About Sylff
Reflections on the Sylff Program (2 of 4)
Ellen E. Mashiko
There are many “stories to tell” of individuals and groups of fellows who are fulfilling the Sylff mission and living its vision―the founder of a scholarship program which enables youngsters from rural villages to attend high school and requires them to return home to teach villagers in their respective dialects during vacation periods; a recent foreign minister and now a leader in a turbulent region; a group of junior university faculty members who have helped transform an impoverished community through an environmental project; young musicians who organize and perform charity concerts to benefit orphanages; and much more. Their stories underscore the fact that Sylff fellows indeed act and have an impact far beyond the Sylff community.
The engine which drives the Sylff Program is its endowment scheme. Rather than the donor (The Nippon Foundation) or the program administrator (The Tokyo Foundation) receiving applications from individuals, universities throughout the world are invited to submit applications to receive endowments or permanent funds of US$1 million each. Selected institutions then invest and manage their Sylff endowments, and use the earnings on their investments to provide Sylff fellowships to graduate-level, enrolled students thus empowering the universities and allowing them to plan over the long-term because they have a sustainable source of revenue. In other words, the endowment scheme generates ownership and takes away uncertainty so a stable program can be planned and implemented.
The Sylffinstitutions also decide on the academic disciplines or themes of their fellowship programs. Examples of theme-based fellowship programs include “Pluralisms, Conflict Resolution and Democratic Governance” (Gadjah Mada University, Indonesia) and “Historical and Contemporary Perspectives on the Socio-economic, Political and Cultural Dimensions of Human Development” (Jawaharlal Nehru University, India). There are also mechanisms for endowed-universities to alter the academic disciplines or themes of their fellowship programs after a period of time to meet changing needs and priorities.
The lubricants which have helped keep the engine running are the so-called follow-up programs implemented by The Tokyo Foundation for enrolled and graduated Sylff fellows and endowed-university administrators, and online and face-to-face contact which have fostered a sense of belonging and ownership of the Sylff Program by all and mutual trust. Even hybrid vehicles require lubricants to increase the ease of their functioning. In much the same way, the Sylff engine requires lubricants not only to improve its functioning but also to help ensure that the engines power Sylff vehicles to follow a mutual road map (mission) to reach an ultimate goal (vision).
There are currently 68 endowed universities and consortia in 44 countries that make up a colorful parade of Sylff vehicles of different years, makes and models but they share a fundamental commitment to academic excellence and educating and nurturing the next generations to help ensure that the world will be a better place for all. Sylff vehicles travel different roads―some smooth and straight, others filled with pot-holes and sometimes requiring detours―but they are headed in the same direction.
I vividly recall attending a meeting of representatives of African NGOs and U.S. foundations several years ago in New York City. Although I was an observer, I was called upon to introduce the Sylff Program. The first question which I received from a foundation representative was, “Do you actually trust all of the universities to manage their endowments and to administer their fellowship programs?” The second interjection came from a representative of an African NGO who clapped her hands and said, “That’s just what we need, not vast amounts but permanent funds that will enable us to develop and implement strategic plans, and sustain and nurture our organization’s projects. We are responsible people and want to be trusted and encouraged.”
It took some discipline for me to stifle a clap and cheer while first explaining that the foundation and prospective recipient universities engage in considerable discussion about where and how the endowment will be invested, transparent and equitable administration and focus of the fellowship program, participation in the Sylff network, and the submission of annual reports. Then I said clearly, mostly for the U.S. foundation representatives, yes, we trust the universities―the endowment is theirs, in perpetuity, barring any gross mismanagement and the foundations’ (donor and program administrator) commitment to the universities and fellows is life-long.
This and many other first-hand experiences have underscored that the Sylff Program is based upon and thrives on mutual learning, trust and collaboration between and among the foundations (The Nippon Foundation and The Tokyo Foundation), endowed universities and the more than 10,000 Sylff fellows.
