HIDA JOURNAL 2014 SPRING No.4

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No.4 SPRING 2014 19Regional Federations of HIDA-AOTS Alumni SocietiesHIDA-AOTS Alumni Societies are non-profit organizations voluntarily founded in different parts of the world by ex-participants of HIDA (former AOTS) training programs to come together based on their common experience of participating in training in Japan. As of December 2013, 71 Alumni Societies have been established in 43 countries and are aiming to contribute to the economic and industrial development of their own countries and to the enhancement of friendly relationships with Japan and other countries.These HIDA-AOTS Alumni Societies also form regional federations in six regions in the world (Northeast Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, Africa, Latin America and Europe), which meet at regular intervals and are actively working to promote inter-regional cooperation. In this issue, let’s look at regional federation conferences in South Asia and Latin America.The 10th Conference of the South Asian Federation of AOTS Alumni Societies (SAFAAS)The 10th Conference of the South Asian Federation of AOTS Alumni Societies (SAFAAS) was held on September 28 and 29, 2013, in Cox’s Bazar, one of the most-visited tourist destinations in Bangladesh. This conference was participated in by about 120 people, including about 50 non-Bangladeshi participants from neighboring countries (including families of Alumni members), and was attended by the representatives (alumni chairpersons or board members) of 11 out of the 16 Alumni Societies in six countries (Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Iran) that form the SAFAAS, as well as participants from HIDA, including President Kaneko, three interns* and I (Masami Tada).In the opening ceremony on the 28th, President Kaneko, who gave a speech after a host’s address by Mr. Mohammed Feroz Shah, Chairperson of the Chattagram AOTS Alumni Society (CAAS), said, “We, at HIDA, are hoping to further strengthen our relationship with the SAFAAS, which covers some areas showing marked economic growth and is working particularly actively through the Global Interface Japan (GIJ) project etc.” Then, following speeches by guests, including H.E. Shiro Sadoshima, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Japan to Bangladesh, Mr. Takao Toda, Chief Representative of JICA Bangladesh Office and Mr. Kei Kawano, Director of JETRO, the renowned economist Dr. Hossain Zillur Rahman (the former cabinet minister tasked with overseeing an election and economic advisor to the Bangladesh government) delivered a keynote speech, in which he said, “Traditionally, great emphasis has been placed upon the spread of school education in Bangladesh, but it is the enhancement of technical education, like the one provided by HIDA, that needs to be paid more attention in order to eliminate poverty.” In the afternoon, presentations were given by members of respective Alumni Societies to share their examples of applications of Japanese-style management methods, by individual Alumni Societies to report on their activities, by the SAFAAS to deliver a financial report, and so on. In the evening, Alumni members, including the representatives of respective Alumni Societies, had enthusiastic group discussions about how to secure the fi nancial resources required for their Alumni activities.On the following 29th, the new HIDA organization, HIDA Research Institute, was introduced to participants and the results of the group discussions on the previous day were presented. After that, the conference passed resolutions, including those regarding further information exchanges between Alumni Societies and enhancement of the network through external communication, and decided that the next conference would be held in Cochin, India. We would like to express our appreciation to the host Alumni Society, CAAS, for eliminating security and other risks and problems with the utmost care and hosting such a successful conference, and to Dr. A.K.M. Moazzem Hussain and other members of the Bangladesh AOTS Alumni Society (BAAS) in Dhaka for their great contribution to the organization of the conference.[Masami Tada, Global Strategy Group, HIDA Research Institute]* Japanese young working members of society dispatched overseas on METI Global Internship ProgramThe 10th Conference of the Federation of Latin American AOTS Alumni Societies (FELAAS)The FELAAS Conference was held on November 25 and 26, 2013, in Mexico City. This conference was attended by about 30 people in total, including Senior Managing Director Takeda from HIDA and the representatives of all 10 Alumni Societies in the eight Latin American countries (Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru and Venezuela).As the Federation of Latin American AOTS Alumni Societies met for the fi rst time in four years after the 8th Convention of AOTS Alumni Societies held in Yokohama in October 2009, these old friends celebrated their happy reunion and proceeded with the conference in a friendly, receptive atmosphere, showing a warm welcome to the new Chairperson, Mr. Juan de Urraza from the AOTS Alumni Society of Paraguay, who was appointed in May 2013. Thanks to the AOTS Alumni Society of Mexico City’s meticulous organization, the conference went smoothly in accordance with the rules such as “listening attentively to others, proposing new ideas, managing time, keeping on smiling and not giving up” and heated discussions took place.However, activities vary greatly between Alumni Societies even when they are all based in Latin America. Particularly, the AOTS Alumni Society of Peru and AOTS Alumni Society of Mexico have Opening Ceremony of the SAFAAS Conference in Cox’ s Bazar, BangladeshInter-regional Cooperation between HIDA-AOTS Alumni Societies

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