Alexandra Tamiko Da Dalt, second from right, and David D. Sussman with Sylff Association secretariat members.

On November 2, Alexandra Tamiko Da Dalt, a 2014 Sylff fellowship recipient at Columbia University, visited the Tokyo Foundation and became the first Sylff guest at the Foundation’s new office in Roppongi Grand Tower.

Alexandra completed her master’s studies at Columbia University and is currently affiliated with Refugee Assistance and Information Network International (RAIN International), where she offers technical assistance for and conducts research on refugee resettlement programs.

A fourth-generation Japanese-Canadian, Alexandra visited relatives living in Osaka and Chiba to reconnect with her family roots in Japan. During lunch she described her experience traveling around Okinawa and Hokkaido, the country’s southernmost and northernmost prefectures, which deepened her appreciation of both the natural and cultural heritage of Japan.

Also joining for lunch was David D. Sussman, who received a Sylff fellowship in 2003 while attending the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and who is now a research associate in the Tokyo Foundation’s Policy Research department. He and Alexandra first met in October 2016 at a Sylff fellows’ gathering in New York City, hosted by the Sylff Association. They noted a mutual interest in refugee-related issues and have kept in touch to share information and career insights. The Sylff Association secretariat encourages such networking within the Sylff community.

Sylff fellows and steering committee members are always welcome to stop by the Foundation’s office when visiting Tokyo. We would be more than happy to share the splendid view of the Tokyo skyline from our brand new, thirty-fourth-floor office!

We would like to announce that the fund raising campaign for the Mexico Earthquake closed on October 31, 2017.
Thank you for your interest and donations. We will keep you posted on the progress of Colmex Earthquake Relief activities. You can check it from here.

Sylff Association Secretariat office will be moving to a new address as of October 16, 2017.
Please make a note of changes in our postal address and phone number, as cited below.
We are always very happy to receive Sylff visitors at our office.
Please contact us in advance, and come and enjoy the amazing view of Tokyo Tower from our brand new office on the 34th floor of Roppongi Grand Tower!

1.　New Address
Roppongi Grand Tower, 34th Fl., 3-2-1 Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo, 106-6234, Japan

2.　New Phone Number
Tel 81-3-5797-8402

3.　New Office Opens
Monday, October 16, 2017

4.　Access
Roppongi-itchome Stn. (Nanboku L.): Direct link from Exit 1
Roppongi Stn. (Hibiya L., Oedo L.): 5 min. from Exit 5
Tameike-sanno Stn. (Ginza L., Nanboku L.): 8 min. from Exit 13
Kamiyacho Stn. (Hibiya L.): 10 min. from Exit 2

Dear Sylff Association members,

I am writing to fellow members of the Sylff Association to invite you to join me in supporting fellows at Colmex (El Colegio de México) who are working to help the victims of the September 19 Mexico earthquake.

I am announcing a fund-raising campaign for our Colmex colleagues so they may play an even more proactive role in offering relief to local residents.

The Tokyo Foundation (Sylff Association secretariat) is donating 50,000 US dollars for this cause, and I urge each one of you to pitch in with whatever you can afford.

We have set up a special bank account to receive your donations, as outlined below. The total amount donated will be transferred to Colmex after October 31, so please be sure the donations reach the account by that date.

• Account name: The Tokyo Foundation Sylff Colmex Earthquake Relief Fund
• Account holder’s address: 1-2-2 Akasaka Minato-ku Tokyo 107-0052 Japan
• Bank name: The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Ltd.
• Branch name: Shintomicho 
• Branch number: 749
• Bank address: 1-18-1, Shintomicho, Chuo-ku, Tokyo, 104-0033 Japan
• Account number: 7127240
• Swift code: BOTKJPJT

* Please kindly send your donations in US dollars. The transfer charge for the sending bank will not be refunded. The charges for the receiving bank will be covered by Tokyo Foundation.

For more details, click here.

Your donations will be used to support Colmex fellows and other members who have provided food and supplies to rescuers and affected families in the immediate aftermath of the quake. We will subsequently publish a report on how your donations were used on the Sylff website.

The Sylff Association is a global community ready to come to the aid of those in need, wherever they may be. I look forward to your generous support.

