The Kargil members and representatives of the Executive Committee of the International Association for Ladakh Studies held a meeting on 01 April at Munshi Museum Kargil to formalise plans for the 17th biennial IALS conference, which is scheduled to be held from 26 to 29 July, 2015. The meeting was jointly chaired by Conference convenor Gulzar Munshi and IALS secretary Dr. Sonam Wangchok.

During 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 scholars. 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 the organisation with the conference.  It was then decided to waive off the conference fees for such volunteers.

Conference convenor Gulzar Munshi expressed his happiness over the enthusiasm for participation of youth in the conference. He said, “They are the future of Ladakh and such opportunities provide exposure to our youth at the international level.”

Dr Sonam Wangchok, secretary IALS said, “It is very heartening to see 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.”

The International Association for Ladakh Studies (IALS) was formed in 1987 to establish contact and disseminate information and research findings among those interested in the study of Ladakh.