On November 27, President Silvia Giorguli and Professor Amaury García Rodríguez of Colmex (El Colegio de Mexico) visited the Tokyo Foundation.

Colmex President Silvia Giorguli, center, and Professor Amaury García Rodríguez, far right, with members of the Sylff Association secretariat.

President Giorguli has advised and nurtured many Sylff fellows over the years as professor and director of the Colmex Center for Demographic, Urban, and Environmental Studies. Professor García Rodríguez, meanwhile, is the director of the Center for Asian and African Studies at Colmex. His research focus is Japanese art history, especially ukiyo-e. 

The visit was a good opportunity to discuss how the donations to the Sylff Colmex Earthquake Relief Fund would be used. https://www.sylff.org/support_programs/sylff-colmex-earthquake-relief-fund/

This was the first visit by the president of a Sylff institution to our new office in Roppongi. Sylff fellows and steering committee members are always welcome to stop by the Foundation’s office when visiting Tokyo. Please let us know in advance if you have plans to come to Tokyo!

The Tokyo Foundation was pleased to receive a visit on November 17 from Adriana Rojas Martinez, a 2000 Sylff fellowship recipient at El Colegio de Mexico (Colmex).

Adriana Rojas Martinez, center, with members of the Sylff Association secretariat.

Adriana completed her master’s studies at Colmex and is currently director of international development for the Asia-Pacific region at the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education (Tecnológico de Monterrey), the highest-ranking private university in Mexico

Her research focused on Japanese culture, and her master’s thesis was on Japanese manga. She visited Japan for the first time in 2000 with Sylff’s support, and her fascination with Japan has continued since then. She has taught classes on Asian culture and is now working to promote student exchange between Mexico and Asia, particularly Japan and China.

A Sylff Leadership Initiatives event was organized in Hungary in September 2017 to look to the future of the country and underline the importance of the role of civil society. A group of Hungarian Sylff fellows organized the event, held on September 8 and 9, combining a forum for academic discussion and analysis and on-site visits to areas outside Budapest. The title of the event was “Own Fate: Self-Managing the Future,” focusing on the role of bottom-up local initiatives in promoting Hungary’s sustainable economic development. A report of the event will soon be published on the Sylff website.

Members of the Hungarian Sylff Association with Mariann Tarnoczy (standing to the right of the banner) and Evelyn Kutari (standing to the left).

A member of the Sylff Association secretariat read a message from Association Chairman Yohei Sasakawa, who noted that the Sylff mission is to nurture young leaders with the ability and enthusiasm to address local and global issues from a broad perspective.    

Hungary was one of the first countries in Central Europe to join the Sylff community, with the Hungarian Academy of Sciences being endowed in 1989. It was a time when the transition to democracy was gaining momentum in the region, and Hungary played a leading role in this movement.

Thirty years have passed since then. Hungarian society has undergone sweeping social and political changes, and the economy has achieved remarkable growth. The forum examined ways to make fuller use of the resources and skills of civil society in pursuing sustainable development in the future. The forum and on-site visits were well attended and marked by lively debate.

The event also presented an opportunity for Hungarian Sylff fellows from the past three decades—many of whom have become faculty members at Hungarian universities—to reunite, exchange views, and learn from each other. Sylff fellows from other universities were invited to attend as well, including a Sussex fellow who originally hails from Serbia. One of the main organizers, in fact, was Loretta Huszak, who received a Sylff fellowship while attending the University of Leipzig.

We were pleased to see Sylff taking firm root in Hungary, and it will no doubt grow even further in the future, as symbolized by the ceremonious planting of a “Sylff tree” by members of Hungarian Sylff association in a park participants visited on the second day.

Behind each successful Sylff program is a key Sylff steering committee member, and in Hungary’s case, it was Mariann Tarnoczy, who has been working with Sylff at the Hungarian Academy of Sciences since the program’s inception. We were very sorry to hear of her plans to step down in October, but during the event, a heartwarming ceremony was held in appreciation of her longstanding contributions to the program. The Sylff Association secretariat expresses its deep gratitude to her and welcomes Evelyn Kutari as her successor.

Taro Ueno, second from left, Yuri Kato, Yoko Matsuki, and Anna Nakamura with Sylff Association secretariat members.

On October 18, three members of Sylff Association secretariat visited the Graduate School of Media and Governance at the Shonan Fujisawa Campus (SFC) of Keio University—located some 50 kilometers southwest of central Tokyo—to meet with Sylff fellows and Sylff steering committee Chairman Jun Murai. Professor Murai was appointed SSC chair and dean of the Graduate School of Media and Governance in October.

The mission of the Graduate School of Media and Governance, which was established in 1994, “is exactly the same as that of Sylff,” said Professor Murai. “To resolve the increasingly complex problems confronting global society, we need an interdisciplinary approach transcending traditional research areas. This is why we’ve designed our curricula and programs to support students hoping to conduct research spanning several disciplines.”

Four graduate students were awarded Sylff fellowships in 2017: first-year master’s students Yuri Kato (architectural design), Yoko Matsuki (sociolinguistics), and Taro Ueno (cognitive science), along with first-year doctoral student Anna Nakamura (health science). In their presentations of their current research, they emphasized their strong hope of being able to help people and contribute to society not only locally but also globally.

