OSAKA, JAPAN (January 10, 2019) - The East-West Center in Washington (EWCW), in collaboration with the Osaka School of International Public Policy (OSIPP) at Osaka University, launched the inaugural class of the U.S.-Japan-Southeast Asia Partnership in a Dynamic Asia fellowship today. Six fellows from the U.S., Japan, Vietnam, and the Philippines attended their first program at OSIPP, where they were greeted by EWCW Director Dr. Satu Limaye and Co-Director of the OSIPP International Academic Forum Dr. Haruko Satoh. This event kicks off three months of activities as the fellows travel throughout Japan and the Washington D.C.-area to conduct research through participation in high-level meetings, workshops, and seminars.

The U.S.-Japan-Southeast Asia Partnership in a Dynamic Asia fellowship is generously funded by The Japan Foundation and the U.S. Embassy Tokyo. This year, the fellows will be conducting research answering the thematic question: how should the U.S., Japan, and Southeast Asia collaborate on trade, investment, and economic integration in Southeast Asia? The fellowship aims to expand existing academic and policy networks by bringing together experts from these regions to generate innovative policy ideas linked to a trilateral relationship of growing importance.

"By bringing together rising professionals and experts from the U.S., Japan, and Southeast Asia together for research, education, and exchange activities, the program seeks to build a cohort that has better mutual appreciation for opportunities to collaborate across a range of disciplines and policy-relevant issues," said Dr. Limaye. "Each fellow's individual work theme will be informed by their cohort's perspectives and topics as well as officials and experts from the U.S., Japan, and Southeast Asia. We are grateful to the Japan Foundation and the U.S. Embassy Tokyo for funding."

"The Japan and Southeast Asia relationship is one of the most overlooked, but a very important relationship to consider, particularly to this region," said Dr. Satoh. "This project itself comes at a very fortuitous moment, that is why the Japan Foundation has supported a project like this involving the U.S., Japan, and ASEAN."

The U.S.-Japan-Southeast Asia Partnership in a Dynamic Asia fellowship is a two-year program with the first and second classes of fellows convening in the winters of 2019 and 2020, respectively. At the conclusion of the program, fellows from both classes will present their research at a capstone conference in Southeast Asia to engage the academic and policy communities.

The East-West Center promotes better relations and understanding among the people and nations of the United States, Asia, and the Pacific through cooperative study, research, and dialogue. Established by the U.S. Congress in 1960, the Center serves as a resource for information and analysis on critical issues of common concern, bringing people together to exchange views, build expertise, and develop policy options. The Center is an independent, public, nonprofit organization with funding from the U.S. government, and additional support provided by private agencies, individuals, foundations, corporations, and governments in the region.

 

Over more than fifty years of serving as a U.S.-based institution for public diplomacy in the Asia Pacific region with international governance, staffing, students, and participants, the Center has built a worldwide network of 65,000 alumni and more than 1,100 partner organizations. The Center’s 21-acre Honolulu campus, adjacent to the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, is located midway between Asia and the U.S. mainland and features research, residential, and international conference facilities. The Center’s Washington, D.C., office focuses on preparing the United States for an era of growing Asia Pacific prominence.

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For more information on the U.S.-Japan-Southeast Asia Partnership in a Dynamic Asia fellowship, please visit our website or contact Sarah Wang at (202) 327-9755 or wangs@eastwestcenter.org . For media inquiries, please contact Karen Mascariñas at (202) 327-9758 or mascarik@eastwestcenter.org.