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Asia’s leaders at regional leadership forum to inspire next generation

05/18/2008

Influential leaders from across Asia led by senior government officials of Indonesia, the host country, will convene at the upcoming Ninth Hitachi Young Leaders Initiative (HYLI) forum on July 7 and 8 in Jakarta. With the objective of inspiring the next generation of leaders, they will share their perspectives on critical issues impacting the region. Under the overall theme of “Strengthening Asian Partnerships – Economic Integration and Energy Management,” the specific sub-themes that will be discussed are “Formulating an East Asian Economic Community – Challenges and Opportunities” and “Energy Management for Economic Growth and Environmental Sustainability in East Asia.” This event will be endorsed by the Directorate General of Higher Education of Indonesia.

Mitsuhiko Shimizu, chief representative of Hitachi Asia Ltd’s Jakarta Office, said, “This year is particularly relevant for Indonesia to host the HYLI Forum. This country is becoming a growing force for change in ASEAN and the world on economic and environmental issues, as seen in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Bali. So it is timely for Hitachi to assemble a strong line-up of speakers, who are leaders in their countries, major businesses or organisations, and who can inspire our young leaders to do the same in the future.”

“The HYLI experience will open the eyes of these prospective leaders to issues facing Asia and to inculcate a sense of regional perspective about such issues,” he added.

After a stringent selection process, 28 top students from Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam have been selected for the initiative.

The ninth initiative will be held for the first time in Indonesia, from July 7 to 11 in Jakarta. At the week-long initiative, students will participate in two morning forum sessions, a series of closed-door workshop discussions, a press conference to share their recommendations arising from the workshops, and a community project.

Representing the Philippines at the 9th HYLI are Adrian Clarc Mundin, a management engineering major from Ateneo de Manila University (ADMU); Paulo Jose Mutuc from De La Salle University (DLSU) taking up Bachelor of Arts in economics and Bachelor of Science in commerce major in management of financial institutions; Nicole Marie Villarojo, also from DLSU, taking up economics and commerce with marketing management as her major; and Raymund Siegfrid Li, a business administration and accountancy major from the University of the Philippines (UP).

They were selected from among undergraduate students from five leading universities by a rigorous process which included a university shortlist, submission of written essays and panel interviews.

The Philippine selection panel was chaired by Supreme Court Associate Justice Antonio Eduardo Nachura who has fully supported the program from the first HYLI as education undersecretary.

At the completion of the initiative, the 28 students of the ninth HYLI will join the alumni of previous HYLIs to form a strong Asian network of future leaders.

The Hitachi Young Leaders Initiative is a community relations program developed and launched by Hitachi in Asia in 1996. The program aims to identify and groom potential Asian leaders by bringing them together to discuss regional issues and establish contacts with prominent regional opinion leaders from the private, public and academic sectors.

The initiative offers student participants a unique platform to broaden their outlook on regional and global issues while promoting Asian values and cross-cultural understanding.

For information on past HYLIs, visit www.hitachi.com/society/global/hyli/index.html.