Crossed off the map: travels in Bolivia

This is a free online lecture / discussion following from the travels of award winning journalist Shafik Meghji. The lecture runs from 7pm-8:15pm on 13th February 2024!

Blending travel writing, history and reportage, Shafik wrote Crossed off the Map, which gives an insight into his Bolivia journey from the Andes to the Amazon. He explores Bolivia’s turbulent past and contemporary challenges. He tells the story of the country’s profound and unexpected influence on the wider world over the last 500 years – fragments of history largely forgotten beyond its borders. Once home to one of the wealthiest cities on Earth, Bolivia kickstarted globalisation, helped to power Europe’s economic growth and trigger dynastic collapse in China, and played host to everyone from Che Guevara to Butch Cassidy.

He also explores how ordinary Bolivians in and around the world’s highest city, largest salt flat, richest silver mine and most biodiverse national park are coping with some of the touchstone issues of the 21st century: the climate emergency, populism, mass migration, indigenous rights, national identity, rapid urbanisation, and the ‘war on drugs’.

Award-winning journalist and travel writer Shafik Meghji illuminates the dramatic landscapes, distinct cultures and diverse peoples of a country that – in the words of one interviewee – ‘was the building block of the modern world, but is now lost in time’.

Tickets to this lecture are available for booking on the following link: Book tickets here!

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