- Date: Tuesday, November 8, 2011, 1:30-5:30 pm
- Venue: Lecture Hall, International House of Japan
- Admission: Free (reservation required)
- Language: English/Japanese (with simultaneous translation)
- Moderator: Suzuki Yuji (Professor, Hosei University; ALFP Advisory Committee member)
The world today is caught up in conflict and disaster. More than fifty ongoing conflicts resulting from inter-state or intra-state political disputes, primarily located in Asia and Africa, represent a daunting challenge to us all, particularly to believers in fundamental democratic rights for all. Natural disaster, on the other hand, has emerged as another massive challenge to humanity in recent years (the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, the 2005 Himalayan earthquake, the 2008 Sichuan earthquake, and the 2011 Japan earthquake, etc.).
Ironically, political conflicts divide nations and communities. Natural disasters, on the contrary, unite humanity. The overwhelming response to major disasters in Asia since 2004 testifies to the impulse to help other humans in distress. And herein lies an opportunity for civil society: mitigating political conflict and serving humans in distress.
The seven fellows of the Asia Leadership Fellow Program (ALFP), who have interacted with each other and with civil society in Japan for the past two months, will be sharing their thoughts on the realities of the situation as well as on what can go beyond disasters and conflicts.
[Panelists]
Session 1: Roadblocks and Challenges
Global Geo-Politics: Roadblocks and Challenges for Civil Society
Imtiaz Gul (Pakistan) Executive Director/Founder, Centre for Research and Security Studies
Report from Afghanistan’s “Forgotten Province”:
Challenges to Reconstruction and Governance
Imai Chihiro (Japan) Former First Secretary at the Embassy of Japan in Afghanistan
Reconciliation after the War: Challenges in Sri Lanka and Best Practices from Asia
Jehan Perera (Sri Lanka) Executive Director, National Peace Council
Session 2: Hopes and Possibilities: Any Hopes?
Strengthening the Role of Civil Society in Indonesia after Disaster and Conflict
Miryam Saravasti Nainggolan (Indonesia) Board Chair, Pulih Foundation;
Center for Trauma Recovery and Psychosocial Empowerment
The Role of Education for Building a Civil Society in Vietnam
Vuong Thanh Huong (Vietnam) Senior Researcher, Director of Center for Education Information, Vietnam Institute of Educational Sciences
Reciprocity, Resilience, Survival and Sustainability of Local Communities: The Case of the Philippines and Lessons for Japan
Elmer Sayre (Philippines)
In-House Adviser, Water, Agroforestry, Nutrition and Development (WAND) Foundation
China’s Civil Society in a Comparative Perspective: China and Japan
Zhang Yali (China) Research Assistant, Department of Political Affairs, United Nations
For profiles of the fellows, please see this page.
ALFP Public Seminar
“Ten Years after 9.11: What Have We Gained and What Have We Lost?”
The ALFP 2011 fellows will be engaging in a discussion with Prof. Isezaki Kenji of the Tokyo University of Foreign Studies. Prof. Isezaki will talk about how the world, especially Asia, has changed a decade after 9.11 and the destabilized future of South Asia. This seminar will be open to the public.
- Date: Thursday, October 6, 2011, 3:00-5:00 pm
- Venue: Lecture Hall, International House of Japan
- Speaker: Isezaki Kenji (Professor, Tokyo University of Foreign Studies)
- Admission: Free (reservation required)
- Language: English (no Japanese translation provided)
- Capacity: 50 persons
ALFP Secretariat
c/o Program Department
International House of Japan
5-11-16 Roppongi, Minato-ku Tokyo 106-0032 JAPAN
Tel: +81-3-3470-3211 Fax: +81-3470-3170
E-mail: alfp*i-house.or.jp (Please replace * with @)