What is the IATSS Forum?
Who are we?
The IATSS Forum is an international training institute established in 1985 that aims to bring out the best qualities in individuals who will one day become future leaders in Asia.
The IATSS Forum provides a place where young professionals gather. Inviting young and outstanding individuals from respective Asian countries, we provide opportunities for participants to understand each other’s countries through seminars, field studies, group study, and cultural exchanges, as well as to make efforts to solve current issues in Asia, under the motto "Thinking and Learning Together."
Our program is prepared by the IATSS Forum Steering Committee, which is comprised of intellectuals from various circles. Although the IATSS Forum belongs to the International Association of Traffic and Safety Sciences (IATSS), the program contents and topics covered in the IATSS Forum program is not limited to the area of traffic and transportation. The issues to be taken up change each time, depending on the demands of the times. Utilizing the resources of IATSS and inviting lecturers from a wide range of industries, fields and sectors, the IATSS Forum aims to nurture the leadership capacity in promising young professionals through a liberal arts based program combined with hands on experiences.
History
The IATSS Forum was established with private funds from Mr. SoichiroHonda, founder of Honda Motor Co., Ltd and his business partner, Mr. Takeo Fujisawa, In September 1985, the first IATSS Forum program was held with participants from Malaysia.
Although the program was originally held with participants from one country at a time, several years after its establishment, in 1991, the initial program was changed to the ASEAN Forum, a forum attended by representatives from several countries. During the 35 years since its inauguration (as of the end of 2019), the IATSS Forum has been held 62 times, having produced 1089 alumni members.
Today, we offer a 7-week program twice a year, inviting participants from 9 Southeast Asian countries and India to Suzuka City, Mie Prefecture.
Features of IATSS Forum’s Leadership Development Training
The IATSS Forum aims to develop human potential by creating individuals who can play a leading role, based on wide perspectives and high professionalism with specialized knowledge, finding priority issues and possessing the motivation and capacity to think of solutions and take actions action to contribute to the sustainable development of a country.
Responding to the current issues which often contain interrelated aspects or factors and no single solution, participants need to acquire both a flexible mindset and multilateral approach not only relying on their own specialized knowledge. They also require “Collaborative” and “Co-creative” ability working with people from various backgrounds in terms of specialized fields, stances and so on, to deepen discussion, building consensus and leading to the best solution.
How the IATSS Forum Defines "Leader”
- Individuals who can find priority issues and possess the motivation and capacity to think of solutions and take action for the future.
- Individuals who can draw out the full potential of a team towards achieving a common objective.
5 Capacities that the IATSS Forum Helps to Obtain
The IATSS Forum provides an ideal environment to develop leadership capacities.
5 Capacities in Leadership
- CP1 Foundation of leadership and organizational management
- CP2 Insight based on an interdisciplinary approach
- CP3 The ability to generate creative ideas for sustainable and peaceful development
- CP4 Interpersonal and communicative skills
- CP5 Influential power and ability to execute an idea
The IATSS Forum curriculum is designed to develop leadership capacities by providing diversity in participants’ backgrounds, program contents covering different fields and creative learning methods through various styles of learning.
Participants in this Forum, who have different social and cultural backgrounds and different nationalities, are Asia's future potential leaders who will play an active role in various fields such as governmental institutions, research institutions, and enterprise. IATSS Forum participants are specialists in their respective fields. Forming a group with people from different backgrounds, participants will derive optimal answers by deepening their discussions through aiming at a single goal while learning each other’s ideas and awareness of issues from the perspective of their respective fields.
This is the principle under which the program of this Forum is composed, and our most significant aim is that each participant improves their grounding as a leader, (especially on the above 5 capacities) through the program, and play a leading role in their own specialized fields for contributing to the sustainable development of the country.
