Seminar & Events

Two decades have passed since IDEAS (IDE Advanced School) of Institute of Developing Economies (IDE), JETRO was established in 1990 to nurture development experts. The environment surrounding development issues has changed significantly over the past 20 years and this has created new challenges in relation to nurturing experts of development for the next decade To commemorate this special occasion and at the same time consider the future of HRD, IDE -JETRO held an international workshop as follows. All papers presented at the workshop can be downloaded from the attached files.

March 10, 2010, (Wednesday)

Tokyo Station Yaesu Business Center
(No.1 Nurihiko Building, 2-9-2 Kyobashi, Chuo-ku, Tokyo)

2:30-2:35 pm	Opening Speech Mr. Tetsusaburo Hayashi, Executive Vice President, JETRO
2:35-2:40 pm	Guest Speech Mr.Kazushige Taniguchi, Special Representative , The World Bank Tokyo Office
2:40-3:20 pm	Keynote lecture: “New trends in Development and HRD in Developing Countries ” Prof. Kazumi Yamamoto, Faculty of Modern Chinese Studies, Aichi University, First Dean of IDEAS
3:20-3:50 pm	Development and HRD in India Ms. Mala Dutt, Director, Cabinet Secretariat, Government of India, Sixth Class of IDEAS (October 1996 - March 1997)
3:50-4:00 pm	Coffee Break
4:00-4:30 pm	Development and HRD in Vietnam Dr. Khang Viet Hoang, Director General of Foreign Economic Relation Department, Ministry of Planning and Investment, Vietnam, Third Class of IDEAS (October 1993 – March 1994)
4:30-5:00 pm	Development and HRD: Local Government Capacity Building for Decentralized Development in Indonesia Dr. Endah Murniningtyas, Director, Directorate (Department) of Poverty Alleviation, BAPPENAS (National Development Planning Agency), Indonesia. Fifth Class of IDEAS (October 1995 – March 1996)
5:00-5:20 pm	Japanese Development Cooperation for HRD in Developing Countries Dr. Kazuo Kuroda, Professor, Graduate School of Asia-Pacific Studies, Waseda University. Second Class of IDEAS (October 1991 – July 1992)
5:20-5:40 pm	New Trends of Japanese HRD – JICA’s Case Mr. Shinji Yoshiura, Director General, Yokohama International Center, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). First Class of IDEAS (October 1990 – July 1991)
5:40-6:40 pm	Free Discussion Moderated by Dr. Tatsufumi Yamagata, Director, Poverty Alleviation and Social Development Studies Group, Development Studies Center, IDE Professor of IDEAS
6:40-6:45 pm	Closing Speech Ms Masako Osuna, Secretary General of IDEAS

6:50-6:55 pm	Opening Speech Mr. Tetsusaburo Hayashi, Executive Vice President, JETRO
6:55-7:00 pm	Guest Speech Mr. Toshio　Nakamura, President, The Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry
7:00-8:30 pm	Close

Prof. Kazumi YAMAMOTO
Professor, Faculty of Modern Chinese Studies, Aichi University
Born in Kochi Prefecture, Japan in 1941, Prof. Yamamoto entered the Institute of Developing Economies (IDE) as a researcher soon after receiving his Bachelor’s degree in Economics from Waseda University in 1965. As an overseas researcher at IDE, he spent time in Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines and continued to contribute to IDE as an executive member. He was instrumental in the establishment of IDEAS in 1990 and became IDEAS’ first Dean and Secretary General. In March of 1997 he took a position in Aichi University as a Professor specializing in areas related to issues including: Economics for Developing Countries, North-South Problems, the Global Economy, and Asian Economies. Based on his profound knowledge in the development field, Prof. Yamamoto has been asked to give lectures to overseas fellows of IDEAS every year since its establishment making him the only person who has taught every single student who has studied at IDEAS.

