The Sylff Association secretariat is pleased to announce another recipient of a Sylff Leadership Initiatives (SLI) award.

The awardee is Khinvraj Suthar Jangid, who received a Sylff fellowship at Jawaharlal Nehru University. He is now an adjunct professor at the Azrieli Center for Israel Studies (MALI), Ben-Gurion University, in Israel, and an associate professor and director of the Center for Israel Studies at OP Jindal Global University in India.

His SLI project was motivated by a desire to enable high school students in rural areas of India to overcome the barriers to a university education—many of which Jangid experienced himself. He recognized that the information and opportunities necessary to enter and succeed in university environments were severely limited for students living outside of large cities.

“The national universities and colleges are very urban spaces wherein youth born and raised in educated families have comfort and confidence,” he writes. But it can be “intimidating . . . [for] rural youth, born and raised in least educated families,” to find themselves in an “elite-educated ecosystem.”

“I went through such an experience after coming to Delhi from a village in Jodhpur in 2004, and I still find hundreds from the same rural area dealing with the difficulties of not knowing what it takes for good and successful higher education.” After a decade and half of living and working in Delhi and Israel, he wished to share his knowledge with the rural youth of his native village.

Jangid speaking to participants at the workshop in May.

With the SLI award, Jangid held a five-day workshop in Jodhpur, India, giving local high school students an opportunity to learn about the various programs offered at the university level, gain tips on improving English skills, and connect with mentors who work in academia. The workshop was also aimed at enhancing understanding of higher education among the students’ parents and to foster an environment more supportive of those wishing to pursue higher learning.

The Sylff Association secretariat lauds Khinvraj Jangid’s determined efforts to help broaden the horizons of youths in his hometown—in spite of the difficulties posed by the security situation in Israel, where he currently resides. We congratulate him for successfully organizing the workshop to share his experiences and look forward to supporting many more impactful projects through SLI.

The Sylff Association secretariat is pleased to announce another recent recipient of a Sylff Leadership Initiatives (SLI) award for a project to promote “Gender Equality for Orchestra Conductors in Leadership Positions.”

Eleni Papakyriakou, a Sylff fellowship recipient in 2012, received her master’s degree in orchestra and choir conducting from the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna. She is the chief conductor and artistic director of Sinfonietta Passau, which she founded in 2022 during the post-pandemic revival of the cultural scene to provide musicians with opportunities to perform. “I decided that I had to help myself and the musicians around me by creating a new orchestra,” she comments.

She also wished to address the problems of unequal treatment, discrimination, and lack of opportunities for women musicians. As a female conductor, Papakyriakou has personally experienced barriers faced by many women. “Currently only 8 percent of conductors in leadership positions in Germany are female.”

She established Sinfonietta Passau with a vision of creating an inclusive orchestra of musicians from many different countries and at various stages of their careers. The orchestra consists of 64 musicians—33 women and 31 men—including Russians and Ukrainians, who left their countries because of the war.

Using the SLI award, Papakyriakou and Sinfonietta Passau held two highly successful concerts in April in the southeast German cities of Passau and Deggendorf. The performances by this unique orchestra, whose program included the German premiere of Passau-born composer Philipp Ortmeier’s “Tree of Life,” communicated an important message of equality and inclusion.

Papakyriakou leads Sinfonietta Passau at the Deggendorf concert in April.

The Sylff Association secretariat congratulates Eleni Papakyriakou on the award and her virtuosic efforts to achieve greater musical and social harmony. We are excited to support fellows who are taking on leadership roles to create positive social impact.

The Sylff Association secretariat is pleased to announce a call for applications for Sylff Research Grant (SRG) 2024. SRG is intended to enable eligible fellows (doctoral students and recent PhD graduates) to engage in rigorous academic research.

You can check the eligibility requirements, application procedures, and schedule at the following link: https://www.sylff.org/support_programs/srg/

Applicants will be asked to go through a preliminary registration phase to determine their eligibility. The secretariat will NOT respond to individual inquiries concerning eligibility. Please visit the above page to confirm your eligibility BEFORE applying. Applications from ineligible fellows will NOT be reviewed.

