I am very sorry that my first post after a long time is a disappointing one.
For the past three years, due to the global outbreak of the new Coronavirus, it has been difficult to conduct training programs between Mindanao and Hiroshima, and we have been away from applying for JICA projects.
In the meantime, Professor Yoshida of Hiroshima University, who has been implementing the HiPeC-BM project, is about to retire in the end of March 2026.
Even if he were to apply for the JICA project and be selected, it would take six months to start the project and almost four years to finish it, so Professor Yoshida would not be able to carry out the project to the end.
Therefore, the HiPeC-BM Cotabato Office, which has been located at the Institute of Bangsamoro Studies in Cotabato, is being closed at the end of March 2023, and the HiPeC-BM Project in the official sense will come to an end.
We would like to thank Director Lingga and all the members of IBS for their cooperation, BDA for the Skill-up Training, the instructors who guided the trainees in the training, the administrative staff of the Cotabato office for their support, and the trainees who participated in the training with great enthusiasm.
I would also like to thank the Hiroshima Prefecture officials who gave lectures from their professional standpoints during the training in Hiroshima, the people in the field who accepted the trainees for fieldwork, and the faculty members of Hiroshima University who accepted to serve as lecturers.
Thank you very much.
Although the training as a JICA Grassroots project has now come to an end, the Bangsamoro Autonomous Government and Hiroshima University have concluded Joint Statement of Cooperation, and have decided to continue their cooperative relationship for the development of Bangsamoro autonomy.
While it remains to be seen what specific activities we will be able to implement together, we are confident that the HiPeC-BM alumni will help us to maintain our ties with each other and with Professor Yoshida and to work together to deepen our relationship and cooperation.
Glory to the future of Bangsamoro and HiPeC-BM forever!

The Second Phase of HiPeC-BM Project which included the 4^th, 5^th and 6^th HET, and 1^st,,  2^nd and 3^rd MHST was terminated at the end of November 2018.

Hiroshima University and Hiroshima Prefecture were planning to apply to JICA for the project in 2017 in order to start the Third Phase just before the Second Phase ended.

Unfortunately, JICA did not open the call for fresh applications of this type of projects in 2017.

This kept us from carrying out the HET and MHST, and other activities related to these trainings in 2019. 

We are very sorry we cannot open the applications for the 7^th HET this February.

After an interval of a year, JICA finally started accepting applications in summer 2018.  We applied for the project in October and now are waiting for the announcement of the result (whether adopted or not) which is scheduled in March 2019.

We will update the information regarding the Third Phase Project of HiPeC-BM in April, 2019.

On Sunday, November 11, 2018, we held two big events of the Project: 1) The 2nd Phase Hiroshima Essential Trainings Final Presentation and 2) Panel Discussion of the Hiroshima Peace-building and Capacity Development Project for the Bangsamoro (HiPeC-BM), at  EM Manor Hotel, Cotabato City. We are very happy to announce that both events were completed with a big success!!  

Please see the schedule below. (Click here for the PDF version)

The morning session was “The 2nd Phase Hiroshima Essential Trainings Final Presentation” to provide the participants of the 4th, 5th and 6th Hiroshima Essential Trainings (HET) an opportunity to present their polished final Policy Proposals for the future autonomous government in the Bangsamoro to the Board Members of the Bansamoro Development Agency (BDA). 

The original proposals were developed during their respective Hiroshima Essential Trainings.  Trainees received suggestions and comments at their respective final presentation days from academia and professionals. Taking these feedbacks , they had continued to work on their own proposals to make them the final after they were back in the Philippines. All participants successfully completed their polished proposals and officially submitted them to the BDA on Sunday, November 11.

For this reason, the Board Members of the BDA attended the session. We also invited a representative from Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP)– Cotabato Operations Office and examiners in the HET Screening Committees. The latter includes Dr. Arceli B. Naraga, Mindanao State University (MSU) – Maguindanao, and Ms. Fatima P. Kanakan, Executive Director, Office on Southern Cultural Communities (OSCC), Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM). Other HiPeC-BM Alumni HET Trainees of Batches 1 to 3 were invited as well.

