Presented by

　　　　　Mr. Masato Mori (Ship & Ocean Foundation)

　

　Thank you Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentleman. I'm glad to speak to this audience on the special occasion. First of all, as a member of the Forum Secretariat, I'd like to start thanking all the chairperson and assistant fellows for accepting the important roles at this Workshop. I would also express my thanks to Prof. Hikima, Mr. Browne and Ms. Jackson for their helpful advises. And finally I also thank all of you for participating in WMU Japan Sasakawa Fellows Forum. My presentation will be composed of three main parts.

　

　First, I will touch upon our foundation and the Nippon Foundation that supports us. I will then talk about the Sasakawa Fellowship Program and the need to establish a fellow network. And finally I will explain our basic idea on how to build up the fellow network.

　

First, I would like to briefly talk to you about our foundation. SOF was established in 1975, as a non-profit organization, with a view to promoting a wide range of shipbuilding and ocean related activities.

　

　

Our activities are financially supported by the Nippon Foundation, our parent organization, which is one of the most active non-profit foundations in Japan. Under Japanese law, the Nippon Foundation is entitled to 3.3% of the revenue from "Motorboat Racing". From these proceeds, the Nippon Foundation carries out an incredibly wide range of activities. Such is the wide-ranging extent of the Nippon Foundation's efforts that it would be impossible to explain about all their activities during the time allotted to this forum today.

　

　However, the Nippon Foundation booklet, also contained in your conference kit, will give you some idea of their tremendous service to society in Japan and throughout the world. Of course, the funding of this Fellows Forum, and not to mention the WMU Sasakawa Fellowship Program itself, are also part of the Nippon Foundations generous contribution to SOF's activities.

　

Next, I would briefly like to look back on the WMU Sasakawa Fellowship Program. The Nippon Foundation has being sponsored the Fellowship Program for WMU students for 14 years. Initially, a fellowship fund was donated to WMU and the university administered the scholarship to each of the fellows. Afterwards, however, it was decided to administer the scholarship directly through a subsidiary body of the Nippon Foundation.

　

　In the first instance, the Sasakawa Peace Foundation fulfilled the role as the administrator of the program, followed by a change to the Global Foundation for Research and Scholarship, which is now known as the Tokyo Foundation. A further change was made in April this year, when Ship & Ocean Foundation took over the role. The Nippon Foundation may not have appeared on the center stage of the Fellowship Program in any event, however, I ask you not to forget their generous sponsorship of the Program. Due to a prolonged recession in the Japanese economy and a subsequent drop in consumer spending, the motorboat racing industry in Japan has experienced a sharp drop in revenue of nearly 40% compared to in its peak in 1991.

　

　In spite of this, with the tolerant understanding of former Nippon Foundation Chairman, the late Mr. Ryoichi Sasakawa, and current President, Mr. Youhei Sasakawa, the number of Sasakawa Fellowships have been increased. Presently, one quarter of the students of WMU are supported by a fellowship funded by the Nippon Foundation, and since 1988 nearly 200 students from 36 different countries have participated in the program. I think the best way you can show their gratitude to their generous deed, would be if you were to go on and fulfill prominent roles in the maritime community.

　

The increasingly globally orientated and complicated nature of problems in the maritime community can't be solved through the individual action of each Sasakawa fellow. It is required for the fellows to cooperate with each other and exchange information with each other towards a common objective. This is the reason why we are advocating the creation of a fellows network.

　

　As the first step, this Forum provides you with the opportunity to get to know each other, to gain an understanding of each other's activities and to discuss the kinds of issues that you are confronted with in your particular maritime fields. Furthermore, the Forum also provides you with the opportunity to make personal contacts with a wide range of Japanese maritime experts.

　

　In 1995, "Friends of WMU, Japan" was established by maritime related individuals in Japan with an aim to support the fellowship program for WMU students. The Chairman of "Friends of WMU Japan" is none other than "Youhei Sasakawa", a person with great recognition for the fellowship program. Fellowship recipients are also granted membership to the association on their graduation from the university. In terms of providing an opportunity to promote the exchange between the Japan Fellows and maritime related individuals in Japan, this Forum and "Friends of WMU, Japan" bear common objectives. Here lies the background to the joint hosting of this Forum, by "Friends of WMU, Japan" and SOF.

　

I would now like to move on to talk about how we suggest the network can be created. However, before I do so, I would like to emphasize that we only wish to put forward our ideas as a basis for discussion and in no way do they need to determine the outcome of the network. The determination of the best way to build the network is purely and simply up to the deliberations of the fellowship body. We very much look forward to your lively debate. We believe that the most effective network can be built through the creation of a regional network in each country, and then linking these regional networks through SOF's contribution in the form of a "Hub and Spoke" style network. The line of activities each network takes, and its content, are likely to differ between the number of fellows in the regional network and their geographical dispersion, so it wouldn't be suitable for us to make a uniform decision for regional networks. Rather, this is something that you need to discuss and decide for yourselves. As a reference for discussions, some examples of regional network activities are listed in this slide and also in the workshop handout.

　

　We also recommend that each regional network nominate a "coordinator" or a "correspondent" to lead the regional network and maintain contact with us. Meanwhile, SOF would be a happy to take on the "Hub" role in the overall network and promote reciprocal communication between the regional networks. We are also keen to act as a pipeline or an "information agent" between you and related maritime parties or individuals in Japan. Due to the continued decline in revenue in the motorboat racing industry, our contribution to the network maybe limited to a certain extent, but I am sure we will be able to provide something along the lines of the activities suggested in the workshop handout.

　

　Furthermore, we believe the maintenance of an up-to-date and accurate contact list is the building block to all activities in both the regional and overall networks. Without an accurate contact list, effective communication can't be made. In order to ensure the contact details of fellows are maintained effectively and accurately, we would like to propose the creation of a network by graduation year, in addition to the regional network of each country. This is because we feel that there is a greater chance that information exchange will be maintained between former classmates, who lived and breathed together for two years in Malmo, even when long distances separate them.

　

　Finally, I would like to finish my presentation today by making one last important comment to all of you. I would like you to remember that this is just the first step in the building of the fellow network. The successful creation of a close-knit and longstanding network is dependent upon your degree of enthusiasm and inventive ideas to get the network up and running. Through the maintenance of a close-knit fellow network, we believe there is enormous potential for you to widen your own human networks, therefore constituting the development of an even larger overall network in the future. The potential merits of the fellow network will undoubtedly be invaluable to you all, as you strive to succeed in your relevant sector of the maritime community.

　

　Furthermore, I ask you to be conscious that the future of the Sasakawa Fellowship Program itself has been partially placed in your hands. The future success of the program will be measured by the initiative shown in your activities and the network that you build for your maritime community. If the fellow network makes a positive contribution to the maritime community of both Japan and the world, it will further enhance the understanding of WMU's activities and the scholarship program that supports it. I hope that you will all participate actively in the network building activities arranged for this Forum, and we ask for your furthered positive contribution to the success of the network when you return to your respective countries.

　

　Thank you very much for your kind attention.