The SEASIA Biennial Conference is the principal gathering of the Consortium for Southeast Asian Studies in Asia (SEASIA), a region-based academic network connecting leading universities and research institutions across Asia. Through sustained intraAsian collaboration and intellectual exchange, SEASIA advances the field of Southeast Asian Studies and has played a pivotal role in nurturing emerging scholars, strengthening regional research capacity, and re-centering Southeast Asia as a vital site of global knowledge production.

Hosted by the School of Social Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, from 8–10 July 2026, the sixth edition of the conference will convene an international and interdisciplinary community comprising senior and emerging scholars, university leaders, graduate students, think-tank researchers, and representatives from government, international organisations, and the broader policy community.

Under the theme “Forging Southeast Asia’s Futures,” the conference will examine the question of agency — how governments, regional institutions, local communities, and non-state actors shape the region’s political, economic, social, technological, and environmental transformations. In addition to academic panels, the programme will feature keynote dialogues and high-level roundtables designed to foster substantive engagement between scholars and policymakers.

By providing a platform through which research and policy practice may inform one another, SEASIA 2026 seeks not only to advance cutting-edge scholarship but also to generate policy-relevant insights for an increasingly complex regional and global landscape.

Previous SEASIA Biennial Conferences have been honoured by the presence of highly distinguished Guests of Honour, including Yasuo Fukuda, Former Prime Minister of Japan; Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn, The Princess Royal of the Kingdom of Thailand; and Professor Dr Muhadjir Effendy, then Minister of Education and Culture of the Republic of Indonesia.

Their esteemed participation reflects SEASIA’s standing as a premier regional platform that convenes heads of government, members of royal households, senior cabinet ministers, and leading scholars in meaningful dialogue on Southeast Asia’s development and future trajectory.