GRIPS has conducted a 19-day “Thai Senior Executive Development Program (SEDP)” from July 6 July 24, 2009 in response to the request by Office of the Civil Service Committee(OCSC) in Thailand. In this fifth year of the program, GRIPS welcomed one Provincial Governor and six Provincial Vice Governors of Thailand as participants. Deputy Secretary General of OCSC also joined in this program this year.

During the program, coordinated by SEDP Program Director Professor Yokomichi, the participants attended lectures given by faculty members including Vice President Ota; Professors Ikawa, Horie, Kimura and Komatsu; Associate Professor Honda; and academics from other institutions, as well as lectures given by incumbent government officials and policy makers, which allowed the participants to deepen their knowledge on Japan’s experience in the areas of local governance, local autonomy, administration reform, and regional development. The participants also visited the National Governors Association (NGA) and the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC) for exchange of ideas.

The participants took a field trip to Nara and Kyoto. They also visited the Local Government Offices of Hokkaido and Aomori, as well as Sapporo City, Hakodate City, Itayanagi Town and Tsuruta Town to be briefed on local government administration reform, tourism and agricultural policies. Questions were raised actively by the participants throughout the program, showing the depth of their interest as well as their enthusiasm to learn from Japan’s system and experience.

After the field trip, to conclude the program each of the participants presented an Action Plan on what they will promote upon their return to their respective prefectures, reflecting what they have learnt and the inspirations gained through this training program.

Lectures

Welcome Reception

Nara

Kyoto

Hokkaido Prefecture Office (Courtesy Call to Vice Governor)

Sapporo City Office (Courtesy Call to Vice Mayor)

Hakodate City Office (Courtesy Call to Mayor)

Aomori Prefecture Office (Courtesy Call to Vice Governor)

Shin-Aomori Station Construction site

The National Diet

Completion Ceremony