SRA without Overseas Travel

The Sylff Association is pleased to announce the launch of a revised Sylff Research Abroad (SRA) support program for Sylff fellows in fiscal 2021 (ending March 31, 2022). Considering that some international borders remain closed and global travel restrictions are still in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are making a call for applications for SRA projects that do not require fellows themselves to travel overseas.

SRA without Overseas Travel awards will help fellows to conduct academic research related to their doctoral dissertations in a foreign country through alternative strategies, such as hiring local research assistant(s) or organizing virtual meetings. It will provide grants of up to US$3,000 to each successful applicant.

Click here to view the call for applications.

The application deadline is 23:59 October 31, 2021 (JST).

We look forward to receiving your applications.

The Sylff Association secretariat is pleased to announce that members of the Sylff community donated a total of 146,000 yen (approximately US$1,330)* in 2021 to support Sylff fellows affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The online fundraising system to accept donations via credit card will be closed on June 30, 2021.

The donations will be used not only to help fellows continue their studies and research but also to financially support recent and soon-to-be graduates who have experienced significant and unexpected disruptions to their career plans due to the pandemic. The secretariat believes that the support offered by the Sylff community will also offer encouragement and cultivate a sense of belonging under these difficult times.

We would like to express our heartfelt thanks to everyone who made a contribution to COVID-19 Relief for Sylff Fellows 2021.

(*Total amount of donations updated. August 5, 2021)

The Sylff Association secretariat is pleased to announce the start of online applications for COVID-19 Relief for Sylff Fellows 2021.

This support scheme is intended to alleviate the financial difficulties faced by currently enrolled and recently graduated Sylff fellows due to the pandemic.

We are now accepting applications through the online application form on the Sylff website. Please carefully read the Call for Applications for information on who is eligible and what applicants will need to submit. The deadline is 11:59 p.m. May 24, 2021 (Japan Standard Time).

We are also seeking donations to help finance the support scheme. Donations may be made through an online system using credit cards or via wire transfer. For details, please visit How to Give.

We hope that all members of the Sylff Association and others affiliated with Sylff institutions will join the fundraising campaign to help young fellows overcome this difficult situation.

(Notes)
*1. We have revised the eligibility criteria for “Category 1” applicants on April 16, 2021, so that fellows who are currently taking a leave of absence from a degree program due to the pandemic can apply.
*2. The Call for Applications may be updated occasionally in accordance with changing conditions. Please check the revision date to make sure that you are referring to the latest version.
*3. Check the COVID-19 Relief program page for information on the overall progress being made to process applications and transfer relief funds.

The Sylff Association secretariat has set up a new financial support scheme for fellows whose efforts to earn a degree or enter the workforce have been negatively affected by the lingering COVID-19 pandemic.

Unlike COVID-19 relief provided in 2020, whose recipients were limited to fellows who were then enrolled in a graduate program, this new support will also be offered to applicants who have already earned a degree (in or after March 2020) but have yet to find employment.

Surveys of Sylff fellows and Sylff steering committee members conducted last year showed that many fellows, particularly current fellows whose academic period was extended and were looking for work opportunities, were facing financial difficulties.

COVID-19 Relief for Fellows 2021 is thus designed to not only help fellows to continue their studies and research but also financially support recent and soon-to-be graduates who have experienced significant and unexpected disruptions to their career plans due to the pandemic.

A lump sum to cover living expenses for up to six months will be provided to eligible fellows who apply. (The actual amount will be determined by the secretariat, depending on the total number of applicants.)

All eligible fellows are encouraged to apply to mitigate their financial anxieties during the pandemic.

Online applications will open in mid- or late April 2021. Follow the link to view details of application requirements. 

The Sylff Association secretariat is pleased to share the wonderful news that Socrates Kraido Majune, a 2013–15 Sylff fellowship recipient and PhD candidate at the University of Nairobi, has been selected as the winner of the 2020 Trade Economist Thematic Award.

The award is a new initiative launched by the World Trade Organization (WTO) in response to the urgent need to understand how the COVID-19 pandemic has been affecting trade and trade policy.

Socrates’s paper, “The Effect of Lockdown Policies on International Trade Flows from Developing Countries: Event Study Evidence from Kenya,” analyzes different effects of lockdown measures on exporters and importers during the pandemic using data from July 2019 to June 2020 in Kenya.

