Reflections on the Human Condition - Api-fellowships.org

10
x
WELCOME SPEECH
Yohei Sasakawa
Chairman of The Nippon Foundation
It is a great honor and pleasure for me to have the
opportunity to meet the 4 th Group of API Fellows here
tonight. It is also a tremendous honor to meet His Royal
Highness Raja Nazrin Shah ibni Sultan Azlan Shah, a
leading public intellectual in Malaysia; Professor Dato’
Dr. Mohammed Salleh Mohammed Yasin, Vice
Chancellor of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia; once
again, the members of the International Selection
Committee, and the Directors of the institutions
collaborating with The Nippon Foundation in this
program.
I would also like to take this opportunity to express
my sincere appreciation to the late Professor Dr. Ishak
Shari, the former Director of IKMAS, Professor Dr.
Ragayah Haj. Mat Zin, Director of IKMAS, and Ms.
Dorothy Fernandez-Robert, API Program Coordinator
at IKMAS for their firm commitment and hard work as
the first Coordinating Institution of the API Fellowship
Program from the year 2000 to May this year. Without
the wonderful institutional support provided by IKMAS
and the strong personal commitment of these three
individuals, the API Fellowships Program would not be
what it is today. I would also like to express my deepest
gratitude to the three people from the Institute of Asian
Studies at Chulalongkorn University who worked very
hard in preparing this workshop: Professor Dr. Supang
Chantavanich, the Director, Associate Professor Surichai
Wun’Gaeo, Deputy Director, and Ms. Michiko Yoshida,
the API Program Coordinator. Last but not least, I
would also like to express my appreciation to the
Workshop Director, Professor Dato’ Dr. Abdul Rahman
Embong.
As you know, the first East Asia Summit will be held here
in Malaysia next month. Participants will be engaging
in discussions towards the creation of a new regional
community. Asia faces many transnational issues that
threaten people’s livelihoods. These include pressing issues
such as terrorism and bird flu, as well as poverty,
environmental destruction, ethnic conflict, and religious
conflict, to name a few. And these issues are closely
intertwined with the wave of globalization sweeping the
world today.
Asia is home to various regional networks among
Ref lections on the Human Condition: Change, Conflict and Modernity
The Work of the 2004/2005 API Fellows
governments as well as international organizations.
However, it is evident that these mechanisms are not
always successful in resolving regional issues due to
reasons ranging from national interest and laws to
bureaucracy.
It is also undeniable that the lack of knowledge in Asian
countries about their neighbors is making it difficult
to address these various problems. Until now we have
looked to the West as our primary source of information
on our neighbors, and have been far from enthusiastic
about visiting our neighboring countries to see things
with our own eyes and learn from direct experience.
An important objective of the API Fellowships Program
is to learn about our neighbors and gain access to
information about them that is not filtered through
Western eyes. Another important goal of the program
is to generate ideas for resolving the common issues
that face Asia, contributing to the public good from a
private standpoint. It then aims to put these ideas to
action, either independently or in collaboration with
governmental organizations. My wish is for all members
of the API Community, regardless of their position
or profession, to deepen their understanding of their
neighbors, and keep the greater interest of Asia in mind
at all times, changing things for the better by putting
their knowledge and experience to practical use.
In Japan we have the phrase Chigyogoitsu or “Unity of
Knowledge and Action”. It means that knowledge
becomes meaningful only when put to practical use.
What is expected of API Fellows—as public intellectuals—
is to make their knowledge public. In other words, they
must open up new paths for putting their knowledge
and ideas to use towards social change. Public intellectuals
themselves may serve as torchbearers for these activities,
or they may make their ideas public, and mobilize
organizations and individuals towards their cause.
Either way, public intellectuals are expected to take on
the role of change agent.
This program has produced over 150 API Fellows in
the past five years. Many of these Fellows are using
the knowledge and experience gained during their
fellowship period in neighboring countries to bring