Ms.Mala DUTT
Director, Cabinet Secretariat, Government of India
Born in New Delhi in 1961, Ms. Dutt received her Post Graduate degree in Economics at the Delhi School of Economics in 1985 and her M. Phil Degree in Social Sciences at Chandigarh, India in 2007. In 1986 she joined the Indian Economic Service (a specialized cadre of economists entrusted with the responsibility of formulating and implementing the economic policies of the Government of India) and, for nearly the past 25 years, she has a acquired a wealth of experience working in different capacities in various Ministries of the federal Government. As part of her assignment in the Ministry of Finance, she spent five years dealing with personnel management issues relating to different aspects of human resource development. During her present assignment as Director, Cabinet Secretariat, she is responsible for the coordination and resolution of policies and other issues across various Ministries of the Government of India. She also gives advice to the Prime Minister’s Office on matters of national concern relating to a wide range of subjects including: commerce, industry, finance, agriculture, rural development and disinvestment. Ms. Dutt attended the IDEAS overseas fellow program in 1996-97.

Dr.Khang Viet HOANG
Director General, Foreign Economic Relation Department, Ministry of Planning and Investment, Vietnam
Born in 1959, Dr. Khang was educated in Economics and Planning Engineering in Sofia, Bulgaria from 1981-86. From 1987-1992, he was a researcher in the Regional Planning Institute of the State Planning Committee and also worked for the UNDP Resident Office in Hanoi from 1992-1993 after which he participated in the IDEAS overseas fellow program (1993-94). He received his Master’s degree in Business Management and Information and his Ph.D in International Economics and International Relations (2009) in Hanoi. Since 1994 he has been working for the Foreign Economic Relation Department (FERD), in the Ministry of Investment (MPI). He has also contributed to the international cooperation field through various roles such as the National Coordinator of the Greater Mekong sub-region, the Chairman of the Mekong Institute and in work related to the World Bank, the ADB and the IMF.

Dr.Endah MURNININGTYAS
Director, Directorate (Department) of Poverty Alleviation, BAPPENAS (National Development Planning Agency), Indonesia
Born in 1960 in Jogyakarta, Dr. Murniningtyas received her Bachelor’s degree in 1984 and started her profession at the Bureau of Trade, BAPPENAS in 1985. During 1987-89, she studied Agricultural and Resource Economics at a Master Course in Oregon State University. After that she worked for the Bureau for SME, Cooperatives and Investment Development, BAPPENAS for 1990-97, during which she participated in IDEAS overseas fellow program (1995-96). After IDEAS she continued her studies in Agricultural and Resource Economics at a Doctorate course in Colorado State University from 1997-2000. She has continued to contribute to BAPPENAS in various Departments and, in addition to her current role as Director of Poverty Alleviation, she had been: the Director of Culture, Science and Technology, and the Director of Food and Agriculture. As an executive member of BAPPENAS, she has worked as an executive expert on the negotiation team of FAO, the World Bank and the ADB and also participated in various international conferences in addition to being a part time lecturer at various Indonesian Universities.

Dr.Kazuo KURODA
Professor, Graduate School of Asia-Pacific Studies, Waseda University
Born in 1966 in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan, Dr. Kuroda received his Bachelor’s degree in Economics at Waseda University in 1989. After graduating from Waseda he entered the Bank of Tokyo and worked there from 1989 to 1991 until he came to IDEAS in 1991. He received his Master’s degree in Education from Stanford University in 1993 and his Ph. D degree in Education and Social Development from Cornell University in 1996. From 1997-2003, he worked as a lecturer(1997-2000) and as an assistant professor(2000-2003) at the Center for the Study of International Cooperation in Education at Hiroshima University. Returning to his home university in April 2003, he had been an Assistant Professor at the Graduate School of Asia-Pacific Studies and he has been Professor there since April 2006. His major fields of study are: Educational Development, International Cooperation for Education, and Comparative Education. Dr. Kuroda has widely published his research output and holds executive memberships in various academic circles.


Mr. Shinji YOSHIURA
Director General, Yokohama International Center, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA)
Born in 1956 in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan, Mr. Yoshiura received his Bachelor’s degree in Literature (majoring in Philosophy) from Kyoto University in 1979. He started his career at the Asahi Shimbun Newspaper Company and worked there from 1979-1990. He experienced circulation planning, business administration, public relations, together with private visits to developing countries. In 1990, he left the Asahi Shimbun and entered the first batch of IDEAS students and then received his Master’s degree in Development Studies in 1992 from SOAS, University of London. Since 1992, he has worked for JICA on various projects including: project management for social infrastructure, education and　the environment; HRD for recipient countries as well as Japan; and the promotion of ODA-NGO partnerships. He was stationed in Sri Lanka as JICA’s Assistant Resident Representative (1994-1997), and Nepal as JICA’s RR (2004-2007). Mr. Yoshiura took up his present post as Director General, Yokohama International Center, in 2009.

Keynote lecture: New Trends in Development and HRD in Developing Countries (See the attached paper)
Prof. Kazumi Yamamoto, Faculty of Modern Chinese Studies, Aichi University
Two decades have passed since the foundation of IDEAS. In this period, the world witnessed drastic changes including the end of the cold war, globalization and the rapid growth of some developing countries such as China. At the same time, there have been changes in development thinking and trends in aid: As for the objectives of development, there have been shift from economic growth to human development and alleviation of poverty. Aid has become the subject of critique for not being effective in achieving these goals.

While some developing countries have achieved rapid economic growth with diversified patterns, the performances of industrialized countries have been less striking. Nonetheless, the growth of developing countries are still uneven, there remains some rooms for industrialized countries to transfer the experiences to them especially in the area of human resource development.

As desirable roles of Japan, following three points are raised. (1) receiving Asian people as regular staff at the governments, (2) effective utilization of Japan’s strengths and the surplus of talented people, (3) support for HRD.

Case Study 1: Development and HRD in India (See the attached paper and powerpoint presentation )
Ms. Mala Dutt, Director, Cabinet Secretariat, Government of India
Although HRD is recognized as engine of growth in India, the provision of education has been insufficient. This is reflected in relatively low scores of HRD such as adult literacy rate and gross enrolment ratio. Recently, the Indian government paid more attention on education, and increased public investment in education. The government set up action plans and implemented policies in each area of elementary education, secondary education, higher education as well as technical/vocational education and adult education. In each area, there have been significant improvements. Up to the present, paradigm shift took place where secondary education will be regarded as a right for all children.

Case Study 2: New Issues and Challenges of Development in Vietnam (See the attached paper and powerpoint presentation )
Dr. Khang Viet Hoan, Director General, Foreign Economic Relation Department, Ministry of Planning and Investment, Vietnam
Vietnam’s economic performance of 2009 and the outlook for 2010 remain sound. In the meantime, there have been continued efforts in administration reform and anti-corruption.
In the area of HRD, Vietnam is attracting official development assistance from many countries. More commitment from Japan is desirable. Expectations for IDEAS include developing the contents of the courses with diversified subjects.

Case Study 3: Development and HRD: Local Government Capacity Building for Decentralized Development in Indonesia (See the attached synopsis and powerpoint presentation )
Dr. Endah Muriningtyas, Director for Poverty Alleviation, National Development Planning Agency (BAPPENAS), Indonesia
Indonesia faced two notable developments in recent years. One is the progress in decentralization of the government. The other is the decline in poverty rate at the national level along with the worsening inequality between provinces and within provinces. These developments call for formulation of poverty alleviation strategies at the local level. In such a context, the need for HRD exists in capacity building of local government staff. The formulation of effective poverty alleviation policies also requires unified data base on poverty.

Case Study 4: Japanese Development Cooperation for HRD in Developing Countries: Focusing on Educational Cooperation (See the attached powerpoint presentation )
Dr. Kazuo Kuroda, Professor, Graduate School of Asia Pacific Studies, Waseda University
As the role of basic education in economic growth was recognized, education has become the main subject of ODA since the 1990s not only from the viewpoint of the human right approach but also of the development approach. Since then, the emphasis has been given on basic education. Japanese development cooperation started to attach importance on education, and set up a target to increase the assistance to education. Japanese ODA to education includes the assistance to basic education and receiving students in higher education in Japan. There has been improvement towards the target.