After the policy proposal of each group, Atty. Ishmael Bahjin of OPAPP Cotabato Operations Office, Dr.  Naraga and Director Kanakan gave their positive comments.  Dr. Mohammad Yacob, Executive Director of BDA, praised all the members of Batches 4-6 and promised that all the proposals would be implemented. 

The topics of their final presentations are: 

4th Batch :
   1)   “Improving the Delivery of Social Protection and Community Transformation in the Bangsamoro through the Development of an Integrated Management Information System”
  2)  “Potable Water Supply Project for Tipo-Tipo, Basilan.”

5th Batch: 
    1)  “Image-Building for Bangsamoro: Strengthening Bangsamoro Identity”
    2)  “Creation of Integrated Training and Development Plan for Bangsamoro Government Employees ”                         

6th Batch: 
     1)  “Agri-Bizaar (Agriculture+Business+Bazaar)”
     2)   “Institutionalization of the Oneness in Nurturing Education in Bangsamoro Teachers’ Guide in Araling Panlipunan Grade 3.”

Please also see the photos during the morning session.  

The afternoon session was a PANEL DISCUSSION on “How Can We Organize the Transition to the Bangsamoro Government as a Preparation to Provide the People in the Region with the Dividend of Peace?”

The Panelists during the discussion were Dr. Mohammad S. Yacob, Executive Director of BDA, Prof. Abhoud Syed M. Lingga, Executive Director of Institute of Bangsamoro Studies (IBS), Atty. Raissa H. Jajurie, Commissioner of Bangsamoro Transition Commission (BTC) and representatives of the three batches of HET, Mr. Kenny Lloyd L. Angon of Batch 6, Ms. Annieza P. Abubakar of Batch 5 and Mr. Jesse Angelo L. Altez of Batch 4.

The Panel Discussion by the Panelists was followed by a Plenary Discussion which was actively participated by other HET members as well as HiPeC-BM Alumni members.

One of the questions being asked to the panelists was “Because we want to be guided in helping the leaders in achieving a better society, we want to know what are your expectations to the Youth?”, given by Mr. Abdul Nasif M. Mohammad, a 3rd Batch Trainee.

Please see the photos of the afternoon session. 

HiPeC-BM Project’s Panel will be displayed Homecoming Day, one of the big events of Hiroshima University on this Saturday, November 3, 2018!

The panel exhibition will be from 13:00 to 5:00 pm at the Medium Conference Room (room A-192) in the Graduate School of Social Sciences.  The exhibition will show outstanding lectures, symposium, and seminars  held during the year of 2018.  

We joined this event by making two panels, which displays the core trainings of the HiPeC-BM project: Hiroshima Essential Trainings and  Mindanao-Hiroshima Skill-up Trainings. Please visit the Exhibition and give your feedback to us!! 

Panel 1: The 3rd Mindanao-Hiroshima Skill Up Training (PDF)

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Panel 2: The 6th Hiroshima Essential Trainings (PDF)

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HiPeC-BM’s first alumni meeting was held with great success on Wednesday, October 17, 2018 at EM Manor Hotel in Cotabato city, the Philippines!

The HiPeC-BM project was inaugurated in 2014 within the Grassroots Technical Cooperation scheme of Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) .  It is now in its 5th year and the total number of trainees of the Hiroshima Essential Trainings is 66. As the current phase will be closing at the end of November 2018, we decided to hold an Alumni Meeting to provide them an opportunity to expand their professional networks to share experiences and to work together for better and peaceful Bangsamoro Government in Mindanao, the Philippines. 

PDF

Of all 66 alumni, 33 participated in the Meeting. Those HiPeC-BM Alumni had an honor to have the attendance of Hon. Mohagher Iqbal, Chairman of the MILF Peace Implementing Panel. At the meeting,  individual project/work reports were presented by three voluntary members of the alumni, which were followed by group discussions. The Project Manager of the HiPeC-BM, Prof. Yoshida, attended the meeting through a video message.

Please see the program of the Meeting on the left and photos below.

Two Davao-based Batch 6 HiPeC-BM HET Trainees were accompanied by  the Project Manager of the HiPeC-BM, Prof. Yoshida, to visit Honorable Consul Yoshiaki Miwa, Counsellor & Director,  the Consular Office of Japan in Davao City, and Ms. Maki Yamagishi, Expert on the Economic Enhancement Component, Comprehensive Capacity Development Project (CCDP) Davao project sub-office, JICA.