Please submit a preliminary registration form (powered by Zoho Survey) from the link at the bottom of the SRG page.

We look forward to receiving your submissions!

Sylff Association Chairman Yohei Sasakawa visited Universiti Malaya on May 9 and was warmly welcomed by Vice-Chancellor Dr. Noor Azuan Abu Osman, Deputy Vice Chancellor Dr. Yatimah Alias (Sylff steering committee chair), and Associate Deputy Vice-Chancellor Dr. Yvonne Lim Al Lian.

Mr. Sasakawa was in Malaysia to participate in a series of discussions on ways to achieve peace in Myanmar, meeting with Malaysian government officials as well as representatives of Myanmar’s ethnic minorities.

He also spoke with two Sylff fellows (Muhammad Arif Fitri Bin Azizan and Noorilham Bin Ismail) at the university, which joined the Sylff community in 1990 and has produced 75 fellows to date. The program has been administered under the new scheme since 2021, with fellowships being awarded to two to three outstanding graduate students each year who are expected to make major contributions to Malaysian society.

The Sylff Association secretariat hopes to continue working with Sylff institutions to identify and nurture leaders who will help build a better future for not only Malaysia and Southeast Asia but also other countries and regions around the world.

On March 22, 2024, Waseda University held its annual meeting of the Sylff steering committee and heard presentations by two Waseda fellows on their recent research and social engagement activities.

The gathering, held at Waseda’s campus in Tokyo and attended by members of the Tokyo Foundation for Policy Research (Sylff Association secretariat) as well as the university’s faculty and administrative staff, was the first in four years to be held in person following the outbreak of COVID-19.

War and the Okinawan Diaspora

Participating online from Mexico, Lima Tokumori, a 2023 fellowship recipient enrolled in the Graduate School of Social Sciences, presented an interim report on “Uchinanchu Concepts: Militarization and Ethnicity as Seen in the Cases of Okinawan Immigrants in the Philippines, Peru, and Hawaii.”

Her doctoral research seeks to examine the historical impact of militarization on the Ryukyuan-Okinawan diaspora—who identify themselves as Uchinanchu. She used her fellowship last year to conduct fieldwork around US military bases in the Philippines and Okinawa. She reported on the importance of carefully building trust with her interviewees in getting them to provide detailed information, including on such sensitive subjects like gender and war.

In addition to writing her dissertation, Tokumori is currently involved in various other activities. She volunteers her time for the Business and Human Rights[i] project of the UN Development Program at its Mexico office and undertakes human resources development and administrative duties for the annual event to read aloud the names of all war victims in the Battle of Okinawa. Her plans for next year include conducting fieldwork in Peru and collecting materials in the United States. She hopes to pursue a career in the United Nations.

Empirical Analysis of Workplace Health Measures

Ritsu Kitagawa of the Graduate School of Economics, who received his fellowship in 2022 and 2023, meanwhile, presented his final report on the “Empirical Analysis of Health Management: Verifying the Effectiveness of Health Support Measures in the Workplace.”

Japan’s declining birthrate and aging population are compelling many companies to give greater attention to making sure their employees remain healthy and active so as to ensure a stable workforce. Kitagawa’s doctoral research aims to quantitatively verify the effectiveness of various health-related workplace measures and to identify best health-management practices.

One of his findings was that supervisor-directed overtime significantly raised stress levels and the likelihood of such physical ailments as headaches, stiff shoulders, and back pain among male employees hired for their expert skills. He also found that metabolic syndrome risks can affect male and female employees differently, with women often gaining weight and men growing slimmer. These results suggest the need for corporate health measures that are customized for gender and career track. Kitagawa has been sharing his findings at various workshops and conferences and advocating for more nuanced workplace policies.

He has also verified the usefulness of app-based health promotion programs and is promoting their use among various companies. He himself has developed an app for LINE that female employees can use and is working for its broad dissemination.

