Oct 24, 2011

Regional Politicians and Thought Leaders to Speak at the 11^th Hitachi Young Leaders Initiative

— Into its 11th edition, the Hitachi Young Leaders Initiative demonstrates Hitachi’s commitment towards grooming young Asian leaders —

Manila, October 24, 2011 – Hitachi Asia Ltd. (NYSE: HIT / TSE:6501) today announced the confirmed list of speakers for the 11th Hitachi Young Leaders Initiative (HYLI). The event, which will be held in Hanoi, Vietnam between 9 and 13 January 2012, will see the gathering of regional politicians and key thought leaders from the region.

Since its inauguration in Singapore in 1996, HYLI has been successful in bringing the best and brightest students in Asia together. Each year, four outstanding students below the age of 28 are chosen to represent their country for the programme. These students come from seven Asian countries namely Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and Japan.

As a regional programme, HYLI aims to provide a platform for young Asians to gather and meet prominent Asian policymakers, professionals and commentators to discuss and share ideas on trends which affect Asia.

Mr. Toshiaki Kuzuoka, Senior Vice President and Executive Officer, Hitachi, Ltd. said, “The line-up of speakers for the 11th HYLI impresses with their prominence and standing in the Asian community. We are very heartened to receive such strong support from these leaders who share our belief in grooming Asian youths with strong leadership potential.”

“Cultivating our next generation leaders has always been at the top of Hitachi’s CSR agenda. While we provide these young leaders a conduit to gather and discuss on issues, it would not be possible without the endorsement from these great leaders of today,” Mr. Kuzuoka added.
Mr. Makoto Nagashima, Managing Director of Hitachi Asia Ltd. said, “Asia is a very diverse region and it is important for Asian young leaders to hear from experts from different backgrounds who will be sharing their views on the pressing regional and global issues affecting Asia today. We are glad that the 11th HYLI will have the presence of these prominent Asian policymakers, professionals and commentators.”

Themed The New Stage for Asia – an Asian Perspective on Managing Sustainable Development and Economic Integration, the two sub-themes that will be discussed are (1) Energy and the Environment (2) Economic Partnership and Integration. An impressive line-up of speakers will touch on these topics. From Philippines, Mr Gregory L. Domingo, Secretary of the International Trade and Industry will be speaking on Moving Towards an Economically-Integrated Community.

Please refer to the attached programme highlights for the list of speakers and topics.

Download Programme highlights (PDF Type, 33 kByte)

Overwhelming response from students

Approximately 50 applications were received from five universities- Loyola Schools Ateneo de Manila University, De La Salle University, University of the Philippines, University of San Carlos and University of Santo Tomas.

All student applicants were put through a rigorous selection process based on their academic results, participation in extra-curricular activities, awards achieved and knowledge of current regional issues.

The final four students who stood out among all the outstanding applicants are

1. Kurt Gerard T. See – PhD Economics Student, De La Salle University
2. Mark Andrew Copuyoc – Management Engineering Student, Loyola Schools, Ateneo de Manila University
3. Camille Angela Marie Almario Aquino – Economics student, De La Salle University
4. Miguel Antonio Garcia – MA Economics Student, University of San Carlos

Mark Andrew Copuyoc, Management Engineering Student at the Loyola Schools, Ateneo de Manila University said, “I am very grateful and excited to have the opportunity to represent the country. I hope to learn a lot from HYLI and apply these lessons in serving the country.”