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Sylff Program

The Ryoichi Sasakawa Young Leaders Fellowship Fund (Sylff) Program

The Ryoichi Sasakawa Young Leaders Fellowship Fund, or Sylff, is a fellowship program initiated in 1987 to support students pursuing graduate studies in the humanities and social sciences. To date, endowments of $1 million each have been presented to 69 universities and consortia in 44 countries. The Sylff program aims to identify and nurture leaders who will overcome differences in nationality, language, ethnicity, religion, and political systems to tackle global issues, and whose high integrity and drive to address issues unique to their respective countries can make a real difference. About 17,000 students have received fellowships since the program's launch, and many of these Sylff fellows have gone on to become leaders in a variety of fields following graduation.

Mission & Philosophy

MISSION

To identify and nurture leaders
who will initiate action to transcend differences
in nationality, language, ethnicity, religion, and political systems and
who have the integrity, determination, and expertise to
bring about positive social change in
global society and the local community.

PHILOSOPHY

The Ryoichi Sasakawa Young Leaders Fellowship Fund (Sylff) seeks to develop socially engaged leaders committed to contributing to the happiness and well-being of others. Sylff fellows respect viewpoints that differ from their own and dedicate themselves to promoting justice and understanding—helping doors that had been closed open to new opportunities and a better future. Academic excellence is an important criterion for selection, but even more critical is a desire to apply one’s research achievements and expertise in addressing pressing social issues.

Message from the Chairman

A Dynamic Movement for Positive Change

Sylff is a global fellowship program aimed at nurturing leaders who will initiate action to transcend differences and address issues confronting contemporary society. The qualities such leaders must possess will change as society changes, and forms of effective leadership will invariably differ from one region to another.

As Sylff commemorates its 30th anniversary in 2017, we have made a decision to consolidate the many Sylff stakeholders into what we are calling the Sylff Association to pool the wisdom that has been accumulated over the years and to deepen and strengthen the ties among us. The Association will bring together all current and graduated fellows, steering committee members at the 69 Sylff institutions, and the staff of The Nippon Foundation and the Tokyo Foundation for Policy Research together into a single, more closely identifiable community.

I hope that every one of you will give renewed thought to what leadership qualities are required in today’s world to promote peaceful, sustainable, and socially inclusive development. And I hope that you will actively share your insights, knowledge, and experience with fellow Association members.

One thing that makes Sylff unique from other global fellowship programs is the support offered to fellows throughout their careers—not just during the fellowship period. The Sylff Association will play a key role in strengthening this distinctive quality.

The choice of what we do with our Association membership, though, is ultimately up to you. I hope you’ll choose to maximize your engagement with our community and enrich your Sylff experience. I look forward to working closely with you to make the Sylff Association a truly dynamic movement that facilitates positive change in society.

Yohei Sasakawa

Chairman of the Sylff Association
Chairman of The Nippon Foundation


Mr. Sasakawa would be happy to hear about your research and other activities, and you are welcome to write to him at the following address: c/o Sylff Association Roppongi Grand Tower, 34th Fl., 3-2-1 Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo 106-6234, Japan
e-mail: sylff[a]tkfd.or.jp (replace [a] with @)

Mr. Sasakawa's activities at The Nippon Foundation
Blog: [ http://blog.canpan.info/yoheisasakawa/ ]
Twitter: [ https://twitter.com/sasakawayohei ]

Sylff Association

The Sylff Association was launched in April 2017 to commemorate Sylff’s 30th anniversary. It brings closer together the many stakeholders in our community: current and graduated fellows, steering committee members at the 69 Sylff institutions, and the staff of The Nippon Foundation and the Tokyo Foundation for Policy Research. It will “pool the wisdom that has been accumulated over the years and deepen and strengthen the ties among us,” notes Association Chairman Yohei Sasakawa in his message introducing the new initiative. The Association will be offering various support programs on a continuing basis to promote fellows’ academic advancement and development as leaders, as well as to encourage networking.

