To counter the negative impact of COVID-19, the Sylff Association secretariat is providing emergency financial support called “COVID-19 Relief for Sylff Fellows” to ensure that fellows are able to continue their studies toward their degrees at their home Sylff institutions.

So far, we have mobilized internal resources to provide relief to more than 300 fellows to cover their living expenses for about three months. However, we require more financial resources to complete this relief effort. Under the circumstances, we are asking the members of the Sylff community for donations.

The secretariat hopes that former Sylff fellowship recipients and others affiliated with Sylff institutions will take this opportunity to show their generosity and support for current fellows.

Some comments received from relief recipients:

“Your letter comes as a bright light in the darkness. […] I am right now moved to tears. Thank you for caring so much about us, the Sylff Fellows, and for giving us hope!”

 “This funding will help me in my daily life […] With this help, I can cover my daily expenses and to continue my studies in the best possible conditions during this difficult time.”

 “The […] letter from Mr. Sasakawa, Association's Chairman, and Ms. Kadono, the President of the Tokyo Foundation for Policy Research has left me speechless and in deepest appreciation of your association's generous contribution to the continuation of my future research.”

“I wish to express my deepest gratitude for the consideration to offer me financial assistance during this rather difficult period. I really have no words to just say how grateful I am - THANK YOU SO MUCH!!”

“This money will be of great help to me and my family, this period has been very difficult because [of] the pandemic […] and we were trapped there for three more months.”

 “[Y]ou have lightened my financial burden even in a pandemic which allows me to focus more on the most important aspect of school, learning.”

We wish to thank all those who already contributed to our fundraising initiative.

[How-to-Give] Our online donation now accepts credit cards - VISA, MasterCard, JCB, American Express and Diners. Please give today! (Donation campaign closed on November 13, 2020.)

Two Sylff fellows have been selected for a Sylff Leadership Initiatives (SLI) award. SLI supports Sylff fellows’ initiatives to change society for the better with awards of up to US$10,000. (Their applications were received last fiscal year and reviewed before the suspension of new applications for SLI.)

The two winners are Liza Hamman and Holly Horan.

Liza Hamman

Liza Hamman completed her PhD at the University of the Western Cape as a Sylff fellow and is currently working as a department head at a vocational education college in South Africa.

With this grant, she will address the social and emotional challenges faced by both educators and students in South Africa by developing an online, mindfulness training course. “It is my hope that this award will benefit many South African teachers,” said Hamman.

Holly Horan

Holly Horan, a Sylff fellow in 2015–16 at Oregon State University who was also awarded an SRA grant in 2016, is a clinical biocultural medical anthropologist at the University of Alabama in the United States.

With the SLI grant, as an academic and a birth and postpartum doula, she will promote a model of integrated maternity care in Puerto Rico by organizing an international conference for multiple stakeholders. Over the long term, she aims to launch a political and economic movement for health systems reform.

The Sylff Association secretariat is excited to provide support to fellows who are taking social action by applying their ideas and expertise to build a better world for all.

Congratulations to the two Sylff fellows on winning the award. Barring disruptions due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the projects will be carried out over a year in their respective countries.

The Sylff Association secretariat would like to inform you that no new applications for COVID-19 Relief for Sylff Fellows will be accepted after August 2, 2020. Our budget for the relief is running short as there are continuing demands for support even after we disbursed our relief funds in mid-July. The applications that we received before the above date are now being reviewed and may be supported contingent on our fundraising results.

On this occasion, the secretariat would like to ask the Sylff community to pitch in to increase our funding resources to support more fellows who are struggling to continue their studies and research towards their degrees. Please click How to Give for your donation. (Donation campaign closed on November 13, 2020.)

The Sylff Association secretariat has launched an online fundraising system to accept donations via credit card in order to help finance COVID-19 Relief for Sylff Fellows. As already announced, donations may also be made via bank transfers. (Donation campaign closed on November 13, 2020.)

This relief is intended to help defray Sylff fellows’ living expenses and encourage them to continue their studies and research at their home Sylff institutions despite the current difficulties due to COVID-19. (For details, please refer to the relief initiative page, https://www.sylff.org/covid-19-relief-for-sylff-fellows.)

The secretariat hopes that the online fundraising system will facilitate the process of donation.

The Sylff Association secretariat regrets to inform you that no new applications for support programs (including Sylff Research Abroad, Sylff Leadership Initiatives, Sylff Project Grant, and Local Association Networking Support) has been accepted since July 22, 2020. This is in light of the difficulty of conducting activities entailing long-distance and overseas travel as well as convening gatherings of large groups of people under the current COVID-19 situation. We will continue to monitor the situation with the COVID-19 outbreak, and update you if there are any changes in support programs.

