Asia Leadership Fellow Program 2009 PROGRAM REPORT Action in Dialogue Towards a Responsible Society International House of Japan Japan Foundation Action in Dialogue: Towards a Responsible Society Published by International House of Japan and Japan Foundation Copyright © 2010 International House of Japan 5-11-16 Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo Japan 106-0032 Telephone: +81.3.3470 3211 Fax: +81.3.3470 3170 Email: [email protected] URL: www.i-house.or.jp Edited by Editage (a division of Cactus Communications Pvt. Ltd.) URL: www.editage.jp Cover and book design by Cactus Japan K.K. URL: www.cactus.co.jp Printed in Japan Contents Preface . 5 ALFP 2009 Fellows . 7 ALFP 2009 Schedule . 11 1. Papers of the Fellows . 13 1-1. Youth Apathy and the Search for Political Engagement in Pakistan . 15 Iqbal Haider Butt 1-2. Multi-stakeholder Processes for a Responsible Community . 23 Kuroda Kaori 1-3. Sustainable Urbanism and Its Challenges to Civil Society . 29 Marco Kusumawijaya 1-4. Corporate Social Responsibility in China: Implementation of Corporate Code of Conduct and Improvement of Labor Conditions . 35 Ma Jifang 1-5. Problematics of Cultural Activism in Building a Humane Society . 40 Tanvir Mokammel 1-6. Gun Proliferation in Asia: Limits to Dialogue, Challenges to Action . 44 Jennifer Santiago Oreta 1-7. Education: Forming Persons in a Dialogue of Life . 50 Andrew K.L. Soh ALFP Activities 2009 2. Country Reports by the Fellows . 57 2-1. Pakistan: A Country Profi le . 59 Iqbal Haider Butt 2-2. Current Issues Facing Japanese NPOs/NGOs . 60 Kuroda Kaori 2-3. Indonesia . 62 Marco Kusumawijaya 2-4. Hukou System in China and Its Impacts on Rural Migrants . 63 Ma Jifang 2-5. Bangladesh . 64 Tanvir Mokammel 2-6. Domestic Realities and Global Engagements: Dynamic Tensions Confronting the Philippines . 65 Jennifer Santiago Oreta 2-7. A Wanderer’s Thoughts on Malaysia . 66 Andrew K.L. Soh 3 Page Asia Leadership Fellow Program: 2009 Program Report 3. Seminars by Resource Persons . 67 3-1. Kabuki . 69 Nakamura Kyozo 3-2. Sun-based Economy Changes the World . 70 Yamazaki Yasuyo 3-3. Cultural Activism in the Democratization of Society . 72 Tanvir Mokammel 3-4. The Reality of the Poverty Problem in Japan . 73 Yuasa Makoto 3-5. The Role of Education in Forming a Humane Society . 74 Andrew K.L. Soh 3-6. Urban Sustainability: Governmental and Artistic Perspectives . 76 Marco Kusumawijaya and Horiuchi Masahiro 3-7. Third Wave in Japan . 78 Fujiwara Kiichi 3-8. Dialogues for Peace and Youth Cooperation . 79 Iqbal Haider Butt 3-9. Social Responsibility in (Realizing) a Humane Society . 80 Kuroda Kaori, Ma Jifang and Allen Choate 3-10. Security Perceptions: Obscuring Visions for Dialogue . 82 Jennifer Santiago Oreta 3-11. Introduction to CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation. 84 Imata Katsuji 4. Retreat and Day Trip . 87 Weekend Retreat . 89 5. Field Trip . 93 5-1. Field Trip to Yamagata and Aomori . 95 5-2. Trip to Takahata Town, Yamagata . 98 5-3. Trip to Hakushu Town, Yamanashi . .100 6. Public Symposium . 101 Public Symposium . .103 4 Page Preface In 1996, the International House of Japan and the Japan Foundation jointly created the Asia Leadership Fellow Program (ALFP). The ALFP provides selected public intellectuals in the Asian region with the opportunity to reside for two months in Tokyo and to engage in collaborative exchange activities on common subjects that are pertinent to the region. Through such intellectual dialogue, the program seeks to create a close, personal, and professional network of public intellectuals in Asia, who are deeply rooted in and have a strong sense of com- mitment to civil society that extends beyond their own cultural, disciplinary, and geopolitical backgrounds. Since its inception in 1996, the program has had nearly ninety fellows, who have come from diverse pro- fessional backgrounds, including academia, journalism, publishing, law, education, the arts, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), and nonprofi t organizations (NPOs). The general theme for the 2009 program was “Asia in Dialogue: Visions and Actions for a Humane Society.” From September 14 through November 13, 2009, the seven fellows resided mainly at the International House of Japan in Roppongi, Tokyo, and participated in workshops, resource seminars, fi eld trips, and a retreat with scholars, journalists, and NGO/NPO leaders based in Japan. At the end of the two-month program, on November 6, a public symposium entitled “Action in Dialogue: Towards a Responsible Society” was held to report on the outcome of the collaborative interaction as well as on the research interests of each fellow. This program report includes the reports submitted by the fellows after the program was completed, as well as a summary of the resource seminars and other activities in which the fellows participated. The Program believes that the critical voices of its fellows, which challenge the status quo, as well as their proposals for alternative solutions, will lead to the