Starting off as an archery demonstration in Aylesbury, England in 1948, the Paralympic Games have grown into an event with global proportions. With the inclusion of more athletes and more participating countries, the Paralympic Games have become the second biggest sporting event in the world, being second only to the Olympic Games. In 2020 the Paralympic Games will be held in Tokyo, Japan.
On the 18th of October 2017 the five-yearly Party Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) started. Two days before, on the 16th of October, the LeidenAsiaCentre held its second Asia Current Affairs Forum (ACAF) to shed light on the context of the Party Congress. The ACAF is an initiative designed to periodically assembly experts on the Asian region to debate upcoming or current issues of relevance to a broad audience in line with the goals of the Leiden Asia Centre.
Leiden University enjoys a world-wide reputation for its expertise on Asia and for its Asian collections. To coincide with the official opening of The Asian Library in September 2017, the International Institute for Asian Studies (IIAS), LeidenAsiaCentre (LAC) and the Shared Taste Project at Leiden University hosted a Summer School devoted to the academic study of Asian Food for MA/PhD students and early career scholars.