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Executive Summary
Sixty-nine (69)SYLFF Program administrators from 63 (of 65) endowed institutions convened in Tokyo, December 9-12, 2003. This meeting, held in The Nippon Foundation Building, was the fifth gathering of its kind, the first to be held in the donor's country, Japan, and marked the end of the 15th year of the SYLFF Program.
This working meeting was organized around the theme, SYLFF: The Next 15 Years, to:
・Review the brief history of the SYLFF Program and the transformation of the existing SYLFF follow-up programs,
・Reflect upon "leaders" and "leadership" within the context of the SYLFF Program,
・Discuss proposed new initiatives,
・Generate ideas to enhance the SYLFF Program,
・Facilitate networking among the participants,
・Introduce the three newest SYLFF-endowed institutions, and
・Visit the two SYLFF institutions in Japan, Waseda and Keio Universities.
In September 2002, a questionnaire was sent to all participants for consideration by their respective SYLFF steering committees prior to the meeting. Designed to facilitate preparation by the session convenors and presenters and discussion among all participants, and to provide concrete feedback to the Scholarship Division regarding the agenda, responses from 53 institutions were compiled and circulated prior to the meeting ( Appendix 31).
The interlinked sessions can be broadly classified into three categories:
I. The opening session and Session I that provided an overview of the SYLFF Program, and an introduction to the three newest SYLFF-endowed institutions, and visits to the two SYLFF institutions in Japan,
II. Sessions II, III, IV and X that addressed facets of leaders and leadership within the context of the SYLFF Program, and
III. Sessions V, VI, VII, VIII and IX that focused on proposed new initiatives.
Summarized below are the presentations and discussions within the framework of the above mentioned categories.
I. Overview of the SYLFF Program and five institutions
A review of the brief history of the SYLFF Program since 1987 emphasized The Nippon Foundation (the donor) and The Tokyo Foundation's (the program administrator) focus on:
・Enhancing existing SYLFF fellowship programs,
・Strengthening collaborative relationships among SYLFF institutions, and
・Transforming SYLFF follow-up programs (including the termination of the Joint Research/Exchange [ JREX] Program, JREX Selection Committee Program, Visit Japan Program and Forum Program, and transfiguration of Administrators & Faculty Exchange [ AFEX] Program) initiated in 1994 and in the context of the proposed new initiatives.
The representatives of the newest SYLFF-endowed institutions-University of Latvia, University of Chile and Ateneo de Manila University-introduced their respective universities and SYLFF fellowship programs (Session I). All three universities, which received their endowments in March 2002, have structured their respective SYLFF fellowship programs around themes, within the parameters of the social sciences and humanities, that reflect national needs and priorities.
Visits to Keio University's Shonan Fujisawa Campus (SFC) and Waseda University's main campus provided opportunities for briefings on the graduate programs, institutional strategies, and specific transnational programs and activities of both universities that received SYLFF endowments in March 2000 and March 2001, respectively.
II. Leaders, Leadership, and Leadership Training
Presenters addressed questions such as: How are leaders and leadership defined and identified in various cultures? How are potential leaders identified in the selection process of SYLFF fellowship programs? (Session II) These questions were discussed further in small groups (Session III and then within the context of recognizing leadership demonstrated by SYLFF fellows under the proposed new "SYLFF Prize" (Session IV). The final session (X) revisited leadership in relation to the need and desirability of considering leadership training. The participants welcomed the idea of leadership training for both currently enrolled and graduated SYLFF fellows. Three categories of leadership training were identified-intensive workshops, long-term academic programs and tutorials-that the Scholarship Division agreed to explore.
Although specific definitions of leaders and leadership were not formulated, largely due to cultural and social contingencies identified by the group, participants concurred that the difference between leaders and leadership is that while leaders are oftentimes associated with positions of power or influence, leadership is a quality that should not be confused with politics, management skill and celebrity. The participants also agreed that leadership can be associated with acts leading to major positive changes in various sectors of society. They also concluded that the diversity of the SYLFF Program holds tremendous potential for fellows to learn from each other and thus become leaders who can effectively function at the international level.
They also agreed that the assessment of leadership potential in the selection of new fellows and later recognition of SYLFF fellows' leadership is a complex process that should take into account many features of applicants, including academic excellence, knowledge of the world and peoples, capacity for innovation, creativity, ability to create vision, communication skills, commitment to the task at hand, capacity to serve others, altruism, integrity, character, ability to take responsibility, and willingness to be a leader.
III. Proposed New Initiatives
The Scholarship Division presented plans to implement four new initiatives that meet the needs of currently enrolled and graduated SYLFF fellows to better fulfill the goals of the SYLFF Program.
・SYLFF Prize (Session IV) - Despite the complexities of judging leadership, participants were in favor of instituting the SYLFF Prize in recognition of SYLFF fellows' demonstrated leadership.
・SYLFF Network Program (SNP) (Session VI) - Suggestions regarding the network initiative included (a)starting from smaller, preferably existing, networks, e.g., from intra-networking to inter-networking; (b)fellows should be actively involved in the planning and start-up process; (c)establish a newsletter/publication to which fellows can contribute (note: The SYLFF Newsletter already solicits contributions by SYLFF fellows); (d)networking must relate to fellows' academic and professional interests to motivate their involvement; (e)SYLFF institutions and the Scholarship Division must provide logistical support; and (f)networks should be organized by theme/topic/field. It was agreed that networking must be fellow-centered and that the biggest challenge will be motivating fellows to participate. The participants also emphasized that enabling young people with leadership potential to interact and learn from each other is essential to fostering future leaders.
・SYLFF Regional Forums (Sessions VII and VIII) - Participants concurred that the proposed regional forums will serve to facilitate the consideration of networking and will incorporate most of the suggestions made in relation to the SNP. Nomination forms and procedures were also presented; participants agreed to meet the nomination deadlines (North/South America by January 31, 2003; Africa/Europe by April 1, 2003; and Asia/Pacific by July 1, 2003).
・SYLFF Fellows Mobility Program (FMP) (Session IX) - Discussion focused on the benefits and obstacles of the proposed fellows' mobility scheme within the SYLFF network. Participants offered their views on concrete administrative problems and possible solutions. As institutions expressed varying degrees of interest and ability to participate in the FMP, it was agreed that the Scholarship Division will develop a general convention for further consideration by SYLFF institutions.
Next Steps
・These proceedings are being disseminated to all of the participants and chairpersons of the 65 SYLFF-endowed institutions to help facilitate further discussion within the respective SYLFF Steering Committees and between these committees and The Tokyo Foundation's Scholarship Division.
・Three regional SYLFF forums-North/South America, Africa/Europe and Asia/Pacific-will be convened in April (Austin, Texas), June (Cairo, Egypt) and October (Chiang Mai, Thailand) 2003, respectively, to engage graduated and currently enrolled SYLFF fellows in discussion related to the formation of SYLFF networks and the theme, Multiculturalism: Capitalizing on the Wealth of Diversity.
・Participant-selected representatives of the three forums will meet in December 2003 in Tokyo to share the outcomes of the three forums and to work with the Scholarship Division in further planning.
・The Scholarship Division will continue to communicate with all SYLFF Steering Committees.
・As plans regarding new initiatives are finalized, information will be posted on the Scholarship Division's website http://www.tkfd.or.jp/eng/scholar/index.html and announced in The SYLFF Newsletter (published in February, June and October) to which SYLFF fellows have access.
Summaries of each session follow; references to full texts and other material, including power point presentations are indicated and presented in the Appendices. Questions that were posed to all participants are also shown at the beginning of each session summary.
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