OGFICE Provides Educational Assistance to Indonesia, Malaysia, and East Timor Through Its FY 2015 Programs

Assistance provided to South East Asia and other regions in the fields of education, academia, science, and technology exceeds 457 million yen over 24 years

OSAKA, Japan--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Osaka Gas Foundation of International Cultural Exchange (OGFICE) has announced its provision of educational assistance to Indonesia, Malaysia, and East Timor through assistance programs completed in fiscal 2015. Including this fiscal year's assistance amount of 26.77 million yen, the foundation has provided a total of 457 million yen in assistance over the 24 years since its establishment in 1992.

Osaka Gas established OGFICE in 1992 in order to deepen mutual understanding between Japan and natural gas producing countries such as those situated in South East Asia.

In this fiscal year, the foundation provided a total of 15.65 million yen in aid to Indonesia in the form of school grants for educational equipment, scholarships for 400 students, research grants, training grants, and other assistance. Of these, research grants were provided to three universities, including the University of Indonesia, for use in research in the fields of energy and the environment.

Training assistance was provided to two graduate students of the University of Indonesia for short-term studies abroad for Japanese language*¹, and in addition 14 staff from Terbuka University involved in the preparation of educational material were provided with training on developing media-based teaching materials.

For Malaysia, a total of 7.47 million yen in assistance was provided, which included grants to schools in remote locations of Sarawak for educational materials, research grants to Sarawak University, and scholarships awarded to 12 students.

For East Timor, in addition to a total of 1.13 million yen worth of scholarships for 20 students from the National University of East Timor, two lecturers from the same university were also provided with short-term training in Japan. These programs, which represent ongoing efforts by the foundation, are recognized as activities of an initiative designated the "2012 - Year of Friendship and Peace between Japan and East Timor," which commemorates the 10th Anniversary of Diplomatic Relations between East Timor and Japan*².

The foundation intends to continue engaging in activities aimed at promoting international exchange through educational assistance in regions such as South East Asia.

*1 -A University student Japanese language training program which the foundation co-sponsors with the Japan Foundation.

*2 -An initiative implemented in 2012 to commemorate the 10th anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations between the foreign ministries of East Timor and Japan.

Attachment

FY 2015 Assistance Programs: Total of 26.77 million yen

1.		Contributions to Indonesia: 15.65 million yen
	1)	Educational equipment grants: 3.64 million yen
			a.	Sporting equipment, musical instruments, personal computers, IT equipment, etc., to elementary schools, junior and senior high schools, and a university in the Bontang area
			b.	Distance education assistance to Terbuka University through educational equipment grants
			c.	Library assistance for the Banda Aceh area
	2)	Scholarships: 5.03 million yen for 400 students
			a.	Bontang area (high school and university students)	145 students
			b.	Lhokseumawe area (high school students)	100 students
			c.	Mulawarman University (university students)	60 students
			d.	Banda Aceh area (elementary, junior high, high school students)	65 students
			e.	Syiah Kuala University (university students)	30 students
	3)	Testing and research grants: 4.81 million yen for 10 subjects
			a.	University of Indonesia	3 subjects
			b.	Institute of Technology, Bandung	3 subjects
			c.	Bogor Agricultural University	4 subjects
	4)	Training grants: 2.17 million yen for 16 students and staff
			a.	Short-term studies abroad for Japanese language (2 graduate students from the University of Indonesia)
			b.	Multimedia material development training program (14 faculty staff from Terbuka University)

2.	Contributions to Malaysia: 7.47 million yen
	1)	Educational equipment grants: 530,000 yen
		Textbooks and books to 40 schools for distance education in the Sarawak area
	2)	Scholarships: 3.24 million yen for 12 students
		Sarawak University (university students), 12 students
	3)	Testing and research grants: 1.60 million yen for 13 subjects
		Sarawak University, 13 subjects
	4)	Training grants: 2.10 million yen
		Grants for training teaching staff from remote schools in Sarawak
3.	Contributions for East Timor: 3.65 million yen
	1)	Scholarships: 1.13 million yen for 20 students
		National University of East Timor (university students), 20 students
	2)	Training grants: 2.52 million yen for 2 staff
		Short-term study program in Japan for two lecturers from the National University of East Timor

An overview of the Osaka Gas Foundation of International Cultural Exchange (OGFICE), can be found in the following link:
http://www.osakagas.co.jp/company/efforts/international/english/index.html