For current support program participants, there is no change in the operation as announced on April 6, 2020. If the current situation prevents you from completing your activities as proposed, either partially or entirely, please contact sylff[at]tkfd.or.jp (replace [at] with @) to share details and discuss ways to deal with the situation.

During this period, the secretariat will reshape the support programs in such ways as to promote fellow’s academic advancement and leadership development so they may better fulfill Sylff’s mission in spite of changing social conditions.

The secretariat also welcomes new ideas on programs from Sylff Association members that may be implemented not just during a pandemic but also as we return to a reality that is likely to have been vastly transformed by the events of this year. Please share them with the secretariat by the end of September 2020 so we can take them into account during our review.

We continue to be committed to supporting Sylff fellows. We regret having to suspend and reshape the support programs but hope to come up with innovative ways to move forward in the face of these unprecedented challenges.

The Sylff Association secretariat has launched a fundraising campaign-How to Give- to help finance COVID-19 Relief for Sylff Fellows. As already announced, this relief is intended to enable currently enrolled Sylff fellows to continue their studies and research toward their degrees without worrying about their finances due to COVID-19. For details, please refer to the relief initiative page.

We are seeking donations to help defray Sylff fellows’ living expenses and encourage them to continue their studies and research at their home Sylff institutions despite the current difficulties.

Donations may be made via bank transfers or through an online system using credit cards. Bank transfers can be made as of today. The online system will be launched and announced shortly. For details, please visit How to Give.

The secretariat hopes that members of the Sylff community, not only Sylff fellowship recipients but also others affiliated with Sylff institutions, will take this opportunity to show their support for current fellows and increase their engagement with our community.

Fellows eligible to receive support have been identified in collaboration with the Sylff steering committees of all 69 Sylff institutions.

(Campaign closed on November 13, 2020.)

The Sylff Association secretariat is pleased to announce that disbursement of relief funds to Sylff fellows has begun.

More than 300 fellows were identified as eligible for COVID-19 relief* by the steering committees of Sylff institutions. They will be contacted by the secretariat regarding the details of the relief, equivalent to three months living expenses.

This initiative is intended to enable currently enrolled Sylff fellows to continue their studies and research toward their degrees without worrying about their finances due to COVID-19.

In a related matter, we will soon make an announcement on ways that members of the Sylff community can join and support this initiative by making donations.

* Fellows eligible for COVID-19 relief are those who are currently enrolled in a master's or doctoral program at their home Sylff institutions and who will still be enrolled in the degree program at that institution in September 2020. If you meet this eligibility criteria but have not been contacted, please inquire about your status with the Sylff steering committee of your institution. Also please read the FAQs at https://www.sylff.org/covid-19-relief-for-sylff-fellows/.

The Sylff Association secretariat will provide emergency financial support to all fellows whose efforts to earn a degree have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. We are also asking members of the Sylff community for donations to help finance this initiative.

The COVID-19 outbreak has affected universities around the world. Some fellows have told us that financial and other difficulties have forced them to interrupt their studies and research. This is a serious concern, since earning a degree is the first step in building a career. The aim of this emergency support program is to help defray fellows’ living expenses and encourage them to continue their studies and research at their home Sylff institutions.

We are currently identifying eligible fellows* in collaboration with Sylff steering committees at all 69 Sylff institutions. We have received information from many institutions, as of June 10, 2020, and would appreciate the remaining institutions to respond promptly so that support can reach those who need it.**

Transfer procedures and other details will be communicated to Sylff institutions when the process of identifying eligible fellows is completed by mid-June. A report will also be made on this website for the Sylff community.

At the same time, we will later announce on the website how members of the Sylff community may offer donations to help finance the program. The secretariat would be grateful for any support you can give to ensure that fellows can continue their studies in spite of the COVID-19 pandemic.

*Fellows eligible for emergency support are those who are currently enrolled in a master's or doctoral program at their home Sylff institutions and who will still be enrolled in the degree program at the same institution in September 2020.

