General News - IIAS Newsletter Online

Director's Note

Permanent ICAS Secretariat Established

IIAS stand at ICAS 2, Berlin 9-12 August 2001.

Although there have always been, of course, many individual contacts between researchers from both sides of the Atlantic, what had long been missing was an open, loosely organized framework or platform, a forum that would allow specialists from all areas, disciplines, regions, and paradigms to informally meet, exchange ideas, and engage in new plans for joint research activities. Because European and American scholars in the field of Asia Studies felt a need for closer interaction within their research, the International Convention for Asia Scholars (ICAS) was established three years ago. In close cooperation with the Association for Asian Studies (AAS, US) a first convention was organized in the Netherlands in 1998. The IIAS in its capacity of the secretariat of the Asia Committee of the European Science Foundation (ESF) was responsible for the planning and implementation.

* By WIM STOKHOF

An academic programme committee, consisting of members from various European professional organizations for Asian Studies and representatives from the AAS, selected individual papers and decided on more than a hundred-and-thirty panels. Approximately one thousand Asianists from all over the world participated in ICAS I, which grew into a multidisciplinary interregional platform where Asianists from America, Europe, and Asia discussed problems of common interest.

From the very beginning, ICAS gave special attention to the participation of scholars from Asia: research on Asia without close cooperation with colleagues from that region would have been a pointless undertaking. Although regional academic infrastructure building is still at an early stage in Asia and cross-national professional associations such as the European ones are often even only in a planning stage, ICAS I was quite successful in attracting Asian researchers.

There was a remarkably equal distribution of participants per region: 35 per cent of the home institutions were located in the US, an equal percentage in Europe, and 30 per cent in Asia! The second ICAS took place in Berlin, Germany from 9 to 12 August this year and, again, most participants judged the convention as quite successful and effective.

ICAS goes to Asia.
An estimated 800 participants gave acte de presence at the garden-like surroundings of the Freie Universität Berlin where ICAS II was held. Specialists on Asia met each other during panels, discussion groups, and video presentations, at bookstalls, or strolling and picnicking on the premises of the Henry Ford Building, the main venue of the convention. The ICAS spirit appeared very much alive and kicking. For the organization of ICAS II, the Association of Chinese Political Studies joined as did the Japanese-German Centre Berlin and the Asia Pacific Forum Berlin.

It is very gratifying for us to establish that our initiative to set up a kind of tripolar platform for scholars from Asia, Europe, and the US, has been received so well in general and in particular by our colleagues from Asia. The National University of Singapore has offered to organize the third ICAS in Singapore in August 2003. A good place for an academic gathering focused on Asia.

ICAS Secretariat founded.

During a meeting of the Presidents of the professional organizations for Asian Studies in Europe, the President and Secretary of the Association for Asian Studies (AAS, US), the organizer of the first International Convention of Asian Scholars (ICAS I, 1998), the International Institute for Asian Studies, (IIAS, the Netherlands), the present organizer of ICAS II, the Freie Universität Berlin, and the future organizer of ICAS III (2003), the University of Singapore, it was decided to establish a permanent ICAS Secretariat, which will be attached to the IIAS. This decision was made since the ICAS concept of cross-disciplinary and cross-regional approach to Asian Studies has clearly proven to be a success. ICAS II in Berlin drew almost one thousand scholars from Asia, Europe, and America. In order to safeguard and facilitate these new developments in Asian Studies, a secretariat was deemed necessary. Concretely, the secretariat will act as the ICAS archive and actively pursue clear visibility through its presence at major meetings of Asia scholars and regular reports on its activities in the IIAS Newsletter and website. The secretariat will also be instrumental in drawing up a regulatory framework for the ICAS activities. *

See you all in Singapore!

ICAS SECRETARIAT FOUNDED & NEW ICAS WEBSITE

The presidents of the professional organizations for Asian Studies the Association for Asian Studies (AAS, US); the International Institute for Asian Studies, (IIAS, the Netherlands), organizer of the first International Convention of Asian Scholars (ICAS I, 1998); the Freie Universitat Berlin, organizer of ICAS I; and the University of Singapore, future organizer of ICAS III (2003) convened a meeting in Europe at which it was decided to establish a permanent ICAS Secretariat to be attached to the IIAS.

That the ICAS concept of a cross-disciplinary and cross-regional approach to Asian Studies has clearly proven to be a success was an important factor in the decision. ICAS II in Berlin drew almost one thousand scholars from Asia, Europe, and America. In order to safeguard and facilitate these new developments in Asian Studies, a secretariat was deemed necessary. The secretariat is to act as the ICAS archive and pursue a clear visibility by being present at major meetings of Asian scholars and by publishing regular reports on its activities in the IIAS Newsletter and IIAS website. The secretariat will also be instrumental in drawing up a regulating framework for the ICAS activities. For more information, please visit our new website (see below).

For more information:

International Institute
for Asian Studies

P.O. Box 9515, 2300 RA Leiden, NL

Tel.: +31-71-527 2227

Fax: +31-71-527 4162

E-mail: iias@let.leidenuniv.nl

ICAS Website:

www.icassecretariat.org

Professor Wim Stokhof is Director of the International Institute for Asian Studies, Leiden/ Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

E-mail: iias@let.leidenuniv.nl