President

Seeking new expansion and depth founded on continuity

President As we entered 2009 our Center took a new step forward.
We are now into the fourth year of our second medium-term objectives that began in 2006 when we became an independent administrative institution. So far we have celebrated the thirtieth anniversary of our founding, successfully warded off for the second time strong pressure to be integrated with youth centers, and held a gala opening of the Women¡Çs Archives Center. But our basic policy remains unchanged—to cherish continuity and on the strength of it through education and learning to build new networks and deeper relations. Needless to say, our fundamental and core objectives are to support the realization of a gender-equal society and to play our rightful role as the national center. For the coming months of the second medium-term, our task is to break down these objectives into visible and concrete measures and so serve and exemplify the special character of the Center.
The Center undertakes functionally-related programs in training, exchange, research and studies, and collection and provision of information while at the same time working in partnership with like-minded individuals and organizations.
Last year, we opened the Women¡Çs Archives Center that will collect, conserve and make available to our members and the public source materials concerning women¡Çs advancement. This addition to our information services has put us in newfound relationships and collaboration with individuals, groups and universities throughout the country. We will seek creative ways of using archive materials to develop diverse programs.
We believe that there is much to be done and much value in collecting regional archive materials, conserving them for study and as a resource for new research. The Center sees that as the national center its role is to promote and support such activities and believes that it is in playing this role that it will be serving and fulfilling its best purposes. ¡¡
In response to these challenges and in pursuit of these aims, we developed a learning program to support leadership training for community building. This requires linking personal career development and social imperatives for nurturing leaders. With this objective we identified the Center¡Çs record of research and studies, community-building, and NPO activities as ¡Ècareer in social activities¡É and building on these embarked on experimental research in program development.¡¡
In pursuing this approach, teams were put together in the Center and new relationships and partnerships were developed with like-minded individuals and others engaged in community research. This enabled us to equate ¡Èdeveloping career in social activities¡É with ¡Èproviding support to nurture social human capital required for community building¡É. In the process we have become more confident than ever of the great value in creating such diverse partnerships and collaborative relationships.
This year we will continue these programs, add new dimensions of breadth and depth, and thereby forge a unique and ever stronger presence of the Center at home and abroad.
I very much look forward to working with you in the coming year.

(Michiko KANDA, President of NWEC)

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