(NEWS) 2024 Sasakawa Fellows Reception

November

2024

2024 Sasakawa Fellows Reception

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The annual Sasakawa Fellows Reception, hosted by The Nippon Foundation, was held at WMU on 31 October in the Sasakawa Auditorium. The 30 students in the Class of 2024, who were sponsored by The Nippon Foundation, were honored as WMU Sasakawa Fellows. The total number of WMU students who have received Sasakawa Fellowships to study at WMU now stands at 821 individuals from over 80 countries, including the 30 Fellowship Students in the Class of 2025.

Mr Eisuke Kudo, Special Advisor to the Ocean Policy Research Institute (OPRI) and Sasakawa Peace Foundation (SPF), welcomed the distinguished guests, WMU faculty and staff, family members of the Fellows, and Sasakawa Fellowship Students in the Class of 2024 and 2025. Mr. Kudo congratulated the graduands and wished them success as the newest Sasakawa Fellows and future maritime and ocean leaders from WMU.

In his remarks, Professor Maximo Q. Mejia, Jr., WMU President, thanked The Nippon Foundation for their varied and continuing support to the University since 1987, including engagement with the Sasakawa Fellows and extended WMU community. He noted that the significant support from The Nippon Foundation is essential to ensuring WMU continues as an exceptional center of learning for the benefit of our ocean and our planet. He encouraged the new Sasakawa Fellows to take advantage of the invaluable connections possible through the extensive Sasakawa Fellows network.

Mr Mitsuyuki Unno, Executive Director of The Nippon Foundation, addressed the gathering and congratulated the students on the completion of their studies. He highlighted that the University goes beyond awarding degrees. In addition, it cultivates future professionals who make a positive impact on society. He encouraged the Fellows to utilize the knowledge and experience gained at WMU as a foundation as they return to their home countries and take an active role in the international community. Mr Unno emphasized that there is a limit to what can be solved by the effort of one country, institution and individual. “In order to pass the ocean on to future generations we need to work across disciplines, professions and borders,” said Mr Unno. He encouraged the Fellows to make use of resources available to them, including the WMU-Sasakawa Global Ocean Institute (GOI) and extended WMU Sasakawa Fellows network. Mr Unno welcomed the graduands to the family of Sasakawa Fellows and presented them each with a certificate. Upon receiving the honor of Fellow, each recipient also became a member of the Friends of WMU, Japan.

At a reception following the ceremony, remarks on behalf of the Sasakasawa Fellowship Students in the Class of 2025 were made by Mr Damian Tiscornia from Argentina. He thanked The Nippon Foundation for the opportunity to be part of the Sasakawa Fellows family, saying, “We have made wonderful friends and an international network that will continue with us when we leave WMU.”

Ms Jasmine Bellini from Belize spoke on behalf of the Class of 2024 Sasakawa Fellows. She thanked The Nippon Foundation for the exceptional opportunity to study at WMU, saying, “We all have aspirations for our countries that we are trying to achieve and that is why we are here. An institution like WMU allows us the opportunity to explore those aspirations, and the results will be seen in the future by the great work that we will do in our home countries.”

With this ceremony, the Class of 2024 Fellows officially joined the global network of individuals whose lives have been changed by accepting their roles as Sasakawa Fellows. “Share the Pain. Share the Hope. Share the Future,” reflects The Nippon Foundation’s mission of social innovation to achieve a society where people support one another.

About The Nippon Foundation’s Support to WMU

Through the mission of social innovation, The Nippon Foundation aims to achieve a society where all people support one another, reducing the burdens and challenges they face by working together. The Nippon Foundation’s contributions to WMU began in 1987 with providing fellowships for WMU students. The WMU Sasakawa Fellowship Programme began in 1988. The Nippon Foundation is the largest fellowship donor to the University, providing 30 new awards on an annual basis.

In addition to providing Fellowships, The Nippon Foundation usually hosts a week-long field study to Japan, although this was not possible during the COVID-19 pandemic. Since 2001, SPF has regularly hosted Regional Network Meetings for WMU Sasakawa Fellows. The Nippon Foundation further supports the capacity building mission of WMU by substantially funding the WMU-Sasakawa Global Ocean Institute, as well as funding seven Professorial Chairs and numerous conferences and events connected with WMU.

Each year, a limited number of Sasakawa Fellowships are open to government employees from developing countries. The Sasakawa Fellowship Awards Committee looks for well qualified candidates with a strong academic and professional record. Candidates aged between 26 and 35 are prioritized. Interested applicants should apply for admission to the University, and in tandem, should submit an Application for Donor Funding from their organizations, plus a Sasakawa Fellowship Motivational Statement, completed by the candidate. It is essential that both these forms are completed in detail. Complete applications must be sent to the University by the end of January in the year of entry. For more information, click here.

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