AAS-in-Asia Conference Opens at Lahore University of Management Sciences
- The Association for Asian Studies AAS-in-Asia conference opened at the Lahore University of Management Sciences on Sept.
- The multidisciplinary gathering features around 323 panels across on-site, virtual, and hybrid sessions examining culture, society, politics, development, knowledge, and Asia’s changing connections with the wider world.
- Alongside academic panels, the programme incorporates exhibitions, cultural events, open houses, and wellbeing sessions.
The Association for Asian Studies AAS-in-Asia conference opened at the Lahore University of Management Sciences on Sept. 25, 2026, bringing approximately 1,200 speakers from 37 countries to Lahore for a three-day academic event. Organised by the Lahore University of Management Sciences, the conference runs through Sept. 27 under the theme Centering Asia: Refiguring Connections, Re-charting Futures.
Conference Scope and Opening Ceremonies
The multidisciplinary gathering features around 323 panels across on-site, virtual, and hybrid sessions examining culture, society, politics, development, knowledge, and Asia’s changing connections with the wider world. The opening ceremony on Sept. 25 included welcome addresses by Lahore University of Management Sciences Vice Chancellor Prof. Ali Cheema and Association for Asian Studies President Prof. Elora Shehabuddin, alongside remarks delivered by US Consul General Stetson Sanders. Prof. Adil Najam delivered the keynote address, focusing on climate change and arguing that the issue can no longer be viewed solely as an environmental concern. Drawing on experiences from Asia and South Asia, including Pakistan, Prof. Najam discussed what he termed the Age of Adaptation and its direct implications for water, food security, development, governance, and social justice.
Cultural Exhibitions and Heritage Sessions
Alongside academic panels, the programme incorporates exhibitions, cultural events, open houses, and wellbeing sessions. First-day exhibitions featured Endangered Imprints and Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s Toshakhana: Material Splendor of 19th Century Punjab, complemented by calligraphy workshops and mindfulness activities. The opening day also featured a performance titled Legacy of the Punjabi Dhol: Jogi Dhamal & Dhol Jugalbandi, showcasing traditional Punjabi drumming rhythms. Urban heritage formed a central focus during the session titled Living Histories and Cultural Branding in Lahore’s Walled City: Spatial Practices, Heritage, and Urban Identity. Speakers examined how Lahore’s historic core is shaped by heritage conservation, cultural branding, and urban regeneration while maintaining residents’ lived experiences. Participants discussed the Walled City within the global creative city movement, noting how local knowledge gathered through streets, bazaars, chowks, and oral histories offers perspectives distinct from conventional maps.
Folk Traditions and Digital Flows
Another featured session, Folk Literary Worlds of South Asia: Orality, Translation, Digitality, and Transregional Flows, explored how folk traditions move between oral, textual, and digital spaces. Discussions centered on gender, identity, authorship, and cultural memory across the region. A specific presentation examined the Pashto tapa as an oral poetic tradition expressing experiences ranging from love and grief to war and social realities through chains of poetic responses rather than single authorship. The panel addressed how platforms such as X, Facebook, and YouTube alter the circulation of traditional forms like the tapa. Speakers noted that digital distribution extends the geographic reach of these traditions and provides new visibility for women’s voices, while simultaneously introducing new questions regarding public exposure, anonymity, and the transformation of oral practices entering digital archives.
