Leadership Training (Executive Program)” for senior government officials from 11 African countries was held ｜ News / PR

summary

Program name: “Leadership Training for African Senior Officials (Executive Program)

Dates: January 27-February 3, 2025

Implementing agencies: Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), International University of Japan (IUJ)

Location: IUJ Tokyo Office, JICA Kojimachi Headquarters, etc.

Main Participants

participant

11 government officials from Cameroon, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Morocco, Namibia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Uganda, and Zambia

lecturer

Opening Remarks: Naoki Yanase, Director, Africa Division, JICA

JICA’s Cooperation with Africa: Naoki Mine, Planning Officer, Africa Division, JICA

Japan and Africa: Hiroshi Kato, Vice President, IUJ

The Importance of the Field: Yoshiyuki Itami, former President of IUJ (now Professor Emeritus of Hitotsubashi University)

PPP and Economic Development: Takeo Tachibanagawa, President, IUJ

Evidence-Based Policy Making: Prof. Yusuke Jinnai, IUJ

Effective Policy Implementation and Leadership: Prof. Ayako Nakamura, IUJ

Leadership and Policy Design: LIM, Seunghoo, Professor, IUJ

Leadership and Motivation Management: Prof. Chi-Yuan Chung, IUJ

Dialogue with Keidanren: Teruko Wada, Director General, International Economic Affairs Division; Yoshihisa Nomura, General Manager, International Cooperation Division

Design Approach Workshop: Rare Co.

Japan-Africa Relations (Current Status, Future Prospects and Prospects for the Future): Toshihiko Horiuchi, Director, Africa Division, Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Closing Remarks: Naoki Ando, JICA Director

destination

Visit to the Industrial Heritage Information Center (guided by Hiroshi Kato, Vice President of IUJ)

Visit to Impact HUB Tokyo (guided by Prof. Gaku Funabashi IUJ)

Visit to Kyoto University (discussion with Prof. Motoki Takahashi, Kyoto University)

Background and Objectives

In a world of complex crises, one must have the ability to understand the ideas of specialists in diverse fields, while at the same time being able to build bridges and bind the walls and gaps between fields that arise as a result of deepening expertise. They must also have the ability to make big-picture decisions, look to the future of the country, interact with the international community, and have the skills to lead administrative organizations.

JICA has provided various technical training programs for administrative officials in developing countries, and there are now many former trainees who have gained specific skills and are now active as high-level government officials. On the other hand, as mentioned above, there is a need for training specific to leadership in order to further take the lead in government organizations.

Against this backdrop, JICA invited senior government officials from African countries to Japan for the first time to conduct the “Leadership Training for African Senior Officials (Executive Program),” the first such initiative. This training program is a follow-up to JICA’s development graduate school collaboration, and also contributes to the development of knowledgeable and pro-Japanese people.

This training was based on the following three objectives

1 . Draw inspiration from Japan’s development experience

Gain inspiration from Japan’s development experience 2 . Enhance your leadership skills

Enhance leadership skills 3 . Strengthen evidence-based public policymaking

Contents

1. opening remarks and orientation

Mr. Yanase, Director, JICA Africa Division; Mr. Mine, Planning Officer, JICA Africa Division

On the first day of the training, Mr. Naoki Yanase, Director of JICA’s Africa Division, welcomed the participants and thanked them for their participation. He then emphasized the three objectives of the training program and the fact that this was JICA’s first such initiative, and expressed his hope that the participants would serve as a bridge to deepen relations between African countries and Japan.

After opening remarks, Mr. Naoki Mine, Planning Officer of JICA’s Africa Department, spoke on JICA’s cooperation with Africa. Participants asked many questions about the contents of the presentation and exchanged various opinions about JICA’s cooperation with their countries.

1. lectures

Lecture

Half of the program consisted of lectures on leadership theory, Japan’s development experience, and public-private partnerships by IUJ professors, including IUJ President Takeo Tachibanagawa and IUJ Vice President Hiroshi Kato, and a lecture by Toshihiko Horiuchi, Director of the Africa Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on the partnership between Japan and Africa, focusing on TICAD The lecture was given by Toshihiko Horiuchi, Director of the Africa Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Participants expressed their desire to apply the “5S/Kaizen” and “adapt and adapt” approaches that have contributed so much to Japan’s development to policy making and daily business in their own countries. All lectures were followed by active question and answer sessions between the participants and the lecturers, and the high-level officials from each country spent time learning from each other.

1. exchange of opinions with Keidanren and various inspection tours

After the dialogue with Keidanren

In addition to lectures on policy making and Japanese development, the training also included an exchange of views and site visits to gain a deeper understanding of the private sector, which has played an important role in Japan’s development. Ms. Teruko Wada, Director General, International Economic Affairs Division, and Mr. Yoshihisa Nomura, General Manager, International Cooperation Division, were invited from Keidanren to hear their assessment of Japan’s policies as a representative of industry, and to exchange opinions on areas that the private sector should focus on in Africa in the future.

Tour of the facility

In addition to exchanging views with Keidanren, they visited the Industrial Heritage Information Center, where they could learn about the transition of the Japanese private sector, and Impact HUB Tokyo, an incubation facility that supports Japanese startups.

1. design approach workshop

Workshops

One of the features of this training was a design approach workshop by Laere Inc.

The design approach used in this training program is a method of discussing the present by touching on the axis of each person’s life through deep dialogue in small groups, and using that relationship to envision the future not as an extension of the present, but rather as a clue to uncertain signs. This was a more practical and participatory training program that differed from the workshops held in many training programs in the past.

Volunteers from within JICA also participated in the workshop and engaged in dialogue on an equal footing with the African officials who participated in the training, and at the end, they shared their expectations for the future of Japan and Africa.

1. closing remarks and evaluation meeting

At the evaluation meeting on the final day, JICA Executive Director Naoki Ando thanked the participants once again and expressed his hope that the participants would play a key role in deepening the relationship with Japan toward Africa’s development and progress beyond TICAD 9 and in line with the African Union’s Continental Agenda 2063. The participants also exchanged opinions on African development and JICA’s cooperation in response to questions from the participants.

At the end of the training, the participants expressed their gratitude to JICA and IUJ for planning and implementing this training, shared their expectations for the next training, and reflected on the week-long learning experience.

In preparation for TICAD 9 to be held in Yokohama this August, JICA will continue to promote cooperation with Africa while approaching and strengthening relations with these African leaders.

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