The founding

The history of ASIA is profoundly linked to the figure of Prof. Chögyal Namkhai Norbu, teacher of the spiritual tibetan discipline Dzogchen, great expert of tibetan reality, history and philosophy, and President of the association.

Asia indeed was born following a series of expeditions in India and Nepal (in 1978) and Tibet (in 1981 and 1988) by Prof. Chögyal Namkhai Norbu and a group of his students, who were highly struck by the difficult economic and social conditions in which the tibetans lived and by the sharp decline of the traditional language and culture following the chinese cultural revolution.

In order to preserve the tibetan culture and sustain the economic, social and cultural development both of the Tibetans still in China and of the refugees in India and Nepal, in 1988 Professor and students founded ASIA Association for International Solidarity in Asia.

The ninetees

Up to 1992, ASIA's effort was focused on tibetan settlements in India, with the aim of create better living conditions for the refugees; afterwards the focus shifted more and more to the ethnic Tibet, in the very large areas of China in which dwell the tibetan minorities (Qinghai, Sichuan, TAR, Gansu).

In 1993 the first cofounded project was presented to the Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs (as there was not yet qualification, the project was presented under the heading of Milan's COSV): a multisectorial intervention to promote nomads education, health and economical independence and artistic and cultural protection in the village of Gamthog, Prefecture of Chamdo (Tibet Autonomous Region).

In 1997 the first school built by ASIA was unveiled: an elementary and middle tibetan school in the village of Dongche, Province of QingHai, the ancient tibetan region Amdo.

In 1999 the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs officially recognized ASIA as ONG for international cooperation.

In later years, activities have significantly increased, moving from a management exclusively based on volunteers to the hiring of personnel with experience and knowledge in the areas of development and emergencies, and the opening of a suitable head office.

The years 2000

In 2001 ASIA signed a partnership agreement with ECHO (the Humanitarian Aid department of the European Commission) for emergency projects, and, following a series of climatic catastrophes in Tibet, started to intervene in aid of populations hit by natural disasters.

In these years also grew the work in Italy and Europe, with the implementation of projects of  education for development aimed at circulating in the civil society knowledge of tibetan culture and reality and in general the problems of developing countries.
 
In the 2000 ASIA specialized primarily in some intervention sectors: education, artistic and cultural heritage, water, health, nomadism and the ambient.

In recent years it was decided to widen the areas of intervention to additional asiatic countries and, following the catastrophe of the 2005 Tsunami, ASIA is involved in post-emergency and development projects in Sri Lanka.