Basic Structure of Sylff Association

The Sylff Program is a collaborative initiative of The Nippon Foundation, the endowment donor, and the Tokyo Foundation for Policy Research, the program administrator. It was inspired by the vision of the late Ryoichi Sasakawa, philanthropist and founding chairman of The Nippon Foundation, who said that “The world is one family, and all mankind are brothers and sisters.” Endowments at institutions of higher learning throughout the world serve as sustainable sources of fellowships that are provided to support the education of outstanding students with high potential for leadership.

Sylff Association Brochure

Fellows are encouraged to share their insights, knowledge, and experience with other Association members to hone their leadership qualities and to promote peaceful, sustainable, and socially inclusive development. For more information, download the Sylff Association brochure (pdf file).

Sylff Association Logo

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


If you are a Sylff fellowship recipient but have not been receiving email communications from the Sylff Association, please contact us at sylff[a]tkfd.or.jp (replace [a]with @) to get connected. Please also let us know if there are changes in your email or postal address or other contact information.

History

Since its inception in 1987, Sylff has evolved into a global fellowship program administered at 69 world-leading institutions of higher learning in 44 countries. To date, about 16,000 graduate students in the humanities and social sciences have received fellowships, and these Sylff fellows have gone on to become leaders in a variety of fields following graduation.

 

1987~1996

 

Year Events
1987
1988
1989
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996

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1997~2006

 

Year Events
1997
  • Sylff administrators meeting convened in Vancouver, Canada, in conjunction with 49th annual conference of NAFSA: Association of International Educators
  • Global Foundation for Research and Scholarship (GFRS) established
  • Administrative responsibilities of Sylff Program transferred from Sasakawa Peace Foundation (SPF) to GFRS.
  • Sylff administrators meeting convened in Barcelona, Spain, in conjunction with 1997 annual conference of European Association for International Education (EAIE)
1998
1999
  • Sylff endowment established at Vietnam National University (Vietnam)
  • Foundation name changed from GFRS to the Tokyo Foundation
  • Scholarship Division’s International Advisory Committee (IAC) established
2000
2001
2002
2003
  • Sylff endowment established at: University of Jordan (Jordan) Jadavpur University (India) Jawaharlal Nehru University (India)
  • Sylff North/South America Regional Forum convened at the University of Texas at Austin (USA)
  • Sylff Africa/Europe Regional Forum convened at American University in Cairo (Egypt)
  • Sylff Asia/Pacific Regional Forum convened at Chiang Mai University, Thailand
  • Provisional Sylff Fellows Council (PSFC) established (-2008)
  • Sylff Network Program (SNP) launched (-2008)
2004
2005
2006
  • Sylff Chamber Music Seminar convened at The Juilliard School (USA)
  • Sylff network database launched

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2007~2016

 

Year Events
2007
2008
  • Sylff Prizes awarded to Rigobert Minani-Bihuzo in Tokyo
  • Sylff Chamber Music Seminar convened at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna (Austria)
  • Sylff website launched
2009
2010
  • Sylff Administrators Meeting convened at Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University (Japan)
  • Sylff Chamber Music Seminar convened at the Juilliard School (USA)
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016

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2017~

 

Year Events
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022

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Administrators Meetings

Contact

For more information about the Sylff program, contact:
Sylff Association Secretariat c/o The Tokyo Foundation for Policy Research, Roppongi Grand Tower, 34th Fl., 3-2-1 Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo 106-6234, Japan
Phone: +81-3-5797-8402
Fax: +81-3-5570-6032
e-mail: sylff[a]tkfd.or.jp (replace [a] with @)

Access

  • Roppongi-itchome Stn. (Nanboku L.): Direct link from West Gate
  • 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



Secretariat

Yohei Sasakawa

Chairman

Mari Suzuki

Executive Director

K.Sugai

Keita Sugai

Director

Yumi Arai

Program Officer

Konatsu Furuya

Program Officer

Nozomu Kawamoto

Senior English Editor

Sachiko Matsuoka

Program Officer

Maki Shimada

Program Officer

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