The Newsletter 83 Summer 2019

Presenting at ‘Africa-Asia: A New Axis of Knowledge’

It was with great pleasure that the International Institute for Asian Studies (IIAS) and the International Convention of Asia Scholars (ICAS) could once again serve as the principal facilitators of the Second Edition of the International Conference ‘Africa-Asia: A New Axis of Knowledge’ in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, 20-22 September 2018. The honour of being associated with this major effort alongside the Association for Asian Studies in Africa (A-ASIA) and the University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM), stems from a continuing commitment to collaboration beyond boundaries of any kind, a collaboration that must include academic, cultural, public and social actors from the two most populated and dynamic ‘southern’ regions (or continents) of the world, Africa and Asia.

The conference was an extraordinary event, enjoyed by so many, both new and familiar participants, and supported by first-time and long-standing partners. The cooperation provided by our local hosts at USDM was truly exceptional, and the conference would not have been quite so gratifying, let alone possible, without them. More information about the previous two conferences, including programmes, speakers, the platform, organisers, etc. can be found on the website https://africasia.org.

The previous issue of The Newsletter included a small selection of commentaries sent to us by attendees, who like us agreed that the meeting in Tanzania was a uniquely stimulating and thought-provoking collaborative event. This issue presents you with an assortment of papers presented at the conference, just to give you a glimpse of the great range of topics discussed. We hope you will join us and present your research at the third ‘Africa-Asia conference’. Dates and location will be announced soon!