Plenary Discussion

'Bringing together European research on Contemporary India'

A public presentation of the Academic Network for European Research on India (ANERI) will take place at the19th European Conference on Modern South Asian Studies (ECMSAS). This international conference is organised by the European Association for South Asian Studies (EASAS) in collaboration with the International Institute for Asian Studies (IIAS) at the University of Leiden from 27 to 30th of June 2006.  

The time for the plenary presentation is Wednesday evening 28th June from 19:00 to 20:30 at the Lipsius Biulding of the University (details see below). The plenary session will be an integral part of the Conference proceedings.   EASAS has kindly arranged for a large Atrium lecture theatre which can seat up to 400 persons; the room is fully equipped with multimedia facilities including power point and internet connection.   

TOPICS FOR THE PLENARY DISCUSSION

European researchers have a well-established forum for presenting their research on South Asia through the European Conference on Modern South Asian Studies (ECMSAS), organised under the auspices of the European Association for South Asian Studies (EASAS). Several effective networks, such as SASNET, have been created to facilitate exchange of research findings and strengthen academic collaboration.   

Policy formulation about India (and South Asia) at the European level proceeds with inputs from officials from EU member states, but the academic community has only been involved in an occasional and ad-hoc way. The European Commission has now initiated a network project to facilitate the bringing together of EU-based research on India, entitled Academic Network for European Research on India (ANERI). The network seeks to facilitate policy-relevant research on India, in particular on areas covered within the EU-India Joint Action Plan. The project is implemented by the European Institute for Asian Studies in collaboration with SOGES management consultants.

The project team includes Dr Willem van der Geest (teamleader), Prof Kunal Sen (University of East Anglia) and Dr Lawrence Saez (Asia Research Centre, London School of Economics).   At the plenary discussion, the project team will introduce the network initiative. A discussion will be initiated on the scope and opportunities for an active interface between the academic and applied research communities on the one hand and the policy-making circles at the EU level on the other hand. A representative of the European Commission, Mr Mikael Sami will participate in the panel discussion.  

PROGRAMME OUTLINE OF THE PLENARY DISCUSSION 

19:00     Dr Willem van der Geest, European Institute for Asian Studies:
             Introduction of the ANERI Project: Objectives and Modalities  
19:10     Mr Mikael Sami, European Commission DG External Relations:             
EU-India Joint Action plan: role of European Research on India  
19:20     Prof Kunal Sen, University of Manchester/East Anglia & Dr Lawrence Saez, Asia Research Centre, London School of Economics:             
Observations on the Scope and Limitations of Policy-focused Research on India  
19:40     Ms Nageela Yusuf, ALT Consultants             
Presentation of ANERI.EU website  
19:50     Invited Comments from Prof Dietmar Rothermund (EASAS) and Prof Staffan Lindberg (SASNET)  
20:00     Question and Answer Session  
20:30     Close of Session    

VENUE: Leiden University, LIPSIUS Building, Central Facilities Building of the Faculty of Arts (Atrium Hall) Cleveringa plaats 1, Leiden The Netherlands    

DATE & TIME: Wednesday 28th of June from 19:00 up to 20:30.  

WEBSITES: www.easas.org  as well as www.iias.nl/host/easas will allow you to register for the Conference.