In September 1995 the Full ESF Asia Committee convened in Leiden, The Netherlands. Nine workshops to be held in 1996 and 1997 were selected for support (see below for recent data). Some of the 'ESF Asia Committee fellows' who were selected during the meeting in 1995 have begun their work at European institutes in Europe or in Asia, and others will commence in the course of this year. The Committee was fully behind the idea of stimulating meetings of the boards of the professional / regional associations such as the European Association for Japanese Studies (EAJS), the European Association for South East Asian Studies (EUROSEAS), the Association for Korean Studies (AKSE), the European Association for Chinese Studies (EACS), and the European Seminars for Central Asian Studies (ESCAS). There was also limited support for a workshop to be held in Copenhagen on 21-24 August 1996: 14th European Conference on Modern South Asian Studies. There are hopes that during this workshop specialists in the field of South Asian Studies will be able to set up a similar professional European organization for South Asian Studies.
A call for ESF Asia Committee workshops (deadline 1 June 1996) and a call for research proposals for an ESF Asia Committee fellowship (deadline 1 May 1996) was published in IIAS Newsletter nr. 7. Many requests for information have been received by the secretariat and the Strasbourg bureau since then. The Full Committee, which will hold its next meeting in London at the end of August 1996, will select a number of fellows to begin in 1996 or 1997, and a number of workshops to be held in 1997. It is expected that those who have submitted proposals will be given an answer in the course of September 1996.
During its meeting in London, the Full Committee will also discuss its policy for the next few years. It is anticipated that the meeting will produce an ESF Asia Committee policy document, for which preparations are being made by the Executive Group of the ESF Asia Committee, consisting of: Prof. Th. Svensson, Prof. D. Lombard, Prof. W.A.L. Stokhof, Prof. G. Dudbridge, Prof. Klenner, Prof. K.M. Schipper and, from the ESF, Dr M. Sparreboom. The ESF Executive Group convenes several times a year.
Forum Engelberg
Some members of the ESF Asia Committee were present at the 7th Conference of the Forum
Engelberg (Engelberg, Switzerland, 26-29 March 1996). The Forum Engelberg was founded in
1989 and holds annual conferences. Its purpose is to 'promote a fruitful exchange of views at an
international level between representatives of science, technology, economics, philosophy, and
eminent personalities from the cultural and political world, on crucial issues arising from modern
research and scientific progress'. For its 7th conference, the Forum Engelberg collaborated with
the EC, ESTA, ERT, ESF, and the Swiss-Asia Foundation. The theme of Forum Engelberg
1996: 'Europe-Asia: Science and Technology for their Future, Science-Technology-
Culture' had been chosen 'in response to the growing interest of industrial, scientific and
economic circles to better apprehend the remarkable growth of the economies of Asian countries,
and to further stimulate the awareness of its consequences'. Prof. Th. Svensson, Chairman of the
ESF Asia Committee delivered a keynote speech on 'Formulating Common European and Asian
Interests in Research, Education and Culture'. Prof. Nguyen The Anh lectured on 'Education in
Asia Considered from Europe: features and prospects'. Prof. W.A.L. Stokhof shared his ideas
on 'Culture's added Value to Europe-Asia Relationships on the Threshold of the 21st Century'.
(see General News)
Members of the Committee have been active in publishing their views on Asian Studies in
Europe. The Supplement of the IIAS Newsletter nr. 4 carried a contribution by Prof. G.
Dudbridge giving his views on the ESF Asia Committee. In the present issue there are
contributions by Professor W. Klenner (Economics of East and South East Asia - towards
a European perspective?) and by Professor Drège (The Future of Asian Studies in Europe). In
the next newsletter Prof. J. Martinussen will elaborate on Asian Studies and European Social
Science.
We warmly welcome all contributions from other persons interested in writing on Asian Studies in (parts of) Europe. For more information, please refer to the editors of the IIAS Newsletter, Paul van der Velde or Ilse Lasschuijt at the IIAS.
For general ESF Asia Committee information/information on workshops:
ESF Asia Committee Secretariat
c/o Sabine A.M. Kuypers
IIAS
Postbus 9515
2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands
Tel: +31-71-527.2227
Fax: +31-71-527.4162
E-mail: IIAS@let.leidenuniv.nl
For information on ESF fellowships:
ESF
Chantal Durant
1, Quai Lezay-Marnésia
67080 Strasbourg Cedex, France
Tel: +33-88-767127
Fax: +33-88-370532
E-mail:CDurant@esf.c-strasbourg.fr