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

The Sylff Association is pleased to announce Sylff Research Abroad (SRA) ’s call for applications for fiscal 2018 (April 1, 2018, to March 31, 2019). The deadline for the first selection round is June 29 (for those planning research abroad after August 2) and for the second selection is January 9, 2019 (for those planning research abroad after February 6).
Click here for details of the announcement.

SRA supports current or past Sylff fellowship recipients to conduct academic research related to their doctoral dissertation in a foreign country. It provides the grant of up to US$5,000 each to successful applicants. We hope you will be able to become one of them.

We look forward to receiving your applications!

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

The Sylff Association secretariat is pleased to announce the 13 recipients of SRA awards in the second selection round for fiscal 2017. We received a large number of applications from fellows all over the world. There was great variety in the proposed fields and themes of research. Many were highly persuasive which made the selection process very competitive. All applications were carefully screened for eligibility, the feasibility of the proposal, and the relevance of the proposed research to the applicant’s academic pursuits. Congratulations to the winning applicants! We send them our best wishes and hope that the findings of their research abroad will further enrich and enhance their dissertations. The 13 awardees are as follows:

*Awardees are listed in alphabetical order.

http://www.tokyofoundation.org/en/

On March 26, 2018, the Tokyo Foundation (Sylff Association secretariat) was renamed "the Tokyo Foundation for Policy Research," an appellation emphasizing our dynamic reorganization into a more research-intensive institute for evidenced-based, theoretically informed policy studies.

As Japan's preeminent public policy think tank, the Tokyo Foundation for Policy Research remains committed to evolving further into a leading voice in the global policymaking community and looks forward to continuing and expanding its cooperative relationship with all partners.

Related Story
“The Tokyo Foundation for Policy Research: Toward a New Era in Independent, Evidence-Based Policymaking” 

New Brochure
“Pioneering New Paths to the Future

New Sylff Association Logo

The Sylff Association was launched in 2017, on the thirtieth anniversary of the Ryoichi Sasakawa Young Leaders Fellowship Fund, to create a common, inclusive, and enduring identity for all Sylff stakeholders: current and past fellowship recipients, Sylff steering committee members at the 69 Sylff institutions in 44 countries, and the staff of the Nippon Foundation and Tokyo Foundation.

To help advance the notion of a single Association identity, a new logo has been developed. Starting in late March 2018, all stakeholders are asked to use these new visual identity marks for all Sylff-related materials (in accordance with the Logo Usage Guidelines).
Download all versions of the new logo

A sense of continuing, lifelong membership and the sharing of insights and experiences are also being fostered through an expanding menu of support programs. Fellows may apply to six such programs today, and more are currently under consideration.

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

Efforts by Colmex (El Colegio de México) Sylff fellows to help the victims of the September 2017 Mexico earthquake were supported by donations from the Tokyo Foundation, Marina Stetic of Belgrade University, and the Jadavpur University Sylff Association. Working to maximize the value of the donations were members of the 19S Committee—the team at Colmex working on earthquake relief, including Sylff fellows Fernanda Herrera and Erick Serna. After much research and discussion, Colmex decided to focus its relief activities on three rural, poor areas whose needs were not adequately addressed by the national or local government. Please read the report by the Colmex team.
→ Colmex Report
→ What is the Sylff Disaster Relief Fund?

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

The Sylff Association is happy to announce the latest addition to the growing list of support programs: “Sylff Leaders Workshop.”

The Workshop will provide an opportunity for selected Sylff fellows to deepen their understanding of differences in peoples’ values, perspectives, and opinions so they may make informed decisions on important social issues and enhance the effectiveness of well-intended actions. The participatory, capacity-building workshop aims to nurture leadership in a multicultural setting.

The workshop will consist of two 8-day programs to be held in fall 2018 and spring 2019 in Japan—primarily outside Tokyo. It will bring together Sylff fellows who have (1) substantial expertise in policy studies or policymaking and/or (2) experience addressing social issues in civil society or the private sector to discuss the “Potential of Trans-border Networking in 2030” through the application of scenario planning methodologies.

Past recipients of Sylff fellowships are invited to apply. Click here to read the call for applications.

