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Fellows in Action

Regional Forum

The SYLFF North/South America Regional Forum: Uniting Members of a Special Family

Séverine Minot

In 2005, when I was offered a SYLFF Fellowship, I knew how privileged I was to have been selected by York University, though at that time I could only imagine the opportunities that could come about by being part of an interdisciplinary network of students and graduates all over the world. I could only imagine how much expertise the 9,000-strong SYLFF network actually represents. I was awed to think that as SYLFF fellows we could form lifelong friendships, establish transnational partnerships, pool resources for good causes, learn from each other, and possibly help make the world a better place through our work. This realization came to me as I was packing my clothes to travel to Boston, Massachusetts, USA, near to where the SYLFF North/South America Regional Forum would be held June 11th–15th, 2007, at Tufts University’s Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, an institution renowned for its scholarship in international studies and, I might add, a place where stellar SYLFF fellows have studied and where many continue to refine their competencies.

Notably, the opening address of the forum was presented by Amal Jadou, a graduate of The Fletcher School who comes from Palestine and who was awarded one of the three inaugural SYLFF Prizes in 2004. She is now working as director general of international relations in the Office of the President of the Palestinian Interim Self-Government Authority. The theme for this year’s forum was Human Rights and Creative Leadership, and what better way to begin this forum but with a poignant speech by a woman who witnesses human rights violations every day in the context of the Israeli occupation of Palestine. Her address reminded us all that human rights are not about picking a side in the context of a politico-cultural polemic, but rather that armed conflict obstructs the fulfillment of basic human entitlements, and that peace needs its militants, too, especially when the lives of innocent women, children, and men are on the line, regardless of their geopolitical location.

Each forum day was jam-packed with content, and the schedule left little room for anything else. On the first day, the current SYLFF Fellows Council presented a very useful tool kit—Networking and Programs for Social Action (NAPSA)—to help SYLFF fellows associations be more proactive in consolidating the SYLFF network and promoting social action within their respective communities. Already we could feel that the strength of the SYLFF network lies in the leadership of its fellows. Council members worked hard to provide us with tools and strategies for team-building. They organized and facilitated a series of workshops that stimulated us to think about ways to bolster the bonds that unite us as SYLFF fellows and to encourage social benevolence.

On the second day, all the SYLFF fellows were in top shape and ready to present their work and reflections on human rights and creative leadership. In the morning, the oral-presentations session was eloquently facilitated by Professor Jeremy Sarkin, a visiting law professor from the University of the Western Cape in South Africa (a SYLFF institution), whose numerous publications include his recently co-authored Reconciliation in Transitional Societies (2006). The topics of the SYLFF fellows’ presentations covered a range of issues, including poverty and local approaches to the UN’s Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), regional human rights systems and the situation in Asia, the provision of health care in crisis zones, models of response to trans-boundary floods, amnesty in the context of political transitions, human rights jurisprudence, and conceptions of human rights in corporate settings. In the afternoon, the current SYLFF Fellows Council followed through with additional NAPSA workshops.

The treat of the day was, perhaps, a lecture on music as a means of social action in Africa. That was followed by a memorable organ performance by Patrick Kabanda (a SYLFF brother from Uganda). Spirits were lifted instantly by the sound of his renditions of classical pieces and classical-African fusion music.

In the evening, poster presentations were made, showcasing the work of other SYLFF fellows. Although everyone was tired from a full day of presentations and workshops, the atmosphere was quite lively and collegial. The poster presentations covered a wide variety of topics, including access to quality regional education in Cambodia, human rights and stakeholders’ responsibilities for a global social project, the factors of infant mortality in Mexico, the human rights implications of immigration policies and temporary work in Canada, and Mahatma Gandhi’s historical influence as a human rights icon. There were many more poster presentations, though with limited time and dwindling energy levels, it was impossible for me to stop at every station to hear about the valuable work of all of my SYLFF brothers and sisters.

In the morning of the third day, we took a bus to ‘Cradles to Crayons’, a local non-profit organization that collects donations of toys and other items for children, and redistributes them free of charge to needy families. In addition to bringing donated items, we spent the morning helping out with various tasks. Some of us sorted shoes and boots, or toys, while others went through the aisles filling orders for families in need. We all felt elated with a sense of instant gratification; helping those in need tends to do that. What was special though, more special than any other volunteer experience I’ve ever had, was that we were pooling our energies. We were working with the knowledge that our collective efforts were serving a greater good. I believe this was a vital experience that marks us as proud SYLFF fellows.

Later, back at Fletcher in the afternoon, elections were held for two positions on the SYLFF Fellows Council. A number of us ran as self-nominated candidates, hoping to be chosen as representatives for the Americas. All the candidates deserved to win, because all showed a tremendous level of commitment to what SYLFF stands for. Moreover, every candidate demonstrated worthwhile qualities, such as integrity, leadership, kindness, dynamism, and so on.

It was hard to really grasp what was at stake. Most of us didn’t know each other before this forum. In just three days, we met, worked, ate, and played together; we became friends and earned each other’s trust. In the end, I and Frederick Chieux, a graduate from the University of Texas at Austin, were elected to represent the Americas on the SYLFF Fellows Council for the next two years. I was, and remain, honored and truly grateful for the vote of confidence of my SYLFF peers. We will join Jeanne Lee and Sherilyn Tan Siy (incumbent members of the Council since 2005) and five other newly elected members (three for the Africa/Europe region and two for the Asia/Pacific region), as we begin our term of service in January 2008.

I remain particularly appreciative of the exceptional graciousness of our hosts—Ellen Mashiko, Isamu Maruyama, and Eriko Ishikawa of the Tokyo Foundation—as well as Gerard Sheehan and Nora Moser McMillan of the Fletcher School, who made it possible for us SYLFF fellows to settle in for the entirety of the forum. Last, the most memorable thing of all, aside from meeting peers and making friends, was coming to the full realization of how privileged I am to be part of a network, a family of exceptional people: people who are, indeed, some of the best and brightest.

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