The University of the Philippines Diliman, through the Asian Center, is set to join the Consortium for Southeast Asian Studies in Asia (SEASIA), which was formally established on 11 October 2013 at the Center for Southeast Asian Studies (CSEAS) in Kyoto University.

The participation of the University of the Philippines Diliman was facilitated by Professor Eduardo Tadem, who sits on the Consortium’s Governing Board along with Ikrar Nusa Bhakti of Indonesian Institute of Sciences, Michael Feener of the National University of Singapore, Liu Hong of Nanyang Technological University, Tong Chee Kiong of the University Brunei Darussalam, Hsin-Huang Michael Hsiao of Academic Sinica, Park Jang Sik of the Korean Association of Southeast Asian Studies.

The Consortium is chaired by Prof. Sunait Chutintaranond of Chulalongkorn University. Its secretariat is based at Kyoto University.

The SEASIA aims to promote Southeast Asian studies by linking the leading area studies institutions in the region in a cooperative venture to provide a multilateral forum for organizing academic meetings, seminars, workshops, and symposia. It will also promote research collaboration and networking, operate as a system for sharing information, and offer opportunities for education and training of young and up-and-coming scholars. Its first biennial conference will be held in Kyoto in 2015.

For more information, read the press release from the Consortium.