Case Study 5: New trends of Japanese HRD: JICA’s case
Mr. Shinji Yoshiura, Director General, Yokohama International Center, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA)
(See the attached powerpoint presentation )
JICA has undergone significant organizational changes in the 2000s, and its area of operations has been expanded while facing a tightening budget. HRD for developing countries, as a part of technical cooperation, remains one of the main missions. As for measures of HRD, there has been a shift from training of leaders to strengthening organizations and their systems. Securing and training Japanese human resources in the field of development cooperation has risen as a concern. In this regard, JICA has been making efforts to develop web-site ‘PARTNER’ for better use of human resources.

Moderator: Dr. Tatsufumi Yamagata, Director, Development Studies Center, IDE and Professor of IDEAS
Major Questions and Answers

(1) Innovative ideas for training development experts
Question 1 from the floor: What do you think is the most innovative idea for training development experts?

Lecturer A: As for IDEAS, it was stimulating and useful that people of many different nationalities came together to study the issues of development.

Lecturer B: Based on my experience as a professional trainer of education development specialists, field experience is the most valuable for students. I would like to suggest that IDEAS includes a field study in the curriculum.

Lecturer C: JICA’s training programs are made not only in Japan by calling participants from developing countries, JICA also dispatches a group of participants to the third countries where they understand how the theory learned in Japan is applied in practice.

Lecturer D: Teaching is an interaction between trainers and trainees from which trainers can also learn a lot of things. Through such an interaction, innovation can take place.

Lecturer C: As for JICA’s training, there has been a shift from capacity building of individuals to capacity building of organizations. JICA has reduced ‘Leaders Training Programs’, and has moved to ‘Solution Creation Programs’ and ‘Trainers Training Programs’.

(2) Programs of inviting foreign trainees and their evaluation
Question 2: The number of foreign students to Japan has increased considerably. How can we evaluate such development?

Lecturer B: East Asian countries such as Japan, China, Korea and Thailand set ambitious target to receive foreign students as a part of their cultural policies. The benefit of host countries has been the only concern. In recent years, however, there is a change in thinking on the side of countries sending students: it does not necessarily result in brain drain, but there can be merit from brain circulation. We need collaboration among East Asian countries.

(3) Employment of Asian people as training programs staff
Question 3: Prof. Yamamoto suggested that the Japanese government receive Asian people as regular (full time) staff. Can you think of any ideas that make this possible?

Lecturer E: Interacting with people from different cultural backgrounds is important.

(4) Merit of studying in Japan
Question 4: I guess many foreign students come to Japan with their own will. What are the merits of studying in Japan?

Lecturer A: I am originally from India. Compared with studying in western countries, studying in Japan facilitates learning as there are some similarities in underlying cultures between India and Japan.

Questioner: However, English is not spoken in Japan. Isn’t it inconvenient?
Lecturer A: Learning Japanese itself is indeed meaningful.

Lecturer F: When I came to Japan in 1992-93, there was less chance of studying abroad.

Studying with Japanese students through such occasions as field trips was a valuable experience. Another benefit of studying in Japan was that I have gotten accustomed to broken English with various accents by communicating with classmates from all sorts of Asian countries. The alumni network is also an asset.

Lecturer D: Knowledge and value matter in studying. We can obtain knowledge everywhere. But in Asia, we have shared same sense of value. We can obtain knowledge in the context of shared value.

Summary of Discussion
There were free discussions among the lecturers and the participants of the floor. The topics discussed included innovative ideas of HRD, impact evaluation of HRD programs, trends and merits for the foreign students to study in Japan, etc. Among the various ideas expressed by the lecturers, what was emphasized the most by them was the importance of exchanging sense of values during studying. All panelists agreed that IDEAS program is unique and most successful in the sense of value sharing because students from different background can study together, both in the classroom setting and through field experiences. The experiences of studying at IDEAS became precious assets and helped graduates in many occasions in their works.

The crucial issue expressed was the effective use of human resources trained by the Japanese ODA for the development of each country. The suggested ideas include; find out the whereabouts of the graduates, utilize the alumni network, and employ them as Japan’s government officials.