About Sylff
Message from Yohei Sasakawa
Sylff was established in 1987. Since then, it has developed ties with 69 universities and consortia of higher learning in 44 countries. I have visited nearly all of these by now, and always enjoy the time I spend with the Sylff fellows I encounter. It is a real privilege to get to know these bright young scholars at some of the world’s leading universities. To all those who have worked so hard on behalf of Sylff, I offer my heartfelt thanks for your commitment to making the program a success.
Much has changed in the world since the program was first conceived. With the collapse of the Cold War structure, we have seen the emergence of a global society, one that is composed of many different value systems.
Today’s world is a complicated place. It resembles a mosaic of disparate political, ethnic, cultural and religious viewpoints. It confronts us with many challenges, ranging from ethnic and religious conflicts to widening inequality. To find solutions to these problems, we need people who are committed to making the world a better place. Nurturing such people has been Sylff’s goal from the outset.
Sylff fellows are motivated by a strong sense of social responsibility and a sense of mission. They come from many different backgrounds and fields of knowledge, but share a common desire to make a positive contribution to our world.
The Sylff network offers them a place where they can pool their considerable talents, cooperate with, and learn from one another. It transcends borders and specializations, provides fellows with fresh insights, and helps them to develop a more global perspective. Of course, Sylff is not the only such network of fellows and alumni. Countless networks exist to build contacts, share information and create business opportunities.
But I believe Sylff stands out because of its fellows’ shared sense of social responsibility and sense of mission, and their desire to contribute to the well-being of the world. In addition, Sylff-endowed schools – the managing institutions – are also actively engaged in nurturing and developing this proactive network.
Through this network, alumni are embarked on a wide range of collaborative endeavors that draw on their diverse backgrounds and areas of expertise. In this way, we want to see the network become a collective force capable of tackling tough issues that can’t be solved by individuals or small groups, and also take on bigger challenges that face the whole of humankind.
Each and every fellow is an outstanding individual in his or her own right. The existence of a Sylff network connecting the world has the potential to enable fellows to become enormously influential, by allowing them to demonstrate their capabilities as public intellectuals in their different fields. The future of Sylff lies with us. Let us join hands and help this network grow.
Yohei Sasakawa
Chairman of The Nippon Foundation
