Last June 22-25, 2010, the International Association of Historians of Asia held its 21st International Conference at Riverview Hotel, Singapore. The IAHA Conference, held once every two years, serves as a venue for scholars of Asia to meet and discuss current trends in Asian studies. This year’s conference was sponsored by the Department of History, National University of Singapore, Asian Research Institute, NUS Press, Cambridge University Press and the Journal of South East Asian Studies. Among the hundreds of scholars who participated was Ms. Darlene Machell de Leon Espeña, Assistant Secretary of the Philippine Historical Association. She was the chairperson for the Panel on Diaspora. She also presented her paper entitled “The Saga of Sikh Migrants in the Philippines 1947-2000”.
Ms. Espeña was appointed as one of the 2010 Asian Graduate Student Fellows by the Asian Research Institute, National University of Singapore. Together with 30 other young scholars from Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, Myanmar, Taiwan, Malaysia, Vietnam and China, Ms. Espeña was based in Singapore from May 17 to July 31, 2010 and was able to benefit from the resources and documents at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies Library and NUS libraries. During her stay, Ms. Espeña explored the differences and similarities between the Sikh communities in the Philippines and Singapore.
