flanked (from left) by Aya Oyamada, Yue Zhang, and Yoko Kaburagi (director); (second row, from left) Sanae Oda (executive director), Yumi Arai, Keita Sugai, Mari Suzuki (director), Misa Tanaka, and Tomoko Yamada (behind Mari).

The Sylff Association secretariat was pleased to receive news of challenging initiatives undertaken by current and graduated fellows from all over the world in 2018.

The year also saw a significant strengthening of support programs offered by the Association. In September, an inaugural group of 20 fellows participated in the fall session of the Sylff Leaders Workshop, held in Sasayama and Tokyo. A fellow from South Africa became the second recipient of a Sylff Project Grant. And Local Association Networking Support events were held in India, New Zealand, Mexico, and Kenya, enabling participants at these four gatherings to meet fellows from different years.

In June, the twenty-fifth anniversary of Sylff in China was celebrated with a symposium in Beijing, attended by some 200 current and graduated fellows from 10 Sylff institutions in the country. Separate anniversary events were hosted by five Chinese institutions this year.

FROM THE SYLFF WEBSITE 2018

Sylff Leaders Workshop

Feb 28, 2018
Launch of “Sylff Leaders Workshop” in Japan: An Opportunity to Interact with Fellows from across the Globe
https://www.sylff.org/news_voices/24232/

Jun 26, 2018
Sylff Leaders Workshop: Update
https://www.sylff.org/news_voices/24804/

Aug 8, 2018
Sylff Leaders Workshop: Selection Outcome
https://www.sylff.org/news_voices/25048/

Nov 16, 2018
Fall Session of Sylff Leaders Workshop 2018–19
https://www.sylff.org/news_voices/25429/

Sylff Project Grant

Dec 12, 2018
Second Sylff Project Grant Awarded for Early Childhood Development Initiative
https://www.sylff.org/news_voices/25624/

Sylff Disaster Relief Fund
Mar 12, 2018
Colmex: Supporting Earthquake Victims with Help from the “Sylff Disaster Relief Fund”
https://www.sylff.org/news_voices/24264/

Sylff Research Abroad 

Apr 20, 2018
SRA Awardees for Fiscal 2017, Second Round
https://www.sylff.org/news_voices/24474/

Apr 26, 2018
Sylff Research Abroad 2018 Open!
https://www.sylff.org/news_voices/24574/

Oct 18, 2018
SRA Awardees for Fiscal 2018, First Round
https://www.sylff.org/news_voices/25300/ 

Sylff Leadership Initiatives

Dec 10, 2018
SLI Awards in 2018: Projects to Stop Violence against Women and to Improve Medical Injury Responses
https://www.sylff.org/news_voices/25619/

25^th Anniversary of Sylff in China

Aug 31, 2018
Sylff’s Silver Jubilee in China (1): Milestone Administrators Meeting in Beijing
https://www.sylff.org/news_voices/25166/ 

Aug 31, 2018
Sylff’s Silver Jubilee in China (2): 25th Anniversary Ceremony and Commemorative Symposium
https://www.sylff.org/news_voices/25174/ 

Aug 31, 2018
Sylff’s Silver Jubilee in China (3): Four Universities Celebrate 25th Anniversary
https://www.sylff.org/news_voices/25185/

New Financial Scheme

Five institutions signed Agreements to join the new financial scheme in 2018: Charles University, University of the Western Cape, University of Latvia, Gadjah Mada University, and Utrecht University. Eighteen institutions now operate the Sylff program under the new scheme. Click here for details. 

Sylff@Tokyo

Sep 21, 2018
Visit by China Fellow Guo Xuetang
https://www.sylff.org/news_voices/25261/ 

Nov 27, 2018
Visit by Comenius Fellow Tomas Michalek
https://www.sylff.org/news_voices/25554/ 

Nov 29, 2018
Visit by China Fellow Professor Mei Jianming
https://www.sylff.org/news_voices/25576/

Dec 18, 2018
Keio Fellow Charts Path toward a More Resilient Society
https://www.sylff.org/news_voices/25687/

Sylff Association Secretariat
Mar 16, 2018
New Sylff Association Logo
https://www.sylff.org/news_voices/24304/

Mar 30, 2018
Tokyo Foundation’s New Name
https://www.sylff.org/news_voices/24371/ 

Jun 27, 2018
Sylff Association Brochure Renewal
https://www.sylff.org/news_voices/24849/ 

Jun 27, 2018
Sixth “Voices” Booklet Now Online and in Print
https://www.sylff.org/news_voices/24783/

Sakurai, standing third from left, and members of Sylff Association secretariat.

