ICU Alumna Ms. Takako Miyazaki Reflects on Her Encounters with Dr. Sadako Ogata
Ms. Takako Miyazaki is a graduate of ICU who has spent much of her life in the US, and served as the president of ICU’s Alumni Association in the Americas in the 1990s. Through the ICU AAA, she had several memorable encounters with Dr. Sadako Ogata, the former United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. We asked Ms. Miyazaki to share them with us.
JICUF Launches the Education Pathways Scholarship with ICU
The Japan ICU Foundation and ICU will launch a new scholarship for students with refugee backgrounds. The Education Pathways Scholarship will support two new undergraduate students annually starting in April 2025. It is a full scholarship that covers tuition and fees, on-campus accommodation and stipend. JICUF and ICU will share the cost of the scholarship.
Call for JICUF Photography Interns
JICUF seeks 1-2 student photography and video interns who can work with us from October 2024 to June 2025! Apply immediately.
JICUF Student Ambassadors Interview Grant Recipients: Part 1
To commemorate the opening of our Japan office on the ICU campus, JICUF held a series of opening events in mid-May. One of the events was a showcase of JICUF grant projects. We asked our student ambassadors to interview the participants. Please enjoy below the interviews conducted by Aruto Kamiya. Aruto Kamiya (Photo by Naoki Beppu) 1. “Anthropological Fieldwork and Engaged Population: Organic Involvement with Isen Town, Tokunoshima, Kagoshima Prefecture” Professor Mie Moriki (Anthropology) Aruto: You conducted anthropological fieldwork on Tokunoshima in Kagoshima Prefecture. How was the experience? Prof. Moriki: Because our visit was during the typhoon season, our ferry to Tokunoshima got delayed for 10 days! We had to […]
JICUF Grantee Spotlight: 2024 Japan Israel Palestine Student Conference
In the 2023-24 winter term, ICU undergraduate student Shiho Takechi was awarded a JICUF grant on behalf of the Japan Israel Palestine Student Conference (JIPSC). ICU students played a key role in founding JIPSC in 2003, and for over 20 years, JIPSC has facilitated dialogue between Israeli and Palestinian students and raised awareness of the Israel-Palestine conflict in Japan. This year, with the region in a crisis, JIPSC plans to invite eight youth from both Israel and Palestine to Japan. While the JICUF grant will cover a part of their travel expenses to Japan, JIPSC is fundraising to cover the remainder of the cost.
Celebrating the Opening of the JICUF Office at ICU!
During the week of May 13 – 17, JICUF hosted a series of events at ICU to celebrate the opening of our office on campus! The events included three days of an office open house, a grants showcase, a discussion about JICUF and ICU’s history and vision for the future, and a special evening reception for the ICU community. We are delighted to report that the ICU community welcomed JICUF with open arms.
JICUF Participates in UNHCR Annual Meeting in Geneva
From June 5 to 7, JICUF participated in the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)’s annual gathering in Geneva, Switzerland. The Consultations on Resettlement and Complementary Pathways is UNHCR’s most important multilateral forum, and delegates from 44 countries came together to discuss urgent issues in refugee protection.
Introducing the 2024-25 JICUF Student Ambassadors
We are very excited to introduce our first JICUF Student Ambassadors! The three Ambassadors will be working closely with our Japan Office to disseminate opportunities offered by JICUF to students and faculty, to implement JICUF events and programs, and to report on JICUF-funded activities. They will also be asked to come up with unique ideas to strengthen the ICU community, with the aim of creating an even more welcoming environment for students of all backgrounds.
JICUF Japan Office Will Hold Opening Events in May
To celebrate the historic opening of JICUF’s Japan office, JICUF President & CEO Paul Hastings will visit the campus in May to host a series of special events with Hideko Matsuyama, Program Manager based in the Japan Office, and NY staff Sachiko Tokai. All are invited to come to our open house.
JICUF Launches Refugee Education Japan
This spring, JICUF decided to compile our work on refugee higher education under an initiative titled “Refugee Education Japan (REJ),” and launched a new website.
Since JICUF launched the Syrian Scholars Initiative in 2017 to welcome Syrian students with refugee backgrounds to ICU, we have gradually expanded our support for displaced students, and now are part of global and domestic networks to promote education pathways for refugees.