Message from the Host
Elora Shehabuddin
Greetings! Ji ayan nu!
I am delighted to welcome you to the 2026 AAS-in-Asia conference in the historic city of Lahore. The conference has been organized by the Lahore School of Management Sciences (LUMS) in collaboration with the AAS. Since the first AAS-in-Asia at NUS in Singapore, the conference has been held in Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, India, Thailand, Japan (virtually), South Korea, Indonesia, and Nepal. Each of these gatherings has enriched us by bringing us into dialogue with cutting-edge research in Asian studies and by introducing us to new friends and collaborators.
The theme for this year’s conference, “Centering Asia: Refiguring Connections, Recharting Futures,” could not be more apt, given its location in Lahore, Pakistan, which, for centuries, has been a political and cultural capital for diverse communities as well as a vital node in global trade networks. We hope you will engage with the 323 panels and 1200+ speakers who will join us in person or virtually and take advantage of the social gatherings, city tours, and delectable food. We are confident that these encounters will help you forge new research collaborations and friendships and, in the process, help to deepen our collective knowledge about and from Asia.
On behalf of the AAS Board, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the organizing committee, the program committee, sponsors, staff, and volunteers at LUMS and AAS for their incredible dedication and hard work.
Thank you, Lahore, for welcoming us!