Integrating and Developing European Asian Studies (IDEAS)

IDEAS

Launched on 1 January 2010, the FP7-funded project "Integrating and Developing European Asian Studies" (IDEAS), came to a close at the end of June 2012.

IDEAS, which is a ‘Co-ordination and Support Action' in the Research and Innovation Directorate's SSH Programme, has promoted increased collaboration between Asian Studies researchers and institutions in Europe, and the development of links between policy-makers and the academic community in this field.

Working in close collaboration with the European Consortium for Asian Field Study (ECAF), which comprises 45 leading universities and third level institutions throughout the EU, IDEAS carried out an assessment of the network of 23 European-owned field centres in Asia with a view to optimizing their future use on the level of Europe. The ECAF centres have now agreed to commit to a plan for convergence as outlined in the IDEAS "Vision Statement", and the ongoing drive to share infrastructure has, thus far, resulted in the creation of a British Academy fellowship programme and three institutional partnerships (EFEO-University of Hamburg in Beijing, EFEO-ISEAS in Kyoto, and EFEO-AFD in Ho Chi Minh City).

In 2012-2013, ECAF, which is in the process of taking on the status of an autonomous legal entity (Public Interest Group), is to be transformed into a durable European infrastructure. With an enhanced capacity to raise funds for joint initiatives, ECAF will be better equipped to pursue the IDEAS project goals of developing access to field research facilities in Asia, fostering institutional partnerships based on joint interdisciplinary research programmes and resource pooling, and promoting the mobility of students and faculty between Europe and Asia.

In their bid to develop links between policy makers and the academic community, the IDEAS consortium organized a series of events both in Europe and Asia, including international conferences, roundtables and technical seminars, which brought together a wide range of experts in the spheres of academia, civil society, government, and diplomacy. The results of these meetings are described at length in the project's Final report (soon to be made available on the IDEAS website).

In highlighting the potential synergies between humanities-oriented area studies and diplomacy, IDEAS has not only positively contributed to raising the profile of SSH research in Asian studies and its role in the promotion of intercultural understanding but has also paved the way for innovative working relationships between EU diplomats and the research community.

The Final report concludes with a set of recommendations to strengthen cooperation between policy-makers and Asian studies scholars, and for the continued development of Europe's knowledge base on Asia. At a time when Europe and European-Asian relations are evolving rapidly, the drive to achieve both of these objectives has the potential to make a significant contribution to the future of the EU.

Newsletter Achives

Newsletters 1, 2, 3 (PDF file, 3 Mb)

Newsletters 4, 5 (PDF file, 3 Mb)

EFEO News
The 22nd Classical Tamil Winter Seminar (CTWS)
Pondicherry, India, 15 January 2024

We are happy to announce the upcoming 22nd Classical Tamil Winter Seminar (CTWS), scheduled for two weeks, from 12th to 23rd February 2024. The event will be hosted at the Pondicherry Centre of the École française d'Extrême-Orient (EFEO).

Read more

 READ MORE
Happy New Year 2023
Paris, France,

The École française d'Extrême-Orient (EFEO - French School of Asian Studies) wishes you a Happy New year 2024

Follow this link to watch the EFEO New Year card.
Annual closure
Paris, France,

EFEO Paris closes for the festive season.
We look forward to seeing you in 2024, from 2 January
Study days
Paris, France, 23 November 2023

As part of the "Destins d'objets: la circulation des traces matérielles du passé de l'Antiquité à nos jours" program run by the École française d'Athènes and accredited by the Réseau des Écoles françaises à l'étranger, the EFEO is hosting the study days "Dispersions: partage de fouilles et commerce des vestiges en Asie, au Moyen-Orient et en Europe aux XIXe et XXe siècles".

Thursday, November 23, from 9:45 am to 6 pm and Friday, November 24, from 9:45 am to 1:15 pm, in the Grand Salon of the EFEO, 22 avenue du Président Wilson, 75016 Paris.

Workshop ''South India between the 4th and the 6th century CE''
Bonn, Germany, 19 October 2023
Valérie Gillet (EFEO), Ariane de Saxcé (German Archaeological Institute), and Coline Lefrancq (CNRS, ArScAn UMR 7041) are organising an international workshop entitled South India between the 4th and the 6th century CE at the University of Bonn.
Programme.

Possibility of attending the conferences online through pre-registration.
Send your request by 19 October to Ariane de Saxcé.
26th Rendez-vous de l'histoire in Blois
Blois, France,

The Réseau des Écoles françaises à l'Étranger - ResEFE - is taking part in the 26th Rendez-vous de l'histoire in Blois as part of its Carte blanche: "À tombeaux ouverts: les vivants face aux morts de l'Europe à l'Extrême-Orient."
Saturday, October 7, 9-10.30 a.m., Site Jaurès University, Amphi 2, Blois.

From October 8 to 10 the 5 EFEs will have a book stand at the Blois history book fair, represented by the bookshop Lerycerp (space N, stands 76 to 80, on the map).
Study day
Paris, France, 30 June 2023

The CRCAO and the EFEO organize a study day on Échanges artistiques entre l'Asie de l'Est et l'Occident, d'hier et d'aujourd'hui (fin du XIXe s.- début du XXIe s.) [Artistic exchanges between East Asia and the West, past and present (late 19th c. - early 21st c.)] with the support of the IRHiS-Université de Lille and Sciencescope Japon.

From 9:45 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., in the Grand Salon of the Maison de l'Asie.

Programme

Annual EFEO-Faculty of Archaeology Seminar
Bangkok, Thailand, 29 June 2023

On June 29, as part of the Annual EFEO-Faculty of Archaeology Seminar on "Inscriptions, manuscrits et archéologie en Asie du Sud-Est [Inscriptions, manuscripts, and archaeology in Southeast Asia]," at Silpakorn University in Bangkok, the following spoke for the EFEO:

Gregory Kourilsky gives a talk entitled "Relative Dating of a Code of Law from Luang Prabang (Laos)"

Christophe Pottier gives a talk entitled "Archaeology beyond monumentality: some recent works in Cambodia"

Dominique Soutif gives a talk entitled "Continuing the K. Number inventory"

Lecture-debate
Tokyo, Japan, 27 June 2023

From 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., the EFEO Centres in Tokyo and in Kyoto are co-organising with the French Institute for Research on Japan (UMIFRE 19 MEAE-CNRS), at the Maison franco-japonaise in Tokyo, a lecture-debate on the topic "Vingt-deux ans à la tête du musée du quai Branly-Jacques Chirac" [Twenty-two years at the head of the musée du quai Branly-Jacques Chirac], with Stéphane Martin (former president of the musée du quai Branly-Jacques Chirac) and Ozawa Kei (University of Tokyo), moderated by François Lachaud (EFEO).

Participation on registration

Lecture ''Le premier musée en Chine et sa collection (1829-1834)''
Paris, France, 23 June 2023
TAI Li-Chuan, researcher and vice-director of the Institute of History and Philology at the Academia Sinica, gives a lecture on "Le premier musée en Chine et sa collection (1829-1834)" 

Friday 23 June 2023 at 10.30 a.m., in the Grand Salon of the Maison de l'Asie