Nalanda-Sriwijaya Centre (2009-2019)

Nalanda and Sriwijaya stand as two key icons of intra-Asian connections and interactions through time.

The Nalanda-Sriwijaya Centre at the ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute pursued research on historical interactions among Asian societies and civilisations. Between 2009-2019, it served 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 offered strategies for examining the manifestations of hybridity, convergence and mutual learning in a globalising Asia. It had 3 main aims:

1. 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.
   
   
2. To encourage and develop skills needed to understand the civilisations of Asia and their interrelationships.
   
   
3. To build regional research capacities and infrastructure for the study of the historical interactions among the civilisations and societies of Asia.

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It was succeeded by the Temasek History Research Centre (THRC) in 2019.