He reported that the two-year Sylff fellowship enabled him to expand his research activities through purchases of research equipment, implementation of questionnaire surveys, and participation in overseas conferences, as well as facilitating research-related social engagement activities.

Ritsu Kitagawa (third from left), SSC chair and Waseda professor Shinji Wakao (fourth from left), SSC member and Waseda professor Kazuyuki Sasakura (second from right), and members of the Sylff Association secretariat.

The Tokyo Foundation expressed its deep gratitude to the Waseda Sylff steering committee for its smooth program operations and effective fund management, as well as for the selection of outstanding fellows and its longstanding cooperation with the Sylff program.

[i] The UNDP’s Business and Human Rights (B+HR) project is supported by the governments of Japan, Sweden, and the European Union. In Mexico, it works to strengthen human rights due diligence among Japanese companies operating locally and along their supply chain.

On April 9, 2024, the Institute of Political Education “Pedro Arrupe” held an online orientation meeting with members of the Sylff Association secretariat. The meeting was attended by six Sylff fellows selected in academic years 2023 and 2024.

Participants included Sylff Steering Committee Chair Massimo Massaro (middle row, left); Sylff fellows Enza Maria Macaluso (top row, right), Flavia Monfrini (middle row, center), Francesca Barbino (middle row, right), Ugo Giarratano, Vincenzo Buffa, Alberto Piacentini (bottom row, left to right); and Sylff Association secretariat members Executive Director Mari Suzuki (top row, center, left in frame), Director Keita Sugai (top row, left), and Program Officer Konatsu Furuya (top row, center, right in frame).

The Sylff program at the institute is called the Idea-Action Research Program and is a framework for young researchers to engage in scientific research geared toward making concrete social contributions, particularly in Sicily, where the institute is located.

The orientation meeting began with opening remarks from Massimo Massaro, chairperson of the Sylff program at the institute, and Mari Suzuki, executive director of the Tokyo Foundation, who both touched upon the value of the program in developing socially engaged leaders. The six fellows then introduced their respective research topics.

Ugo Giarratano explained that he is exploring the panorama of social exclusion and urban marginality in contemporary society; Flavia Monfrini said she seeks to identity narrative processes in the inland areas of Sicily; and Alberto Piacentini described his studies into the nature, evolution, and legal protections from domestic abuse and gender-based violence.

Vincenzo Buffa, meanwhile, presented his analysis of the governance models of community foundations in the territory of Palermo; Enza Maria Macaluso said she is developing practical and theoretical models of participation in Sicily’s inland communities, starting with an experimental, participatory path based on the Philosophy for Communities (P4C) method; and Francesca Barbino noted she is exploring how children may participate in co-designing public policies on comprehensive sexuality education.

The orientation meeting was a great opportunity to get to know the new “Pedro Arrupe” fellows and to hear directly from them about their research topics, which were inspired by their desire to contribute to the well-being of the people and communities of Sicily. We are very happy to welcome the six fellows into the Sylff community and wish them great success in advancing their research and social engagement initiatives.

The Sylff Association secretariat will begin accepting applications for Sylff Research Grant (SRG) awards for fiscal year 2024 in May 2024.

SRG provides financial assistance to doctoral students and postdoc researchers to enable them to advance their academic careers by conducting high-quality research with high potential for advancing academic discourse.

The official call for applications will be made in May, but information about the program in fiscal year 2024 is available on the Sylff website: https://www.sylff.org/support_programs/srg/.

Be sure to check the Sylff website and newsletter for the official announcement of the program’s launch.

Please note that the Sylff Association secretariat is unable to answer questions about eligibility, application procedures, application documents, and other details of SRG FY2024 until its official launch in May 2024.

The Call for Applications for Sylff Leadership Initiatives (SLI) has been updated with tips on how eligible fellows can improve their chances of winning an award.