“I’m deeply humbled and honored to be the first recipient of this award,” Socrates commented. The “findings are important towards understanding the impact of the measures adopted by governments worldwide during the COVID-19 period on international trade.” 

Congratulations to Socrates on winning this prestigious award, and we wish him even greater success in the future.

“WTO Announces Winner of the 2020 Trade Economist Thematic Award,” WTO News
https://www.wto.org/english/news_e/news20_e/rese_15dec20_e.htm

“The Effect of Lockdown Policies on International Trade Flows from Developing Countries: Event Study Evidence from Kenya” (pdf)
https://www.wto.org/english/news_e/news20_e/rese_15dec20_e.pdf  

View video message from Sylff Association Chairman Yohei Sasakawa to all members of the Sylff community.

The year 2020 was one in which the world struggled to cope with the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic. In response, the Sylff Association secretariat launched an initiative called “COVID-19 Relief for Sylff Fellows,” even as applications for regular support programs had to be suspended.

The relief initiative provided financial support to 328 currently enrolled Sylff fellows from 56 Sylff institutions, enabling them to continue their studies and research toward their degrees. In a show of unity, about 30 members of the sylff community donated a total of more than US$13,000 for this initiative.  

Though overseas travel was restricted, we were able to meet fellows online through our first virtual Sylff fellows get-togethers in October and November and a meeting with Chinese Sylff institutions to recognize new fellows in December. Fellows have also been sharing their pandemic-related insights and activities through the “Voices from the Pandemic” section of the Sylff website. We invite you to contribute your “Voice” as well. Please send us your article to sylff[a]tkfd.or.jp ([a] must be replaced by @.)  

We will continue to do our utmost to support Sylff fellows during these challenging times. Please visit the Sylff website for announcements of new initiatives and programs.  

We wish you all a healthy and safe 2021

Middle row, from left, Mari Suzuki (executive director, Tokyo Foundation for Policy Research), Sylff Association Chairman Yohei Sasakawa, Izumi Kadono (president, Tokyo Foundation for Policy Research), Ichiro Kabasawa (executive director, Nippon Foundation). Top row, Masato Seko (senior program director, Nippon Foundation), Keita Sugai (director), Yoko Kaburagi (director). Bottom row, Sachiko Matsuoka, Yue Zhang, Tomoko Yamada, and Yumi Arai.

News from the Sylff Website in 2020

COVID-19 Relief for Sylff fellows

Thank You for Your COVID-19 Relief Donations (November 16)

COVID-19 Relief Provided to More Than 300 Fellows, but More Help Needed (September 10)
Applications Closed but Fundraising Continues for COVID-19 Relief for Sylff Fellows (August 3)

Online Fundraising Launched to Enable Sylff Fellows to Continue Their Studies (July 29)
Fundraising Launched to Enable Sylff Fellows to Continue Their Studies (July 21)

Start of COVID-19 Relief (July 17)

Sylff to Offer Fellows COVID-19 Emergency Support, Seeks Donations (June 10)

Support Programs

The status of Support Programs through March 31, 2021

Support Programs and COVID-19, Updated July 22, 2020 (August 6)

Support Programs and COVID-19 (April 6)

Before the outbreak of COVID-19

Mindfulness among Educators in South Africa and Promote Mother and Child Health in Puerto Rico (August 5)

SRA Awardees for Fiscal 2019, Second Round (February 20)

Sylff@Tokyo: Serbia Fellow Researching Legal Principles Connects with Experts in Japan (January 15)

Events

Online Meeting with Chinese Sylff Institutions to Recognize New Fellows (December 16)

Sharing COVID Experiences through Virtual Meetings (November 26)

Voices from the Sylff Community

“Voices” from the Pandemic: Call for Articles on COVID-19 (October 22)

Seventh “Voices” Booklet Now Online and in Print (April 22)

The Sylff Association secretariat organized an online ceremony to confirm new fellows in China and hear presentations by one representative each from the 10 Sylff institutions in the country. The institutions are Fudan, Jilin, Lanzhou, Nanjing, Peking, Chongqing, Inner Mongolia, Xinjiang, Yunnan, and Sun Yat-sen Universities. Reports were also made by board and steering committee members.