The Sylff Association secretariat was delighted to receive a visit on October 2, 2018, from Mihoko Sakurai, a 2013 Sylff fellowship recipient at Keio University’s Shonan Fujisawa Campus, where she received a PhD from the Graduate School of Media and Governance.

Sakurai had just returned from Norway, where she worked as an associate professor at the University of Agder. She was appointed senior research fellow and associate professor at the Center for Global Communications (GLOCOM) of the International University of Japan in September 2018.

She is dedicated to helping build a more sustainable society through her research on resilient information systems. In the wake of the March 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, she examined, while still a graduate student, how local governments could build disaster-resilient communication systems. She has continued to work in this field and is now addressing issues related to the building of resilient smart cities.

While receiving a Sylff fellowship at Keio University, she applied for and received an SRA award to study abroad at the University of Georgia in the United States. This experience strengthened her desire to pursue a research career from an international perspective. After earning her doctorate, she took a position as a postdoctoral research fellow at the University Agder, participating in the EU’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program.

Sakurai expressed gratitude for Sylff’s support in enabling her to broaden her professional horizons. The Sylff Association secretariat, too, is happy to hear from her and wishes her much success in her professional pursuits.

Read about Mihoko Sakurai on the Sylff Fellows profile page and the GLOCOM website.

From left, a schoolteacher, Louis Benjamin, Keita Sugai of the Sylff Association secretariat, and a district education officer stand with grade R students during Keita’s site visit.

Louis Benjamin, Sylff fellow 2002–05 at the University of the Western Cape, has been selected to receive a Sylff Project Grant to facilitate improvements in education for grade R children (ages five to six) in Northern Cape Province, considered one of the poorest in South Africa.

He is the second to be awarded the grant since the program was launched in September 2017. Benjamin now runs an NGO called Basic Concepts Unlimited (BCU) in South Africa that provides specialized educational services to the early childhood development sector, schools, and educational practitioners who are working with young children, particularly in the foundation phase (grades R–3). (http://www.basicconcepts.co.za/about/about)

He has developed what he calls the BCP method—-cognition teaching with a noncognitive approach—that enables young children to acquire basic educational and life skills and prepare for the foundation phase (up to grade 3) of schooling.

He will introduce the BCP method to grade R teachers in the hope that its effect will continue for many more years. He has been implementing the method on a district/community basis for a number of years (see his project at www.basicconcepts.co.za/about/history) and will now expand the project throughout the Northern Cape in cooperation with the provincial Department of Education, organizing a number of workshops and follow-up activities for teachers.

During the project period from early 2019 to the end of 2021, his team will reach about half of the approximately 850 grade R teachers in the province. The project will thereafter be handed over to the Department of Education, which will carry on the initiative until all teachers have been exposed to the method, thus enabling the project to contribute to the education of young schoolchildren in the province over a long time period.

https://www.sylff.org/support_programs/sli/

The Sylff Association Secretariat is pleased to announce that two fellows have been selected for a Sylff Leadership Initiatives (SLI) award in 2018. SLI supports Sylff fellows’ initiatives to change society for the better with awards of up to US$10,000.　

Chosen from among many applicants were Tayseer Abu Odeh, assistant professor at Arab Open University in Jordan, and Jennifer Moore, senior lecturer and law specialist at the University of New South Wales in Australia.

Using his professional knowledge and network, Abu Odeh will organize a forum in Jordan, inviting many influential figures in his home country, to develop various measures to stop violence against women.

Moore will develop a questionnaire to evaluate how health organizations are meeting the needs of patients and their families after a medical injury. By use of the questionnaire, her project tries to promote non-litigation approaches to a medical injury, which, Moore feels, tend to lead to much happier forms of resolution.

The Sylff Association Secretariat lauds the time and effort that fellows have invested to turn good ideas into tangible projects. Congratulations to both recipients on winning the award. The two projects will be carried out over the next year, and reports will be posted on this website.

We are looking forward to supporting many more social initiatives that can lead to positive changes in society.

Mei Jianming, standing, third from left, and Jianming’s daughter, far left, with members of the Sylff Association secretariat.

Professor Mei Jianming, a 1998 Sylff fellowship recipient at Jilin University in China, visited the Sylff Association secretariat in Roppongi on July 30, 2018. The call, made during Jianming’s first visit to Japan, represented the fulfillment of a longstanding wish, as he had hoped to visit the organization responsible for the fellowship he received two decades ago.

After receiving his PhD from Jilin University, he spent many years abroad as a visiting researcher in Canada, the United States, and Australia. The experience prompted him to consider things from the standpoint of international cooperation.

