Nalanda-Sriwijaya Centre

The Nalanda-Sriwijaya Centre at the ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute, Singapore, pursues research on historical interactions among Asian societies and civilisations. It serves as a forum for comprehensive study of the ways in which Asian polities and societies have interacted over time through religious, cultural, and economic exchanges and diasporic networks. The Centre also offers innovative strategies for examining the manifestations of hybridity, convergence and mutual learning in a globalising Asia. It sees the following as it main aims:

• To develop the ‘Nalanda idea’ of building for contemporary Asia an appreciation of Asian achievements and mutual learning, as exemplified by the cosmopolitan Buddhist centre of learning in Nalanda, as well as the ‘Sriwijaya idea’ of Southeast Asia as a place of mediation and linkages among the great civilisations.
• To encourage and develop skills needed to understand the civilisations of Asia and their interrelationships.
• To build regional research capacities and infrastructure for the study of the historical interactions among the civilisations and societies of Asia.