Sincerely,
Yohei Sasakawa
Chairman of the Sylff Association

https://www.sylff.org/support_programs/project_grant/

The Sylff Association is pleased to announce the Sylff Project Grant (SPG).

SPG is intended to support fellows who are deeply engaged in helping resolve issues confronting contemporary society through innovative, pioneering social action projects. The grant supports larger-scale, social-impact projects that can be sustained, enhanced, and expanded over time. Up to US$100,000 is offered per project. Click here to read the call for applications.

https://www.sylff.org/support_programs/sra/

The Sylff Association is pleased to announce the 14 recipients of SRA awards in the first selection round for fiscal 2017. We received a large number of applications from fellows around the world, and the selection process was very competitive. All applications were carefully screened for eligibility, the feasibility of the proposal, and the relevance of the proposed research to the applicant’s academic pursuits. Congratulations to the winning applicants! We send you our best wishes and hope that the findings of your research abroad will further enrich and enhance your dissertation. Here are the 14 awardees. 

*Awardees are listed in alphabetical order.

https://sylff.org/

The Sylff website has been renewed with a new, easy-to-read design and was relaunched on September 1.

The site has new features to encourage networking among Sylff stakeholders and to facilitate the sharing of insights, knowledge, and experiences with fellows in countries around the world.

Some new features include:

• Easier access to Sylff announcements on a variety of platforms (PCs, smartphones, etc.)
• A profile page enabling fellows to share information about academic and social engagement achievements
• Tags to identify fellows by research field or keyword
• Posting of comments on Voices articles

A profile page has already been created for fellows who have submitted a bio and photo when contributing a Voices article or upon receiving a support program grant. Please check your page and update any information as needed. If you don’t yet have a page but wish to be included in the directory, please send us your bio and photo using the profile template available at https://sylff.org/fellows.

Please also tell us what you think about the new site by mailing us at sylff[a]tkfd.or.jp. 
*[a] must be replaced by @

https://www.sylff.org/support_programs/lans/

The Sylff Association is pleased to announce the launch of Local Association Networking Support (LANS).

LANS is a new support program intended to facilitate the organization of gatherings and other activities by groups of Sylff alumni, including local Sylff associations. Groups of five or more fellows/alumni from the same institution can apply to the Sylff Association for a maximum of US$5,000 per gathering to cover the long-distance transportation costs of participating fellows. Click here for details of the announcement.

We look forward to receiving your applications!

Professor Daniela Ostatnikova, center, with Sylff Association secretariat.

Professor Daniela Ostatnikova, Vice-Rector for International Relations at Comenius University in Bratislava and chairperson of the Comenius Sylff steering committee, paid a courtesy visit to the Tokyo Foundation on May 18, 2017.

Comenius University joined the new financial scheme in November 2015. The Sylff program at the university is mostly used to support PhD students’ research in foreign countries. Fellowships contribute not only to enriching academic research but also to developing top students into future leaders, Professor Ostatnikova explained.

Internationalization and democratization are still major challenges for Slovakia, almost 30 years after the collapse of the communist regime. By studying in a foreign country, fellows can learn how things are organized and function in a democratic society, equipping them with the capacity to contribute to turning Slovakia into a sustainable democracy.

As the Sylff Association secretariat, the Tokyo Foundation is delighted to learn that the Sylff program plays an important role in Slovakia’s development and democratization. We are grateful to the Comenius Sylff steering committee for actively putting into practice Sylff’s leadership development mission and for using Sylff funds effectively.

The Sylff Association secretariat is very pleased to have received many applications for an SLI grant. We see this as a sign that fellows share the ideals of the Sylff mission and are eager to take the small steps that can make a big difference in people’s lives.

To facilitate the task of describing initiatives and their expected outcomes, we have slightly revised the Call for Applications and application forms: https://www.sylff.org/support_programs/sli/call-for-applications

The new Call for Applications highlights the importance given during the screening process to whether the proposed project was actually initiated by the fellow and the extent to which it can be expected to have real-world impact.

When submitting a preliminary application (concept paper), please use the form downloadable from the above website.

We look forward to receiving your application and to supporting your initiatives!