VERTICAL ETHIOPIA EVENT INFORMATION

Vertical Ethiopia Book Tour:

Majka Burhardt is currently accepting invitations to speak and give slideshows in conjunction with the publication of her upcoming book.  Please read below for information on what a show with Majka entails and contact Majka at mb@majkaburhardt.com if you would like to schedule a show. Thirty-minute promo DVD's are also availble upon request, or you can watch a trailer for Majka's show here.

To see a list of upcoming events, click here.

A Slideshow with Majka:

In conjunction with the publication of my book I am speaking to a diverse set of audiences throughout the United States and Canada. My presentations combine a slideshow filled with images of climbing, culture, and the immense African landscape with a narrative behind the images. As a speaker, I’m interested in exploring new ways of understanding Ethiopia in the midst of the current global landscape where religion, politics, and landscape continually interact and react. I explored Ethiopia while establishing first ascents on 600’ sandstone towers. My presentation explores Ethiopia at its multiple points of intersection with the rest of the world.

Vertical Ethiopia is a unique collaboration with an Ethiopian publishing company, Shama, a company committed to presenting Africa and Ethiopia in a more positive and realistic light.  Through working with Shama, Majka learned to navigate the Ethiopian press rules in a country that has been called one of the worst in the world for freedom of the written word. In her presentation, Majka shares the full story of her experience—discussing various obstacles the Ethiopian press rules presented to portraying the current military offensive towards Eritrea, recent kidnappings, and the Ethiopian anti-violence movement. Thus, Vertical Ethiopia is more than a story about Ethiopia. It is a story about the making of an Ethiopian product at a time when the nation is on the brink of becoming a global industrial player while trudging through the vestiges of its communist and corrupt past. 

As a lifelong adventurer I’ve traveled throughout the world by bike, canoe, and, more often than not, by foot. From the Arctic Ocean to southern Argentina, from the high peaks in the Himalaya to sea cliffs in France, I am constantly drawn to the emotion and internal experience of exploration. Nowhere has this experience been more dynamic than in Northern Ethiopia, which has some of the richest natural areas in Africa, most of them still preserved as an unintended byproduct of its war-torn past.

I believe it is not enough to travel and to see—one must find a way to connect to the people and the land. I can offer a variety of presentation lengths and focus points to suit the needs of a particular audience or event, from climbing exploration, to Ethiopia’s environmental initiatives and potential, to women’s adventure, to the current geopolitical state of the Horn of Africa, and Africa’s emergence from a western imagination.

If you would like to know more about the Story Behind Vertical Ethiopia, click here 

Thanks to the following companies for  sponsoring the Vertical Ethiopia Tour: