At the invitation of the Bhutanese Ministry of Health nine members of the Wellcome Trust Centre for the History of Medicine attended ICTAM VII, the seventh conference of IASTAM [International Association for Traditional Asian Medicine]. Since the mid 90s senior officials of the Society have been members of the Wellcome library and Centre. IASTAM is an international organisation in the field of Asian medicine making a serious attempt to embrace academics, practitioners and policy makers. IASTAM has always sought to give each of these communities a platform for the expression of their views, respecting the integrity of each group while nevertheless privileging the free exchange of knowledge over involvement in any particular commercial interest or therapeutic regime. In all respects it is unique. The Bhutan conference ‘Cultivating Traditions and the Challenges of Globalisation’ was hosted by ITMS [Institute of Traditional Medical Services] in Thimpu and held at the Royal Institute of Management. Participants from thirty countries attended the event, among them historians, anthropologists, representatives from NGO’s and public health policy, government health advisors makers. The Society funded forty members of the Society from Asia who would otherwise not have been able to attend. We are grateful for the generous support of The Wellcome Trust and the Wellcome Trust Centre for the History of Medicine for funding participants. For a full list of sponsors, press coverage, photos, podcasts, conference report, and a downloadable booklet of abstracts please see www.iastam.org/conferences_VII.htm At the invitation of the President of the Korean Institute of Orential Medicine the next conference will be held in Korea 2013.