International Panel Discussion – Samara University, 25 July 2025

While in the Afar Region of Ethiopia recently, I had the great honour to deliver an academic presentation at a gathering of scholars at Samara University.  This was my 13^th trip there, to conduct needs assessments, to meet with our local partners, to interview beneficiaries of our humanitarian work, and to deepen our relationship with the local university.  Our Can-Go Afar Foundation jointly sponsored and organized the conference, which featured 6 presentations on a variety of topics under the banner:  “Intersecting History, Geopolitics and Regional Security:  Perspectives on the Afar Experience in the Horn of Africa”.  For more than 30 years, transnational migration and refugee patterns and flows, and their many causes, comprise my particular interest and work.  Together they make up one the Region’s biggest challenges, and fit squarely under this banner.  Attached is my PowerPoint presentation, together with a few photos and images, and the Certificate of Recognition from Samara University.