Speech

Dear Fellows,

It gives me great pleasure to stand here today to congratulate the new Sasakawa Fellows on their graduation.

I would like to express my sincere gratitude to President Max Mejia and the entire WMU faculty for their excellent education. Let me also take this opportunity to express my appreciation to Dr Ronan Long, Director of the WMU-Sasakawa Global Ocean Institute, for his continuous efforts in promoting ocean governance and interdisciplinary collaboration.

In addition, I extend my gratitude to the residence supervisor for overseeing the fellows as they lived together under the same roof, and to the home nations and organizations for sending the fellows to WMU. And above all, I would like to thank and congratulate the families for their continued support and encouragement of our fellows.

Everyone gathered here in this auditorium looks very confident as proud WMU graduates and Sasakawa Fellows. Now, we look forward to seeing you represent your home countries and be recognized on the global stage.

Of course, we will be happy to help you continue to take on challenges after graduation. Today, our network includes over 1,800 Fellows from more than 150 countries. However, we do not measure success by size.

Graduation is just a milestone. The knowledge and experience gained at WMU serves as the foundation for each of you to represent your home countries and take an active role in the international community. The success of human capacity development depends on how you apply this foundation.

And you already have the tools for success. The Nippon Foundation’s Alumni Network, to which you will now belong.

There is a limit to what can be solved by the efforts of one country, one institution and one individual. In order to pass the oceans on to future generations, we need to work across disciplines, professions, and borders.

As you embark on your next challenges, we encourage you to make full use of these resources. This includes pursuing further research and collaborating not only with Sasakawa Fellows but also with our alumni from different programs. In the future, regardless of the path you choose, we will continue to support you through the Nippon Foundation Alumni Network.

Congratulations once again, and welcome to the Friends of WMU.