A two-day international seminar on “Challenges of Development in North East India: Issues and Concerns” was held at the University of Delhi on November 3 and 4, 2011.

The conference was convened by Kamei Aphun, assistant professor in the Department of Sociology, Delhi School of Economics, University of Delhi. Aphun received a Sylff fellowship from Jawaharlal Nehru University in 2004 and 2005.

In his description of the conference’s theme in the opening session, Aphun outlined the need to study North East India from a wider perspective using a multidisciplinary approach. The region shares borders with five different Southeast Asian and South Asian countries and is of great geostrategic importance.

While many people regard studies of North East India to be limited value, he argued that the region’s proximity to South East Asia was an advantage that can be used to promote tourism and bilateral trade and commerce.

There are also good prospects in the development of sports, horticulture, handicrafts and agro-based industries, in which the region has recently become a leader in India. The region is not only rich in flora and fauna but is also important for anthropological research.

Kamei

At the same time, he noted, it has recently been marked by such problems as growing militancy and insurgencies, ethnic conflict and violence, illegal immigration, and environment-related problems. These issues need to be contextualized within a larger framework of regional economic development and prosperity, compared with the development of the country as a whole.

The conference’s technical sessions addressed such issues “State, Ethnicity, and Development,” “Environment, Culture, and Polity,” the 1958 Armed Forces Special Powers Act that conferred special powers on armed forces in the country’s “disturbed areas,” “Identity, Conflicts, and Violence,” and “Government Policies, Economy, and Gender.”

The seminar was well attended and also featured paper presentations, an exhibition of books, documentary screenings, and special cultural programs.

A lecturer at the Comenius University in Bratislava and a researcher at the Human Rights League, Bratislava, Helena Tužinská has recently published English translations of reports based on anthropological observations of communication between immigrants and lawyers.

Tužinská received a Sylff fellowship in 1998 (as an MA student) and 2000 (as a PhD candidate) while attending Comenius University in Bratislava. “Both of the scholarships in an international academic environment gave me a solid opportunity to address the relevant issues,” Tužinská notes, “which became a base for further investigation.” Continue reading →

Floods in Thailand affected over 12.8 million people in 2011, and the World Bank estimates that damages would reach 1,440 billion baht ($45 billion).

We at the Tokyo Foundation extend our deepest condolence to the victims of the disaster and their families. Although restoration efforts are making progress, a full recovery is still far off.

At the time of the national crisis, Chiang Mai University’s Sylff fellows and steering committee members launched a donation project to support the reconstruction drive. The following is a message from Dr. Sidthinat Prabudhanitisarn, chair of the university’s Sylff steering committee and dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences.

We hope that you will generously support this initiative by the Sylff community in Thailand.

Message from Dean Sidthinat Prabudhanitisarn

Dear friends of the Tokyo Foundation,

I hope this letter finds you well and enjoying the holiday season in the company of family and friends. I would like to take this opportunity to offer my gratitude once again for your warm and generous sympathy and support in the wake of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami. Continue reading →

Dorjkhuu(center)

Dorjkhuu Otgontuya of Mongolia visited the Tokyo Foundation on October 31, the last day of her stay in Japan. She participated in a two-week training course implemented by the Asian Productivity Organization.

She received a Sylff scholarship in 2009 while studying at the Academy of Management. She is now enrolled in a PhD program there. Continue reading →

A symposium commemorating the twentieth anniversary of the Sylff program at Columbia University was held on November 11, 2011.

The theme of the conference was "Borders and Frontiers: Connections between Power, Ideology, and Identity in Southeast Asia." This is a region marked by perhaps the greatest diversity in the world, in terms of ethnicity, religion, and ideology.

Speakers and other participants of the Weatherhead conference.

Continue reading →

Sylff@Tokyo

We were delighted to welcome many Sylff fellows and other members of the Sylff community to our office in Tokyo this year. Articles detailing the visits can be accessed by clicking on the names/links below. We hope to welcome many more visitors in 2012, so please be sure to contact us when you have plans to come to Japan!

Dorjkhuu Otgontuya (Mongolia), Madhuchanda Ghosh (India), Kurtis Nakamura and Judith Li (United States), Lars Gaupset (Norway), Noah Smith (United States), Yusuke Tanaka (Japan) and Roman Pasca (Romania), Christina Davis (Princeton University, United States), Takeo Hoshi (UCSD, United States), Abu Shonchoy (Bangladesh), Waseda University award ceremony. Continue reading →

Madhuchanda(left)

Madhuchanda Ghosh from India visited the Tokyo Foundation on October 13 and 26. She was one of the first Sylff fellows at Jadavpur University in Kolkata, India, and is currently head of the Political Science Department at Panchur College, Calcutta University.

She specializes in Japan-India relations and was invited by the Japan Foundation to conduct research in Japan. During her stay, she interviewed several Japanese lawmakers. At the Tokyo Foundation, she met with researchers Tsuneo Watanabe, Shoichi Katayama, and Ippeita Nishida and exchanged opinions on security issues in East Asia, including China. Continue reading →

Dejan Šoškić, governor of the National Bank of Serbia, expressed gratitude for the opportunities that a Sylff fellowship provided in enabling him to receive an excellent education and meet outstanding fellows from other countries.

Members of the Tokyo Foundation visited Šoškić in October 2011 following a trip to the University of Belgrade—Šoškić's alma mater and the tenth university to join the Sylff community. The visit was made with members of the university's Sylff steering committee.

Šoškić's contributions to Serbia's national development are well known among the university's fellows, who—SSC members noted—are proud of his accomplishments and look to him as a model for their own careers. Watch a video of Šoškić's comments at: www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_PzwVklcmc

(From left to right) Marko Ivetic, vice-rector, University of Belgrade; Ljiljana Markovic, vice-dean, Faculty of Philology, University of Belgrade; Yoko Kaburagi, program officer for leadership development, Tokyo Foundation; Branko Kovacevic, rector, University of Belgrade; Dusan Nikezic, state secretary, Ministry of Finance, Republic of Serbia; Šoškić; Takashi Suzuki, director for leadership development, Tokyo Foundation.

“Perspectives on Difference” Workshop in Helsinki

In October 2011 the University of Helsinki in Finland commemorated the twentieth anniversary of the Sylff program. Rector Thomas Wilhelmsson gave an opening speech followed by a greeting from Hiroshi Maruyama, the Japanese ambassador to Finland.

“Twenty years ago, when the Sylff program was established here, Helsinki was a very domestic university,” the Rector said. “But we have globalized significantly over the past two decades, and I think Sylff has made a major contribution to this development.” Continue reading →