The Ryoichi Sasakawa Young Leaders Fellowship Fund (SYLFF), established in 1987, is celebrating its 20th Anniversary this year. A celebration ceremony will be held at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark on January 16, attended by Mr. Bertel Haarder, Minister for Education of Denmark, and Yohei Sasakawa, Chairman of The Nippon Foundation.

The mission of SYLFF is to enable outstanding students to pursue graduate level study in the social sciences and humanities. Students are chosen who have a high potential for leadership and commitment to exercising leadership in local, national, regional and international affairs, in public as well as in private endeavors. SYLFF's final goal is to nurture future leaders who will transcend geopolitical, religious, ethnic, and cultural boundaries and will contribute to peace and the well-being of humankind. At present, there are 69 universities and consortia (a total of 88 institutions of higher learning) in 45 countries that have received SYLFF endowments and more than 9,000 SYLFF fellows (recipients of SYLFF fellowships).

The SYLFF Program is a collaborative initiative of The Nippon Foundation (the donor of endowments) and The Tokyo Foundation (the program administrator). In this program, selected institutions of higher learning each receive permanent endowments of US$1 million which are invested and managed by the receiving institutions. The earnings from these investments are used to provide fellowships to students enrolled in master's and doctoral degree programs that fall within the parameters of the social sciences, humanities and the performing arts.

Follow-up programs, such as awards for research and social engagement, the SYLFF Prize, and regional forums are implemented to offer fellows opportunities for life-long networking and collaboration vis-a-vis research, social engagement, and exercising leadership.

SYLFF fellows are currently active in the front lines around the world. The 2004 SYLFF Prize recipients, who were recognized for their outstanding leadership in line with the mission and spirit of the SYLFF Program, will speak during the ceremony. They are:
-Amal Jadou, Director General of International Relations, Office of the President, Palestinian Interim Self-Government Authority
-Egla Martinez-Salazar, Assistant Professor, Carleton University
-Goran Svilanovic, Chair Working Table I of the Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe