Awaji Youth Federation (AYF) Fellowship in Japan 2024-2025

Themes and Structure

Reflective of its overall mission, AYF has selected four main themes for Fellowship activity. These are:

• Leadership and Project Management
• Innovation and Intrapreneurship
• PR and Marketing

The AYF Fellowship consists of 3 components which link to and support one another, namely:

• Self Development and Mentoring
• Project Ideation and Project work
• Event Creation

Special Lectures

Fellows will receive several lectures from eminent experts well-versed in the AYF 2021 themes and goals. Past lecturers have included entrepreneurs, international thought leaders, representatives from the United Nations and key Pasona stakeholders that are driving the new initiatives in Awaji.

Lectures will be planned and designed to link to other components of the Fellowship, with the objective of providing Fellows with both intellectual stimulation as well as to inspire them in their self-development journey.

Projects

As a working internship, the AYF Fellowship will require participants to be involved in supporting, developing, and creating initiatives to drive and deliver outcomes for AYF and the Pasona Group across several core areas.This will include supporting ongoing events and developing new events focused on wellness, inbound tourism, and culture.

As far as possible, project work will be divided to reflect the interests and activities of Fellows, and to support their work goals, so as to create an overall synergy and maximize time and effort.

Project work will broadly cover, but is not limited to, the following:

• AYF Academy: training and skills development for external organizations
• AYF Global: development of networks and content for the AYF online platform
• New Initiatives: Work in implementation and improvement of new AYF Projects
• Regional Revitalization on Awaji Island: involvement in specific Pasona Group projects and work activities as directed

Mentorship

Each Fellow will be assigned a dedicated Mentor from the AYF Secretariat staff, all of whom are AYF Alumni, to act as a sounding board and personal guide throughout the year. For any new initiatives that get traction, a Mentor with Experience within Pasona will be assigned to the project to support its development.

Fellow-Fellow mentoring and skill sharing sessions will also be planned and facilitated as part of the curriculum. In addition, a selected number of industry expert mentors will be available on call for more specialized advice.*

* We cannot guarantee to have an industry expert focused in the exact area of your desired career interest.

Graduation Pathways

The AYF Fellowship provides participants with a unique opportunity to test their skills, interests and move out of their comfort zone. From the perspective of a new country, new culture and surrounded by AYF Fellows from all around the world, Fellows have an opportunity to take time out and rediscover themselves.

For those interested in developing a lasting connection with Japan, AYF is the perfect vehicle for the development of insight, experience and most importantly language skills that are a pre-requisite to any further career either on Awaji Island or elsewhere in Japan.

AFellows who successfully showcase their skills and contribution to the development of Awaji Island in line with the vision and corporate direction of the Pasona Group will be offered a chance to stay on Awaji Island after the Fellowship to keep working on new initiatives.

Regular career counselling sessions will be included as part of the AYF Fellowship program to assist Fellows in articulating their goals and taking proactive steps to achieving them.

Japanese Language

Support will be offered for online study of Japanese language on a discounted fee basis. Improvement of Japanese Language skills is an important criterion for evaluating the progress of Fellows, and an essential prerequisite to a successful career in Japan