The Kargil members and representatives
of the Executive Committee of the International Association for Ladakh Studies
held a meeting to formalise plans for the 17th biennial IALS
conference, which is scheduled to be held from 26 to 29 July, 2015. Conference
convenor Gulzar Munshi and IALS secretary Dr. Sonam Wangchok jointly chaired
the meeting.
At the meeting different issues related
to the conference were discussed including potential venues and accommodation
in Kargil for outstation participants. At this meeting it was decided to invite
talks in Purigi, Bhoti and Urdu to encourage non English scholarship. Further
it was also decided to provide concessions to local students from Kargil and
Leh to encourage their participation.
Mohammed Ali Tak, cultural officer,
Kargil also attended the meeting and suggested various cultural activities that
would enrich the conference. In addition, members of the Student Educational
Movement of Kargil (SEMOK) also attended the meeting and volunteered to help
with the organisation of the conference. It was then decided to waive off the
conference fees for such volunteers. Conference convenor Gulzar Munshi
expressed his happiness with the participant of the youth in the conference. He
said, “They are the future and such opportunities provide exposure to our youth
at the international level.”
Dr Sonam Wangchok, secretary IALS said,
“It is very heartening to see the enthusiasm from the youth in Kargil and Leh
for research. As a follow up to our previous research workshops, we plan to
have a second set of workshops in Leh and Kargil in May as a build up to the
conference.”