SLI aims to support current and graduated fellows who are committed to taking the small steps that can make a big difference for the benefit of society. A maximum of US$10,000 is provided for two categories of activities with high social value: (1) a social action project or (2) a forum, conference, seminar, or workshop. Fellows may apply for SLI any time of the year.

To apply, each applicant must submit a concept paper summarizing the proposed project and the social issue it seeks to address in a concise and convincing manner. Because the concept paper is a crucial component of the selection process, we have added some tips on what the concept paper should contain in the “4. Selection Criteria” section of the Call for Applications.

We hope the additional information will be helpful when applicants are preparing their project proposals. If you are planning an initiative that can benefit society, be sure to check the updated Call for Applications at: https://www.sylff.org/support_programs/sli/.

We look forward to receiving your application.

On January 19, 2024, three members of the Sylff Association secretariat visited Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University (APU), located on the southernmost of Japan’s four main islands.

APU President Yoneyama, left, and Executive Director Suzuki.

The visit began with a meeting between Tokyo Foundation Executive Director Mari Suzuki and newly appointed APU President Hiroshi Yoneyama, who described the various measures APU took to meet the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic and expressed his delight to see students actively interacting with one another on campus again. Members of the Sylff Association secretariat toured the Green Commons, the beautiful new academic building on the APU campus.

The meeting with the APU Sylff Steering Committee was attended by Vice President Satoshi Kawazoe; Professor Lailani Alcantara, dean of the School of Management; Director-General Yoshiki Osawa; Katsuya Sakai, director of the Finance Department at Ritsumeikan Trust; Deputy Director Keisuke Yamashita; and Michiko Nakamura and Asako Miyashita of the Student Office. This was the first on-site SSC meeting at APU in five years due to travel restrictions during the pandemic.

Vice President Kawazoe highlighted the unique, multicultural campus environment of APU, attended by students from 107 countries/regions. During the review of the Sylff program at the university, members of the SSC and the Sylff Association secretariat exchanged views on the selection of new Sylff fellows.

Eylla Gutierrez, center, and Alexander Dobrian, second from right, with members of the Sylff Association secretariat.

Members of the secretariat also had a chance to meet two fellows: Eylla Laire Gutierrez, enrolled in a doctoral program, and Alexander Dobrian, pursuing an MBA—both selected for a Sylff fellowship in 2023. In their presentations, they spoke with passion about their respective research topics and commitment to creating real-world impact through their expertise.

Gutierrez was recently awarded the first prize in a national essay contest for international students in Japan, hosted by the Foundation for the Advancement of Life & Insurance Around the World (FALIA Essay Competition 2023). Her winning essay echoed her doctoral research, focused on the empowerment of women in her native Philippines. We are delighted with her achievement and proud to have such outstanding fellows in the Sylff community.

Gutierrez at the awarding ceremony of FALIA Essay Competition 2023.

This year marks the fifteenth anniversary of the Sylff program at APU. We are grateful for this fruitful partnership and look forward to the emergence of many more young leaders from APU.

The Sylff Association secretariat is pleased to announce that 51 fellows have been named to receive a Sylff Research Grant (SRG) for fiscal 2023 (April 2023 to March 2024).

SRG aims to support a variety of research activities of the applicant, including data collection, hiring of research assistant(s), domestic fieldwork, international fieldwork, and outsourcing of tasks requiring specialized knowledge or skills, to encourage fellows to pursue high quality research that will build the foundation for their future careers.

We received a great number of outstanding applications from fellows all over the world. The selection was highly competitive, and all applications were carefully reviewed from the perspectives of clarity of research issue(s), goal(s), and outcome(s); sophistication of research methodology; and feasibility of the budget proposal and its relevance to the research issues, goals, and outcomes.

Congratulations to all the awardees! We hope the research conducted with this award will bear much fruit, both for the fellow and for society. The list of the 51 awardees and their research disciplines can be viewed at: List of SRG Awardees FY2023

You may find their Sylff profiles at: https://www.sylff.org/fellows/?p=SRG