The Tokyo Foundation will be closed for the yearend and New Year holidays from December 29, 2017, to January 3, 2018.

We will resume our operations on January 4.

We wish all of you a very Happy New Year!

Sylff Association Chairman Yohei Sasakawa (seated, center) is flanked by Yue Zhang (left) and Aya Oyamada. Standing, from left, are Aya Fukuda, Yumi Arai, Mari Suzuki (director), Sanae Oda (executive director), and Tomoko Yamada.

The year 2017 was a special and exciting one for us, highlighted by the April launch of the Sylff Association in commemoration of Sylff’s 30th anniversary. The move, aimed at bringing closer together all stakeholders in the Sylff community, has generated many positive developments, including a redesigned, user-friendly website; new support programs to promote career advancement and social action; and relief initiatives spearheaded by fellows to pool the Sylff community’s resources in the wake of major disasters.

Befitting our new role as the Association secretariat, the Tokyo Foundation moved to a brand new, 34th-floor office in October with a breathtaking view of Tokyo (and beyond!). The following is a summary of the year’s major developments.  

Sylff Support Programs

The launch of the Sylff Association has been accompanied by expanded opportunities for support after the fellowship period. Two new support programs were announced in September—Local Association Networking Support(LANS) and Sylff Project Grant(SPG)—and a third, called Sylff Disaster Relief, was launched as an outgrowth of the Colmex earthquake relief campaign in October. As for the two existing programs, seven fellows received Sylff Leadership Initiatives awards in 2017, and 25 received Sylff Research Abroad grants.

We will soon be introducing yet another program. Please be sure to visit the Sylff website to keep up-to-date on our latest initiatives. We look forward to receiving many applications in 2018.

Sylff Worldwide

Commemorative Ceremony

On May 17, Jagiellonian University celebrated the 25th anniversary of its Sylff program. Sylff Association Chairman Yohei Sasakawa attended the ceremony and made a congratulatory speech.

Sylff Administrators Meeting in China

A meeting of Chinese Sylff administrators was held on July 3, hosted by Jilin University. Some 25 people from all 10 Sylff universities in China (Fudan, Jilin, Lanzhou, Nanjing, Peking, Chongqing, Inner Mongolia, Xinjiang, Yunnan, and Sun Yat-sen) gathered to discuss ways to enhance the value of the Sylff program in China.

New Scheme

We are pleased to announce that the National Academy of Governance (Mongolia) and the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna (Austria) have signed agreements to join the new financial scheme. Twelve institutions operate the Sylff program under the new scheme as of December 2017. In 2018, several more institutions will be joining, including the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies (Switzerland).

Sylff Colmex Earthquake Relief Fund

The Sylff Association secretariat announced a fundraising campaign between September 29 and October 31 to support fellows at Colmex (El Colegio de México) who were working to help the victims of the September 19 Mexico earthquake. Thank you for your interest and donations. A report on how the funds were used will be published on the Sylff website.

Sylff@Tokyo

We welcomed many current and graduated fellows, Sylff steering committee members, and other friends to the Sylff Association secretariat office in 2017.

Dec 14, 2017
Sylff@Tokyo: Colmex President and Professor Visit Our Office

Dec 14, 2017
Sylff@Tokyo: Colmex Fellow Promoting Mexico-Asia Exchange

From left, Tomoko Yamada, Yoko Kaburagi (director), Keita Sugai, Adriana Rojas Martinez, Sanae Oda (executive director), Mari Suzuki (director), and Yue Zhang.

Nov 15, 2017
Sylff@Tokyo: First Sylff Visitor to Our New Office

Aug 22, 2017
Sylff@Tokyo: Sylff Plays an Important Role in Slovakia’s Democratization

Jun 8, 2017
Sylff@Tokyo: The Role of Public Diplomacy in Implementing Foreign Assistance

May 12, 2017
Sylff@Tokyo: Jagiellonian Fellow Examines Paths to Japan-Korea Reconciliation

Apr 26, 2017
Sylff@Tokyo: Reinvention and Regeneration of Waterfront Areas of Bilbao, Spain