History
The European Consortium for Asian Field Study (ECAF) was launched in 2007 on the initiative of the French School of Asian Studies (Ecole française d’Extrême-Orient / EFEO). Originally founded in Saigon as the Mission archéologique d'Indochine (1898), the EFEO was officially established in Hanoi in 1901 under its present name, with a mandate to conduct archaeological exploration, monumental conservation, manuscript collection and preservation, and investigations into the region's linguistic heritage.
By the 1950s, the School's field of research included all of the major Asian civilizations and this widening perspective was reflected in the establishment of centers in India, Japan and Indonesia. From the 1960's to the 1990's, the EFEO continued to open new centers in Chiang Mai (North Thailand), Taipei (Taiwan), Hong Kong and Beijing (China), Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), Seoul (South Korea), and most recently in Yangon (Myanmar).
In the framework of ECAF, the EFEO opened its network of seventeen research centers in twelve Asian countries to European partnership. The ECAF Consortium Agreement was signed in Paris on 3 September 2007, under the auspices of the Academy of Inscriptions and Belles-Lettres. The group’s first General Meeting took place at the British Academy in London on 11 February 2008, under the patronage of EU Commissioner for Science and Research Janez Potocnik.
By the 1950s, the School's field of research included all of the major Asian civilizations and this widening perspective was reflected in the establishment of centers in India, Japan and Indonesia. From the 1960's to the 1990's, the EFEO continued to open new centers in Chiang Mai (North Thailand), Taipei (Taiwan), Hong Kong and Beijing (China), Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), Seoul (South Korea), and most recently in Yangon (Myanmar).
In the framework of ECAF, the EFEO opened its network of seventeen research centers in twelve Asian countries to European partnership. The ECAF Consortium Agreement was signed in Paris on 3 September 2007, under the auspices of the Academy of Inscriptions and Belles-Lettres. The group’s first General Meeting took place at the British Academy in London on 11 February 2008, under the patronage of EU Commissioner for Science and Research Janez Potocnik.