Sylff News

As 2025 draws to a close, we extend our heartfelt gratitude to all members of the Sylff community for your continued commitment to the ideals and operations of our program. 

This year, we were delighted to welcome many fellows and administrators to our new office following our move to the Sasakawa Peace Foundation Building in the spring. Guests visited us from UC Berkeley, UC San Diego, the University of Chile, INSEAD, Comenius University, Deusto University, the University of Helsinki, the Fletcher School, the University of Texas at Austin, Jadavpur University, Canterbury University, and Jilin University.

In addition, members of the Sylff Association secretariat traveled to meet with university officials, SSC members, and fellows at the University of São Paulo, Princeton University, Columbia University, the Juilliard School, Paris Conservatoire, INSEAD, the University of Jordan, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, the University of Indonesia, Gadjah Mada University, Chiang Mai University, Universiti Malaya, Jadavpur University, Waseda University, Jagiellonian University, the University of Latvia, and Keio University.

These visits provided valuable opportunities to catch up on Sylff program operations at each institution and to connect with both current and graduated fellows.

This year also saw the introduction of new application procedures for the Association’s two support programs. Both Sylff Research Grant (SRG) and Sylff Leadership Initiatives (SLI) now follow unified timeline: calls for applications are announced in April, and applicants are notified of selection outcomes in September. The SRG award amount was increased to a maximum of USD 10,000 for international fieldwork, and efforts were made to enhance fairness in the SLI selection process by enlisting former SLI recipients as peer reviewers.

Follow the links below for news regarding these and other Sylff community activities over the past year. We wish you a joyful and peaceful holiday season and look forward to working with you in the coming year to advance the Sylff mission of developing leaders who bring about positive change in global society and the local community.

Please note that our office will be closed from December 27 to January 4.

Sylff＠Tokyo

Apr 14
Sylff@Tokyo: First Visitors to Our New Office

April 17
Sylff@Tokyo: UC San Diego Fellow Committed to Advancing Economic Betterment for All

May 1
Sylff@Tokyo: Advocating for a More Holistic Approach to Maternal Care

May 12
Sylff@Tokyo: INSEAD Strengthening Ties with Japan through Its Alumni

May 20
Sylff@Tokyo: Comenius University Strengthening Global Ties through International Outreach

May 20
Sylff@Tokyo: A Surprise Visit from a Fellow-Turned-Basque-Minister

Jun 5
Sylff@Tokyo: Deepening Sylff Ties with the University of Helsinki

Jul 10
Fletcher Cyber Expert Discusses Bilateral Security Issues during Japan Visit: Sylff@Tokyo

Aug 20
U of Texas Fellow’s Summer of Sustainable Impact: Sylff@Tokyo

Sep 29
Jadavpur Fellow Examining Policy Paths to Sustainability: Sylff@Tokyo

Oct 14
Impact through Empathy in Redressing Medical Harm: Sylff@Tokyo

Support Programs

Feb 12
Announcement: Updates to Sylff Support Programs in 2025

Feb 17
Sylff Research Grant (SRG) Recipients for Fiscal 2024

April 4
Applications for SRG and SLI in Fiscal 2025 to Open in May

Meetings with Fellows and Administrators

April 14
Event Held in Tokyo for Japanese Translation of Sofia Fellow’s Book

Jun 2
Finding Concrete Solutions to Real-World Issues: Online Orientation Meeting with “Pedro Arrupe” Fellows

Jun 5
Norwegian Foreign Minister Expresses Gratitude for Sylff Fellowship

Jun 19
Chairman Sasakawa Meets with Sussex Fellow During Albania Visit

Sep 8
Sounds of Hope: A Musical Journey from War-Torn Syria to Global Acclaim

Nov 19
Jilin University Delegation Visits Sylff Association Chairman Sasakawa

Across the Sylff Community

Dec 24, 2024
100th Anniversary of Rhapsody in Blue: Juilliard Dean, Fellow Interviewed by NYC Local Media

Feb 13
Invitation to Join the Nippon Foundation Scholars Association (TNFSA)

April 1
A New Start for the Tokyo Foundation

Oct 2
From Gadjah Mada Sylff Fellow to Academic Leadership

Dec 10
Coimbra Fellow Amit Singh Awarded 2025 Nordic Mela Peace Award