Dan Connell is available for speaking engagements, with or without accompanying slide show, on the topics listed below and on others related to them that draw on the author’s experience and expertise. For information about fees and availability for lectures, readings or workshops, contact the author directly.

Redeeming the failed promise of Eritrea
A decade ago, Eritrea was a bright spot on a dismal African horizon. Despite the impact of 30 years of war with Ethiopia, from which it won its independence in 1991, the continent's newest nation was a model of multi-ethnic and religious harmony, growing gender equality, corruption-free administration, and debt-free development.

Today, with the Isaias Afwerki government careening from one regional conflict to another, refusing to implement a Constitution ratified in 1997, postponing national elections, arresting critics, shutting down the press, and banning parties, the country's trajectory follows a familiar path toward highly coercive one-man rule. Nevertheless, the legacy of this freedom struggle lives on, and opponents are mobilizing a grassroots democracy movement to challenge the increasingly beleaguered dictatorship.

This 45-minute talk and slide show traces this arc through Connell’s experiences with the independence movement from the 1970s to the present.

Uncovering Africa
The failure of U.S. media coverage—and how to make it better
Mainstream media coverage of Africa is woefully inadequate and, as a consequence, often misleading—a form of global ambulance-chasing that is nearly always reactive, while failing to provide sufficient context or analysis to promote effective responses.

Yet the continent—to which the U.S. has been intimately tied since its founding—is increasingly important today for its natural resources (including vast oil reserves), its growing internal market and its potential for incubating terrorism. It also shows strong signs of overcoming the destructive legacy of the slave trade, colonial rule and cold war rivalries to unleash its potential for dynamic growth and democratic development.

This 45-minute talk explores why Africa matters, how and why it has been so poorly covered by American media, and what can be done to improve this, drawing on the author’s extensive firsthand experience for the narrative.

Also:

Peace in Sudan: Prospect or Pipe Dream?—a look at the various interlocking civil wars in Sudan with a slide show drawing on the author’s travels in rebel-held areas in the south, center, east and northeast of the embattled country.

Rethinking Revolution: New Strategies for Democracy & Social Justice—a lecture mixing anecdotes and analysis from his book of the same title.

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Dan Connell has given lectures, readings, and narrative slide shows at more than 150 public forums in the U.S., Europe, Africa and the Middle East, including:

University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.
University of Cape Town, Cape Town, S.A.
Iziko (S.A. Museum), Cape Town, S.A.
University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Ill.
JFK School of Government, Cambridge, Mass.
Eritrean Public Forum, Washington, D.C.
EPF, Oakland, Calif.
Cornell U., Ithaca, N.Y.
EPF, Dallas
EPF, New York
EPF, Boston
World Fellowship Center, Conway, N.H.
African Studies Association, New Orleans, La.
Center for Strategic & Int’l Studies, Washington, D.C.
Eritrean Studies Association, Cambridge, Mass.
World Affairs Council, Salem, Mass.
Simmons College, Boston
Dedham Community House, Dedham, Mass.
Rutgers University, New Brunswick, N.J.
Clark University, Worchester, Mass.
Cape Ann Forum, Gloucester, Mass.
AFSC, Cambridge, Mass.
University of San Diego, San Diego, Calif.
Manchester Public Library, Manchester, Mass.
Ipswich Town Hall, Ipswich, Mass.
NUEYS, Asmara, Eritrea
Eritrean Studies Association, Asmara, Eritrea
NCEW, Asmara, Eritrea
University of Asmara, Asmara, Eritrea
NUEW Asmara, Eritrea
World Affairs Council, Savannah, Ga.
Georgia Tech, Atlanta, Ga.
Salem State College, Salem, Mass.
Independent Christian Church, Gloucester, Mass.
University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Mass.
Mass. College of Liberal Arts, N. Adams, Mass.
Wellfleet Public Library, Wellfleet, Mass.
Sawyer Free Library, Gloucester, Mass.
National Planning Association, Boston, Mass.
University of Natal, Durban, S.A.
University of Western Cape, S.A.
University of Central America, Managua, Nicaragua
Brandeis University, Waltham, Mass.
Center for Peace and Democracy, Jerusalem
Birzeit U., Ramallah, Occupied Territories Al-Haq, Ramallah, Occupied Territories