The Centenary History of the Society is published under the title "Strolling About on the Roof of the World" by Hugh Leach with Sue Farrington (RoutledgeCurzon, 2003). For a description of the History, please click here. Members of the Society may order the book direct from the Society using a print-out of the form that follows the description.

The Society was founded in 1901 to promote greater knowledge and understanding of Central Asia and surrounding countries. With the passage of time, the area has been extended to include the whole of Asia, from the Middle East to Japan. The Society is an active and friendly organization, which provides those interested in Asia with many ways of expanding these interests. In pursuit of these aims, the Council of the Society seeks to provide a balanced programme of activities which, though by no means neglecting the past, gives opportunities for keeping up-to-date with developments and for discussion on a wide variety of topics of common interest to Asia and the West.

The Society's activities may be summarised as follows:-

Meetings are held about twice a month, at which lectures are given by authoritative speakers. The programme includes lectures, films and slides on current affairs, economics, finance, history, art, archaeology, sociology, culture, travel and other subjects of special interest connected with all parts of Asia.

Social Functions, which include a biennial dinner, an afternoon tea party in the summer, an anniversary meeting, and buffets at lunch-time and refreshment at evening lectures which give members and their guests an opportunity to meet the guest speaker and others with similar interests.

A Library and Reading Room with a fine and easily accessible collection of about 7,000 books on Asian subjects.

The Journal of the Society "Asian Affairs" is published three times a year and occupies a respected place in the current literature on Asia. It contains reports of lectures, original articles and book reviews. Its world-wide circulation includes universities, institutes, companies, banks and governmental officials.

Educational Activities undertaken by the Society to further its aim of increasing the knowledge about Asia. The Society has a list of members prepared to give talks to appropriate groups, organisations such as schools and the media.

For a report on a presentation on Asian topics organised jointly by the Society and the School of Oriental and Asian Studies at the University of London, please click the link below:

Report on a Presentation about Asia for school students on 24 November 2006

Report and photographs on the presentation to Sixth Form Students on 2 December 2005

Tours specially organised by the Society in most years, to enable a group of members to make detailed visits to particular countries. Study Groups are occasionally established on subjects of particular interest; these have attracted acknowledged outside experts to work with members.

Awards: The Society has two medals in its gift to award, namely the Sir Percy Sykes Memorial Medal and the Lawrence of Arabia Memorial Medal. (A list of the criteria and the past medal-recipients is linked here.) The Society also adminsters an award - The Sir Peter Holmes Memorial Award - for purposeful travel by young people aged between 18 and 25. For details of the
requirements click here.

Other Societies: The Society maintains informal links with other societies who share an interest in Asia, for example

The Royal Asiatic Society
Asia House
The British Malaysian Society
The Oxford Society for the Caspian and Central Asia (TOSCCA)