Through these visits, they had opportunities to learn the importance of the cooperation between Japan and the Philippines, specifically of the significance of our Project in this bilateral relationship. They also had a chance to share their experiences  from the Training with Hon. Miwa and Ms. Yamagishi and how the lessons learned from the trainings had enhanced their skills and affected their workings. They talked about the final presentation session in early November which is going to be made to the Board Members of the Bangsamoro Development Agency (BDA) .

(Sep. 29-30) HiPeC-BM will be participating in “GLOBAL FESTA JAPAN 2018” at ODAIBA Center Promenade in Tokyo

We will participating in the largest international cooperation event in Japan, “GLOBAL FESTA JAPAN 2018” held on September 29 and 30 at ODAIBA Center Promenade in Tokyo.

The event is organized by Global Festa Japan 2018 Committee with three co-organizers: Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan (MOFA), Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), and Japan NGO Center for International Cooperation (JANIC).  We are delighted to accept the invitation from JICA to participate in this event!

JICA’s booth consists of many different sections and HiPeC-BM will exhibit at their Grass-root Technical Cooperation Scheme section.  Please click here for the video introducing our project made specifically for this event by our staff in the Philippines with cooperation of the trainees of the 6th Hiroshima Essential Trainings. We were asked to make it in Japanese and the video being shown at the event includes all projects in the section. Our brochure are also found in the booth. Please also find the English version of our video here.

The following is the event information. Details will be found in the Event website.
The admission is free. Please come to the event and visit the JICA’s booth and find us!! 
     ■ Title: Global Festa JAPAN 2018
     ■ Date: September 29 (Sat)  * and  September 30 (Sun) 2018   
                                                          * Cancelled due to the typhoon #24
     ■ Time: 10:00-17:00 each day
     ■ Venue: ODAIBA Center Promenade（Symbol Promenade Park）
                     1-2, Aomi, Koto-ku, Tokyo
     ■ Admission:  Free
     ■Access: 1 minute walk from Tokyo Teleport Sta. on the Rinkai Line
                     3 minutes walk from Aomi Sta. on the Yurikamome Line
                     7 minutes walk from Odaiba Kaihinkoen Sta. on the Yurikamome Line

Day 26: July 27, 2018
   1. Final Presentation and Closing Ceremony
   2. Feedback meeting

On the last day of the Training, trainees presented a proposal for each of the two groups for the future Bangsamoro Government.

The final presentation session was held with participation from Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Hiroshima Prefectural Government (HPG), and United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) Hiroshima Office at the Large Conference Room, Graduate School of Social Sciences, Hiroshima University (HU).

Each group had 20 minutes of presentation, followed by 15 minutes of discussion and feedback. Please find the schedule and trainees’ names listed below.                                                                                                                                                        
 
                                                                                                  PDF for both schedule and the list

Group 1 proposed agricultural-business-bazaar titled, “AGRI BIZAAR” to provide farmers with the place for selling their products, networking with other farmers, and receiving information from the organizer.  Implementation plan and expected results were also discussed.
  

The next proposal presented by Group 2 was titled, “Oneness in Nurturing Education (ONE) in BANSAGMORO: Standardized and Contextual Teacher’s Guide.” They looked at issues and challenges caused by cultural, ethnic, and religious diverseness of Bangsamoro and proposed a policy named, “Standardized Contextual Teacher’s Guide,” to help developing “unity” in the society, using educational intervention as a tool.
  

Compared to their work at the rehearsal held just one day before the presentation, Mr. Kawagoe and Ms. Adams, who participated in both events, said that they were impressed by their outstanding improvement.

During the discussion sessions, trainees received a lot of advice and helpful recommendations from the guests. They will take these constrictive feedback to continue to refine their proposals in Mindanao. The polished final proposals will be submitted to Bangsamoro Development Agency, our local project partner, in November 2018. We are all excited to see its further improvement in November.

After the Presentation, Closing Ceremony for the 6th Hiroshima Essential Trainings was held. The trainees received a Certificate of Completion from JICA and another certificate jointly from Hiroshima Prefectural Government and Hiroshima University handed by Ms. Sachiko Missumi, Director General, JICA Chugoku Center, for the former and Mr. Masahiro Shimozaki, Director, Regional Policy Bureau, Peace Promotion Project Team, HPG and  Professor Daizo Egashira, Dean of School of Law, HU, for the latter.

