IIAS LECTURE

On the 27th of May, 1994, the first IIAS lecture was delivered by professor
Denys Lombard of the �cole Francaise d'Extreme Orient in Paris. The meeting
took place at the headquarters of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and
Sciences in Amsterdam. Over 100 Asianists attended the meeting. After a word
of welcome by the president of the board of the IIAS, F. H�sken, Dr Max
Sparreboom, the officer responsible for the European Science Foundation's work
in the Humanities, delivered an introductory speech in which he made it clear
that close cooperation of European associations and research institutes in the
field of Asian Studies is a condition sine qua non for them to become eligible
for European funding in the context of the European Community.
Thereafter Professor Deny Lombard delivered his speech entitled: 'De la vertu
des aires culturelles et de celle des aires culturelles asiatques en
particulier'. In it he stressed the importance of area studies in the field
of Asian Studies. He even looks upon area studies as a last refuge. Thereupon
the director of the IIAS professor W.A.L. Stokhof made some closing remarks.
The reception was hosted by the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and
Sciences.