**The following Sylff institutions have provided information requested by the secretariat (as of June 10, 2020).  in alphabetical order

The American University in Cairo
Ankara University
Ateneo de Manila University
University of Belgrade
Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
University of California San Diego
Charles University
Chiang Mai University
University of Chile
University of Coimbra
Columbia University
Comenius University in Bratislava
Conservatoire national superieur de musique et de danse de Paris
University of Deusto
El Colegio de Mexico
Fudan University
Gadja Mada University
Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies
University of Helsinki
Howard University
Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Corvinus University of Budapest, Debrecen University, Eötvös Loránd University, University of Pécs, and University of Szeged
Inner Mongolia University
Institute of Political Education “Pedro Arrupe”
Jadavpur University
Jagellonian University
Jawaharlal Nehru University
Jilin University
University of Jordan
The Juilliard School
Keio University
Lanzhou University
University of Latvia
University of Leipzig
University of Malaya
Massey University, Auckland University of Technology, Lincoln University, University of Auckland, University of Canterbury, University of Otago, University of Waikato, and Victoria University of Wellington
University of Michigan
University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna
University of Nairobi
National Academy of Governance
National and Kapodistrian University of Athens
University of New South Wales Business School
University of Oregon, Oregon State University, and Portland State University
Peking University
Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University
Ruhr University Bochum
University of Sao Paolo
Sofia University “St Kliment Ohridski”
University of the South Pacific
University of Texas Austin
Uppsala University
Utrecht University
Vietnam National University, Hanoi, and Vietnam National University, Ho Chi Minh City
Waseda University
University of the Western Cape
Xinjiang University
York University
Yunnan University

Voices Vol.7 (7.1MB.)

The Sylff Association secretariat is pleased to announce the publication of the seventh edition of Voices from the Sylff Community as a PDF file and in print format.

The latest edition contains 25 articles uploaded on the Sylff website between June 2018 and October 2019. Eighteen were submitted by the awardees of various support programs. They offer valuable hints on how the awards can be used to further fellows’ research and social engagement activities. You will also find reports, including many photos, of the 25th anniversary ceremonies and related events at nine universities in China. Rounding out the booklet are two pages of photos featuring the many outstanding fellows whom members of the Sylff Association secretariat met in 2018-19.

The booklet can be downloaded as a PDF file here.

We Want to Hear Your “Voice”

We are always eager to learn about the academic achievements and social intiatives of all fellows. Please send your contributions to the Sylff Association secretariat (sylff [a]tkfd.or.jp) to be shared through the Sylff website and Voices booklet. (replace [a] with @).

Guidelines for writing a Voices article can be downloaded here.

*     *     *

Voices from the Sylff Community 
April 2020, Vol. 7

CONTENTS

The Sylff Association Secretariat is deeply concerned about the alarming spread of COVID-19, declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization. We are also concerned about fellows who are engaged in or have been selected for funding to undertake activities under a Sylff Support Program, as well as those planning to apply in fiscal 2020 (April 1, 2020 to March 31, 2021). We intend to minimize the potential impact of the coronavirus to Support Program participants and candidates by adopting a flexible approach, as outlined below.

Current Participants of a Support Program

If the current situation prevents you from completing your activities as proposed under any Support Program, either partially or entirely, please contact sylff[at]tkfd.or.jp (replace [at] with @) to share details and discuss ways to deal with the situation.

If You Are Thinking of Applying

1. Sylff Research Abroad (SRA)

We plan to conduct two selections rounds in fiscal 2020, but we are postponing our announcement due to uncertainty caused by the coronavirus outbreak. Please check our website and our Sylff News updates for announcements on when we will begin accepting SRA applications.

2. Sylff Leadership Initiatives (SLI)

If you submit an SLI application after April 1, 2020, and are selected for a grant but cannot complete your project, either partially or entirely, please consult with the Sylff Association Secretariat. Projects may be postponed for up to one year from the original implementation date. If this deadline cannot be met, we will ask the SLI fellow to terminate the project for the time being and settle the project budget. If an opportunity to carry out the original plan appears at a later date, we will, as an exception, accept a reapplication and consider funding the project under a new plan.

3. Sylff Project Grant (SPG)

Screening of SPG applications after April 1, 2020, may be delayed due to factors that could make implementation of the SPG proposal impossible. If the review is cancelled, applicants will be asked to submit a new application with a reorganized plan and schedule when the COVID-19 situation stabilizes.

4. Local Association Networking Support (LANS)

A LANS application submitted after April 1, 2020, will be duly reviewed and accepted if it meets LANS requirements. However, LANS organizers may need to reschedule or cancel their plans during fiscal 2020. We will accommodate postponements of events up to March 31, 2022 (end of fiscal 2021). LANS organizers may retain the budget disbursed by the Secretariat up to this date, but we may need to reexamine the amount awarded to account for any changes in the number and locations of participants.

We want to help fellows make the most of the Support Programs even at this difficult time. Please note, though, that there may be delays in reviewing your applications, including for Support Programs not cited above. We ask for your understanding and hope you’ll keep posted of updates.

Contact sylff[at]tkfd.or.jp (replace [at] by @) if you have any questions or concerns.