Jianming is now based in Shanghai and teaches at the Shanghai University of Political Science and Law. As a specialist in public security and terrorism, he also serves as a chief adviser on counterterrorism at the China National Institute for Shanghai Cooperation Organization International Exchange and Judicial Cooperation.

Jianming also considered the visit to be a good opportunity to promote the personal growth of his teenage daughter, who is accompanying him on his journey. “It’s very important and meaningful for teenagers to broaden their horizons beyond school education,” said Jianming. After Tokyo, they were scheduled to travel to Kyoto and Osaka, as well as to the United States.

The Sylff Association secretariat is always happy to reconnect with graduated fellows and to receive updates on their academic and social engagement activities.

Tomas, standing center, with members of the Sylff Association secretariat.

On Tuesday, November 6, 2018, Mr. Tomas Michalek, a current Sylff fellow (2018) at Comenius University, visited the Sylff Association secretariat in Tokyo. He is currently a PhD student at Comenius University in Bratislava, as well as a senior research manager at the Slovak Academy of Sciences.

Tomas was on his first visit to Japan to attend INGSA2018, a conference organized by the International Network for Government Science Advice on November 6–7, hosted by the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies in Tokyo.

The theme of his dissertation is the “Effectivity of Different Models of Scientific Advice Platforms,” focusing on how academic knowledge and scientific evidence can be translated into more effective policy-making. He also conducts workshops to bring Slovakian citizens, policy-makers, and academics together to discuss policy and to increase the involvement of citizens in future policy-making.

The Tokyo Foundation for Policy Research, which serves as the Sylff Association secretariat, is a public policy think tank that is also actively engaged in promoting the use of scientific evidence in informing policy. We look forward to learning more about his research and possibly collaborating on a joint research project in the future.

Opening session

An inaugural group of 20 Sylff fellows participated in the fall session of the newly launched Sylff Leaders Workshop from September 16 to 23, 2018. The fellows, who were selected from among 114 applicants, were a highly diverse group in terms of nationality, Sylff institution, field of specialization, and current occupation.

 The main objective of the workshop was to provide graduated Sylff fellows an opportunity to experience diverse cultures through intensive discussions with people from different backgrounds and with varying viewpoints. Fellows were also able to deepen their ties to the Sylff community and gain new insights into Japan—not just the well-known aspects of the host country but also traditional and local areas off the beaten track. Read the report of the workshop. 

https://www.sylff.org/support_programs/sra/

The Sylff Association secretariat is pleased to announce the 12 recipients of SRA awards in the first selection round for fiscal 2018. We received a large number of outstanding applications from fellows all over the world, which made the selection process very competitive.

We reviewed all applications carefully from the perspectives of eligibility, the feasibility of the proposals, and the relevance of the proposed research to the applicants’ academic pursuits. Some of the 12 applicants were making their second try and successfully won the award this time around.

Congratulations to all the awardees! We send them our best wishes and hope that the findings of their research abroad will further enrich their dissertations. The 12 awardees are as follows:

* Listed in alphabetical order.

Guo, standing center, and his wife, standing far left, with members of the Sylff Association secretariat.

On Monday, August 27, 2018, Mr. Guo Xuetang, Sylff fellow (1997) at Fudan University, visited the Sylff Association secretariat in Tokyo. He is currently director of the Institute of International Strategy and Policy Analysis and professor of international relations at the Law School of the Shanghai University of International Business and Economics.

The Association had not been able to contact him for many years, but this past spring, Fudan University invited him to attend Sylff’s twenty-fifth anniversary ceremony and commemorative symposium on June 30 at Peking University. The date coincided with a business trip to India, but he was able to attend a separate anniversary event at Fudan University on July 5. His image of Sylff from his student days was completely transformed, he told members of the Sylff Association secretariat during the Fudan gathering, and he is now eager to renew his ties with Sylff.

Mr. and Mrs. Guo with Senior Fellow Ke Long.

This was Guo’s first visit to Japan. He was on a holiday and was accompanying his wife, a medical doctor who was making presentations at healthcare symposiums in Nagoya and Shizuoka. Although he had never been to Japan, his research frequently involved the country, as his master’s thesis was about Northeast Asian security and the Korean Peninsula in the early 1990s, focusing on China-US relations. At the Tokyo Foundation for Policy Research (Sylff Association secretariat), he met with Ke Long, a senior fellow who is an expert on the Chinese economy. They had a lively exchange of views on Japan-China relations.

He also met with members of the secretariat and shared his experience and ideas on ways to connect with more Chinese Sylff fellows.

We wish him much success and hope that he will play a central role in reaching out to Chinese Sylff fellows.