[caption id="attachment_6591" align="alignright" width="96" caption="Kong Rithdee (a 2010 ALFP Fellow), Film Critic & Columnist, The Bangkok Post"][/caption]

The Japan Foundation invites applications for the Asia Leadership Fellow Program from public intellectuals who are deeply rooted in and committed to civil society beyond their own cultural, disciplinary and geopolitical backgrounds.

In 1996, the International House of Japan and the Japan Foundation jointly launched the Asia Leadership Fellow Program (ALFP).The ALFP seeks to create a close, personal and professional network of public intellectuals in Asia, deeply rooted in and committed to civil society beyond their own cultural, disciplinary and geopolitical backgrounds.

The ALFP is open to citizens of Northeast-, Southeast- and South-Asian countries, aged 35 to 59, inclusive. A postgraduate degree is not a prerequisite, but applicants must have a good command of English and have demonstrated outstanding leadership ability or potential in their own professions.

The general theme for 2011 is Asia in Dialogue: Visions and Actions for a Humane Society.



The Fellows from diverse backgrounds take part in such programs as workshops, seminars with resource persons, field trips, a retreat with Japanese and non-Japanese scholars and NGO leaders, and a public symposium.

Since the initiation of the program, the ALFP has annually invited six to seven fellows. Nearly90 Fellows from 16 Asian countries from diverse cultural and professional backgrounds have participated to date.