From the Foundation

The Southeast Asian Studies Regional Exchange Program (SEASREP), which is funded jointly by the Toyota Foundation and the Japan Foundation, held meetings of its Selection Committee and Board of Trustees in Davao, the Philippines from January 9 to 11. Assistant Program Officer Michi Kaga attended both meetings, and Managing Director Hiroki Kato took part in the Board of Trustees meeting, which took place on January 10 and 11.

The Toyota Foundation began funding projects cosponsored by the SEASREP Council in 1995, the majority of which were led by researchers in the social sciences and the humanities, to promote research “by Southeast Asians, on Southeast Asia, for Southeast Asians.” In 2005, a decade after these projects were initiated, the SEASREP Foundation was established and now exclusively oversees all aspects of the program’s planning and management. (Please visit the SEASREP Foundationwebsite for more information.)

The five Southeast Asian researchers that make up the Selection Committee screened 94 applications at their meeting on January 9. Thirty-nine projects were chosen to receive a total of $293,061 in funding through the publicly solicited Southeast Asian Language Training Grants, Luisa Mallari Fellowships (for MA and PhD research), and Comparative and Collaborative Grants. Following the selection process, the projects were then submitted to the Toyota Foundation and the Japan Foundation for approval.

Although it was the first time for a Toyota Foundation representative to participate in the Selection Committee and Board of Trustee meetings, Ms. Kaga described attending the meetings as a chance to witness firsthand how SEASREP is truly a program driven solely by Southeast Asian researchers, who gathered from different parts of Southeast Asia to put their heads together and hold discussions on promoting regional research.