development of new norms and value orientations. These outcomes of the program will have signifi cant benefi ts for the future of the region. The International House of Japan The Japan Foundation 5 Page ALFP 2009 Fellows Kuroda Kaori (Japan) Co-Director, CSO Network of Japan Ms. Kuroda has been Co-Director of the CSO Network Japan since April 2004. She was on a Japan Foundation Center for Global Partnership NPO Fellowship with Social Accountability International in New York in 2006. Prior to her current position, she worked for the Asia Foundation Japan offi ce as Senior Program Offi - cer and then Assistant Representative. Before moving to the nonprofi t sector, she worked at Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. in Tokyo and the Center on Japanese Economy and Business at the Columbia University School of Business in New York. Ms. Kuroda has written and published many articles on international NGOs, civil society and social responsibility. Her recent work includes a chapter “R d Jinken Bunya no NGO Inishiachibu (NGO Initiatives in the Field of Human Rights in the Workplace)” in Shakaiteki Sekinin no Jidai—Kigy , Shiminshakai, Kokuren no Shi- najii (The Age of Social Responsibility: Synergy of Business, Civil Society and the United Nations) (Kunugi and Nomura eds., 2008). She received her M.A. from the Harvard Graduate School of Education and her B.A. from Seikei University. Marco Kusumawijaya (Indonesia) Director, Jakarta Arts Council Mr. Kusumawijaya is an architect by training, and has been working as a profes- sional and activist in the fi elds of architecture, environment, arts, cultural heritage, urban planning and development. He is focusing his thought and practice on a sustainable approach to urbanism and architecture, and the social changes required towards sustainability. He works with both public and private sectors, international and local agencies and NGOs, communities and civil society groups. His experi- ences include an award-winning project of community-driven reconstruction of 23 villages in post-tsunami Aceh. He writes for major print media in Jakarta, and contributes to journals and books on urban issues, as well as giving talks on TV and radio. He lectures in diverse fora: public policy workshops, training of civil society activists, universities, and community-initiated advocacies and action plan- ning exercises. In 2001 he started Green Map in Indonesia. He has published three books about architecture and urbanism, and translated one on social entrepreneur- ship. He is initiating a knowledge/know-how sharing website (www.rujak.org) for citizens to build a better Jakarta, his hometown. 7 Page Asia Leadership Fellow Program: 2009 Program Report Ma Jifang (China) Coordinator, China IEM (Independent External Monitoring), Fair Labor Association Ms. Ma is the China IEM (Independent External Monitoring) Coordinator of the Fair Labor Association (FLA), a nonprofi t multi-stakeholder organization dedicated to protecting worker rights and improving working conditions in China. She has been working with and for marginalized people in Chinese society, such as farm- ers, migrant workers and women, and bringing their voices to the public. Her recent work mainly focuses on the issues of the impact of globalization, corporate social responsibility, labor conditions in the supply chain and accountability of multinational companies. Ms. Ma has more than ten years’ experience working for nonprofi t organizations. Before joining the FLA, she was the Partnership Develop- ment and Child Sponsorship Manager of the ActionAid China Offi ce. Prior to this position, she worked for the Environment and Development Program at the Ford Foundation Beijing Offi ce. Ms. Ma obtained her bachelor degree in English Lit- erature at the Institute of International Relations and her second bachelor degree in Mass Media at the China School of Journalism. Tanvir Mokammel (Bangladesh) Filmmaker/Author/Director, Bangladesh Film Institute/Bangladesh Film Centre Mr. Mokammel studied English literature at Dhaka University, was a left-wing journalist and then worked as a left-wing activist to organize the landless peasants of rural Bangladesh. Always a fi lm enthusiast, he has so far made fi ve full-length feature fi lms and eleven documentaries. Some of his fi lms have received national and inter- national awards. LALON (2004), a feature fi lm on the 19th-century mystic song- composer Lalon Fakir, LALSALU (A Tree without Roots) (2001), a story about a Mullah who established a false shrine in a poor village, and KARNAPHULIR KANNA (Teardrops of Karnaphuli) (2005), a documentary on the plight of the indigenous people of the Chittagong Hill Tracts, are among those screened in Japan. A prolifi c writer, Mr. Mokammel has written articles in newspapers, poems and lit- erary criticisms. His important books include Syed Waliullah, Sisyphus and Quest for Tradition in Novel, A Brief History of World Cinema and The Art of Cinema. Jennifer Santiago Oreta (Philippines) Assistant Professor, Dept.