The Consortium for Southeast Asian Studies in Asia (SEASIA, pronounced “see-Asia”) was established in October 2013 by ten of the leading area-studies institutions in Northeast and Southeast Asia to promote region-based Southeast Asian studies. The major activity of this Consortium is the biennial conference, the first of which was hosted by Kyoto University on December 12-13, 2015. The 2015 conference featured 530 participants (including non-paper presenters) from 206 institutions in 26 countries (including all 10 ASEAN countries plus Timor Leste).

Building on the successful outcome of the 2015 Conference, Chulalongkorn University will host the SEASIA 2017 Conference in collaboration with the SEASIA Secretariat based at the Center for Southeast Asian Studies (CSEAS) of Kyoto University. The Conference will be held on December 16-17, 2017.

The year 2017 will mark Chulalongkorn University’s 100th anniversary. In anticipation of the centennial celebrations, and in recognition of the convergence between the missions of SEASIA and Chulalongkorn University, a Chulalongkon University Conference Committee (CUCC) for SEASIA 2017 was formed as a collaborative effort among three key players on campus---the Institute of Asian Studies, Faculty of Arts, and Faculty of Political Science. The CUCC endeavors to harness the best resources of the University and of Thailand, to encourage fruitful engagements by the participants at this significant regional gathering, coming from various countries, sectors and disciplines.