"EFEO - the intellectual bridge between Vietnam and the world"

Participating in the conference were Jean-Noel Poirier (French Ambassador to Vietnam), Yves Goudineau (Director of EFEO Paris), Prof. Phan Huy Le (President of the Vietnam Association of Historical Studies) and Prof.Dr Nguyen Van Khanh (Rector of USSH).

The conference was an opportunity for Vietnamese scholars to discuss their research findings with other scholars working for EFEO, in order to promote inter-disciplinary approaché and compare their findings with other regionally and worldwide, and create a more complex outlook on social sciences and humanities in Vietnam.

Mr. Jean-Noel Poirier (Ambassador of France to Vietnam) gave his remarks (Photo: Thanh Long)

The general panel (Photo: Thanh Long)

The presentations were divided into 6 panels:

The 1^st panel was “the history of EFEO before 1945” in which the topics were:  EFEO with the preservation of Champa vestiges; EFEO with the preservation of historical and cultural vestiges in Hanoi from 1900-1945; The historical documents from EFEO (1901-1945) in studying Vietnamese history.

The 2^nd panel was titled “Scientific discourses and the advanced teaching of sciences before 1945”, in which the following topics were discussed: From EFEO to the Oriental School: aspects of scientific cooperation between France and Vietnam; Henri Maspero and the historical study of Vietnamese phonetics; LeoPol Cadie and religious studies in Vietnam – an important landmark in the development of religious studies; EFEO and the introduction of Regional studies and Vietnamese studies.

The 3^rd panel was titled “Scientific discourses and the advanced teaching of sciences from independence to renovation”. The specific topics were: The spacious approach in studying Vietnamese villages and the contributions of EFEO; the application of EFEO’s archives and continuation of social sciences and humanities of Southern scientists before and after 1975.

The 4^th panel was titled “EFEO’s centers in Vietnam after 1993”. The specific topics were: Multi-disciplinary studies conducted by EFEO and the Vietnam Institute of Archaeology; EFEO – the central role of a regional cooperative program in promoting methodological studies of social sciences and humanities; Indication of a new research approach on South Vietnamese culture and the current studies by EFEO.

The 5^th panel was titled “Scientific cooperation between Vietnamese research institutes, museums and EFEO’s centers since 1993”. Specific topics were discussed such as: The full collection of Sino-Nom inscriptions – a prominent point in scientific cooperation of EFEO at the beginning of the XXI century; EFEO’s activities in collaboration with the Institute of Archaeology in studying and preserving Vietnamese cultural heritage; research cooperation between the Center for the preservation of Thang Long-Hanoi and EFEO since 2010; Studies by EFEO’s scholars on the exhibits at Da Nang Museum of Cham Sculpture; EFEO and the studies on Lao Cai.

The 6^th panel was titled “EFEO’s centers in Southeast Asia”. The specific topics were: the preservation and improvement of sculptures of Cham culture and in the Mekong Delta; Recent studies of Cham inscriptions; The gallery of EFEO, focusing on data related to Vietnam; the contributions of EFEO to studies of Vietnamese history: the case and expectations of Japanese researchers.