Trainees then received congratulating speeches from Ms. Misumi, Mr. Shimozaki, and Prof. Egashira. Prof. Yoshida, the Project Manager of the HiPeC-BM, also gave a few words to congratulate trainees on their achievement and closed the Ceremony. Click here for the photos of the Closing Ceremony. 

   
                            Group photo after the Ceremony                                     Trainees and facilitators of the 6th Batch

In the afternoon, trainees changed their traditional/formal clothing to their order-made uniform. The feedback meeting was participated by Mr. Kawagoe from HPG and Mr. Yamamoto from JICA as well as the Project Manager, the 6th batch trainees, facilitators, and staff. Opinions and feedback during the discussion will be taken seriously for our future trainings.

Day 27: July 28, 2018:
   Departing from Hiroshima to the Philippines 

All trainees, facilitators, and staff took a Shinkansen from Higashi Hiroshima and a flight from Fukuoka airport to their home. We hoped the trainees will effectively utilize a wide range of ideas through this Training which will make them possible to contribute to the development of a peaceful and stable society as public administrators in the autonomous government in Bangsamoro, Mindanao, the Philippines.

The rest of the final week was specifically focused on the final presentation to develop their proposal to the future autonomous government in Bagsamoro, Mindanao in the Philippines.

Day 23: July 24, 2018
   1. Round Table
   2. Courtesy Call on Dean of the Graduate School of Social Sciences, HU.
   3. Examination Review 3/ Q&A
   4. Preparation for Final Examination

A round-table discussion was held to review their presentation materials and receive constructive feedback from the Project Manager, facilitators, their colleagues, and some graduate students for improving their presentation.

After the discussion, trainees paid a courtesy call on  Professor Atsuhiro Taki, Dean of the Graduate School of Social Sciences, Hiroshima University.

Please also find the article about our visit on the Hiroshima University’s homepage.

Day 24: July 25, 2018
   1. Final Examination   
   2. Courtesy Call on President of Hiroshima University
   3. Preparation for Final Presentation

The final examination was held to confirm trainees’ understanding on important elements of overall training.  After the exam, the Project Manager, Prof. Yoshida, discussed the answers with trainees to review. Then, the trainees went to the Hiroshima University’s main office building to pay a courtesy call on the President of Hiroshima University, Dr. Mitsuo Ochi.

Please also see the article about our visit on the Hiroshima University’s official website in both English and Japanese pages.  

Day 25: July 26, 2018
   1. Presentation Rehearsal 
   2. Preparation for Fina Presentation

The rehearsal was held on the day before the final presentation. We invited Mr. Shinjiro Kawagoe from Hiroshima Prefectural Government (HPG) and Ms. Rose Adams, a intern at HPG from Stanford University, to ask for feedback.  Some graduate students were also invited. Trainees received valuable advice from the participants including Prof. Yoshida and facilitators. After the rehearsal, each group had a consultation with Prof. Yoshida. After the session, trainees worked very hard to improve their presentation and prepared for their final presentation. 

Day 21: July 22, 2018
  Sunday/ free time

Day 22: July 23, 2018
   1. On-site Training at Hiroshima University  (Administrative work) 
   2. Examination -3
   3. Brainstorming for the final presentation

The first day of the final week, on July 23, trainees learned administrative work from the support office at the Graduate School of Social Sciences, Hiroshima University.

Mr. Hirofumi Kakinomoto, Deputy Director of the Office, said a few words and two of the administrative staff, Ms. Rika Sawa and Ms. Saori Koyama,  provided trainees a hands-on training on the procedures of  business trip, one of their administrative tasks. Trainees learned about how its procedures has done at the office in the University by completing all tasks on a sample case step by step. 

In the afternoon, trainees took a third examination from the lectures held during the third week. After the exam, they had a brainstorming session for their final presentation held on Friday, July 27.  At this final event, trainees will present their proposal to the future autonomous government in Bagsamoro, Mindanao in the Philippines. The trainees were divided into two groups and had worked on their proposal.  Active discussions were held during the Session.