All four fellows had very strong presentation skills, a result, no doubt, of their broad, interdisciplinary perspectives. We hope that they will take full advantage of the Sylff network and the various support programs provided by Sylff Association to further expand their knowledge and develop their leadership skills.

Alexandra Tamiko Da Dalt, second from right, and David D. Sussman with Sylff Association secretariat members.

On November 2, Alexandra Tamiko Da Dalt, a 2014 Sylff fellowship recipient at Columbia University, visited the Tokyo Foundation and became the first Sylff guest at the Foundation’s new office in Roppongi Grand Tower.

Alexandra completed her master’s studies at Columbia University and is currently affiliated with Refugee Assistance and Information Network International (RAIN International), where she offers technical assistance for and conducts research on refugee resettlement programs.

A fourth-generation Japanese-Canadian, Alexandra visited relatives living in Osaka and Chiba to reconnect with her family roots in Japan. During lunch she described her experience traveling around Okinawa and Hokkaido, the country’s southernmost and northernmost prefectures, which deepened her appreciation of both the natural and cultural heritage of Japan.

Also joining for lunch was David D. Sussman, who received a Sylff fellowship in 2003 while attending the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and who is now a research associate in the Tokyo Foundation’s Policy Research department. He and Alexandra first met in October 2016 at a Sylff fellows’ gathering in New York City, hosted by the Sylff Association. They noted a mutual interest in refugee-related issues and have kept in touch to share information and career insights. The Sylff Association secretariat encourages such networking within the Sylff community.

Sylff fellows and steering committee members are always welcome to stop by the Foundation’s office when visiting Tokyo. We would be more than happy to share the splendid view of the Tokyo skyline from our brand new, thirty-fourth-floor office!

We would like to announce that the fund raising campaign for the Mexico Earthquake closed on October 31, 2017.
Thank you for your interest and donations. We will keep you posted on the progress of Colmex Earthquake Relief activities. You can check it from here.

Sylff Association Secretariat office will be moving to a new address as of October 16, 2017.
Please make a note of changes in our postal address and phone number, as cited below.
We are always very happy to receive Sylff visitors at our office.
Please contact us in advance, and come and enjoy the amazing view of Tokyo Tower from our brand new office on the 34th floor of Roppongi Grand Tower!

1.　New Address
Roppongi Grand Tower, 34th Fl., 3-2-1 Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo, 106-6234, Japan

2.　New Phone Number
Tel 81-3-5797-8402

3.　New Office Opens
Monday, October 16, 2017

4.　Access
Roppongi-itchome Stn. (Nanboku L.): Direct link from Exit 1
Roppongi Stn. (Hibiya L., Oedo L.): 5 min. from Exit 5
Tameike-sanno Stn. (Ginza L., Nanboku L.): 8 min. from Exit 13
Kamiyacho Stn. (Hibiya L.): 10 min. from Exit 2

Dear Sylff Association members,

I am writing to fellow members of the Sylff Association to invite you to join me in supporting fellows at Colmex (El Colegio de México) who are working to help the victims of the September 19 Mexico earthquake.

I am announcing a fund-raising campaign for our Colmex colleagues so they may play an even more proactive role in offering relief to local residents.

The Tokyo Foundation (Sylff Association secretariat) is donating 50,000 US dollars for this cause, and I urge each one of you to pitch in with whatever you can afford.

We have set up a special bank account to receive your donations, as outlined below. The total amount donated will be transferred to Colmex after October 31, so please be sure the donations reach the account by that date.

• Account name: The Tokyo Foundation Sylff Colmex Earthquake Relief Fund
• Account holder’s address: 1-2-2 Akasaka Minato-ku Tokyo 107-0052 Japan
• Bank name: The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Ltd.
• Branch name: Shintomicho 
• Branch number: 749
• Bank address: 1-18-1, Shintomicho, Chuo-ku, Tokyo, 104-0033 Japan
• Account number: 7127240
• Swift code: BOTKJPJT

* Please kindly send your donations in US dollars. The transfer charge for the sending bank will not be refunded. The charges for the receiving bank will be covered by Tokyo Foundation.

For more details, click here.

Your donations will be used to support Colmex fellows and other members who have provided food and supplies to rescuers and affected families in the immediate aftermath of the quake. We will subsequently publish a report on how your donations were used on the Sylff website.

The Sylff Association is a global community ready to come to the aid of those in need, wherever they may be. I look forward to your generous support.

Sincerely,
Yohei Sasakawa
Chairman of the Sylff Association

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

The Sylff Association is pleased to announce the Sylff Project Grant (SPG).

SPG is intended to support fellows who are deeply engaged in helping resolve issues confronting contemporary society through innovative, pioneering social action projects. The grant supports larger-scale, social-impact projects that can be sustained, enhanced, and expanded over time. Up to US$100,000 is offered per project. Click here to read the call for applications.

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

The Sylff Association is pleased to announce the 14 recipients of SRA awards in the first selection round for fiscal 2017. We received a large number of applications from fellows around the world, and the selection process was 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 you our best wishes and hope that the findings of your research abroad will further enrich and enhance your dissertation. Here are the 14 awardees. 

*Awardees are listed in alphabetical order.