Among the guests invited to the meeting were newly appointed General Secretary of China Education Association for International Exchange (CEAIE) Wang Yongli and other association members. The CEAIE works with the Sylff Association secretariat to help the 10 Chinese Sylff institutions implement and improve the Sylff program at each institution.

An online meeting of Sylff Association members in China and Tokyo.

Chairman Yohei Sasakawa of the Sylff Association and The Nippon Foundation thanked the universities in his opening remarks for soundly and prudently implementing the Sylff program since its launch in China in 1992 (at the first five universities above) and 1994 (at the other five). Noting the country’s tremendous growth over the past three decades, he emphasized the need to update the Sylff program to match the current state of China’s society and economy, calling for the generous provision of fellowship to a few, exceptional students, rather than smaller stipends to a large number of fellows.

Chairman Sasakawa making his opening remarks.

Wang Yongli concurred, saying that the CEAIE will cooperate with the 10 institutions toward the goal of making the Sylff program in China more selective.

Mari Suzuki, a member of the Sylff Association secretariat and Executive Director of the Tokyo Foundation for Policy Research, encouraged Sylff fellows to participate actively in the global Sylff community by taking full advantage of the support programs and networking initiatives offered by the secretariat.

A presentation by General Secretary Wang.

Representatives from the 10 institutions then explained their selection procedures and results for 2020, with all institutions confirming that the process was competitive, fair, open, and rigid. This was followed by presentations by one Sylff fellow each from the 10 universities. They detailed their academic and social engagement achievements to date and vowed to make a contribution to society in the future.

The fellows were all outstanding students, many of them being recipients of governmental and other global fellowships. The Nanjing fellow was a poet and read one of his works during the meeting. And the fellow from Sun Yat-sen related an episode of having worked as a volunteer at a Hansen’s disease facility. Others echoed Sylff’s founding concept of regarding the world as one family, with all of humankind being brothers and sisters, and of taking the initiative to promote international understanding and world peace.

The ceremony will continue to be held annually to strengthen ties among all stakeholders involved in the operation of the Sylff program in China.

“See you next year!”

The Sylff Association secretariat hosted its first virtual Sylff fellows’ meetings on October 27 and November 6 (Japan time) with the participation of fellows who received COVID-19 relief this summer. The meetings were an opportunity for pre-registered participants from around the world to get together online and share their experiences.

Group photo on October 27.

Group photo on November 6.

With the facilitation of secretariat members, fellows described how they are coping with the difficulties and challenges caused by the outbreak of COVID-19 and exchanged views on what new measures would facilitate their academic research and leaderships development initiatives during the pandemic.

Many participants commented that COVID-19 relief was a source of both financial and moral support that promoted a sense of belonging to the Sylff community. They had been concerned about disruptions to their research, with many being forced to change their data collection methods. Suggestions for additional Sylff support included new sources of research funding, mentorship and networking opportunities among current and graduated fellows, and theme-based virtual meetings.

The meeting “was perfectly organized and managed . . . so that we could express ourselves,” one fellow said on the feedback sheet. “The atmosphere was safe, welcoming and engaging. I met the Sylff fellows from all around the world and could share my research topic and exchange our views. I realized that I was not alone in this delicate situation of pandemic and that we can all together search for solutions.”

“I would most certainly recommend this kind of meeting because they help build a strong community of fellows,” another said. “Fruitful dialogue can lead to great ideas that bring positive changes to this world.”

The secretariat, too, was happy to meet the fellows online and to hear their views directly. We are currently reexamining our support programs in order to better respond to their needs under the pandemic. Please look for announcements of future events and new Sylff initiatives on the Sylff website.

The Sylff Association secretariat is happy to report that over 30 members of the Sylff community donated a total of 1,366,400 yen (approximately US$13,000) to support Sylff fellows affected by COVID-19. Thank you all for giving so generously. The online fundraising system to accept donations via credit card is now closed.

The donations are being used to help defray fellows’ living expenses and encourage them to continue their studies and research at their home Sylff institutions despite the difficulties caused by the pandemic.

COVID-19 has seriously disrupted the research activities of many Sylff fellows and could affect their chances of emerging as future leaders. The support offered by the Sylff community not only helped finance their studies but, as reported by several fellows, gave them a sense of hope and belonging.

Once again, we would like to express our heartfelt thanks to everyone who made a contribution to COVID-19 Relief for Sylff Fellows.