Nippon Foundation Fellowships Program celebrates 10th anniversary
MANILA, Philippines - The Nippon Foundation Fellowships for Asian Public Intellectuals (API Fellowships Program) commemorates its 10th Anniversary Regional Celebration in Manila from May 28 to 30. The program is hosted by the Ateneo de Manila University and the celebration consists of three main events, namely, “Symposium – Asia: Identity, Vision and Position” on May 28; the “Conference – Asian Conditions, Communities and Directions” on May 29; and “Creative Index: An Exhibition” on the May 30.
Fellows from the program’s five participating countries (Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Thailand) will be brought together, not only to honor the program’s 10th year, but also to discuss the current state of Asia and the role it must play in the region’s multidimensional but unending search for equitable progress, social justice and a dignified position in a rapidly globalizing and shrinking world.
Speakers joining the celebration are Dr. Benedict R. O’G. Anderson, renowned for his landmark studies of Southeast Asia and commentaries on historical and social developments; Dr. Krisana Kraisintu, 2009 Ramon Magsaysay Award recipient recognized for her tireless efforts in making drugs for the treatment of HIV/AIDS more accessible; and Dr. Jomo K. S., assistant secretary-general for economic development in the United Nations Department for Economics and Social Affairs (DESA); and an API fellow as well, is an internationally respected economist known for his contribution to the understanding of the different dimensions of Asia’s changing position within the context of globalization.
The API Fellowships Program was launched in July 2000 as a multinational program designed to create a pool of public intellectuals—academics, researchers, media professionals, NGO activists, social workers, public servants, artists, creative writers and others – committed to promoting mutual learning and contributing to public spaces which could generate effective responses to challenges through regional cooperation. Currently, there are over 270 recipients of the API Fellowships.
The Nippon Foundation chairman, Yohei Sasakawa says, “The Program’s aim was to identify and nurture committed public intellectuals and form them into a regional network. It is my fervent wish that this distinctive community will develop into an organization that can assert its collective intellectual and practical influence for the betterment of societies.”
In 2006, fellows formed the API Regional Committee and, subsequently, launched the Regional Project in 2008. This venture is currently ongoing and serves as the concrete realization of the cooperative effort initially envisioned by the Program.
The celebration is jointly organized by the Nippon Foundation and the following partner institutions including the Indonesian Institute of Sciences, the Center for Southeast Asian Studies of Kyoto University, the Institute of Malaysian and International Studies of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, the School of Social Sciences of Ateneo de Manila University, and the Institute of Asian Studies of Chulalongkorn University.
For more information on the API Fellowships Program, check the website http://www.api-fellowships.org.
