Tim Butcher – Keynote Speaker

Tim Butcher is a best selling author, journalist and public speaker. His first book, Blood River, used an account of an epic journey he made through the Congo to unravel this troubled country’s history.

Blood River, became Britain’s most talked about travel book of recent years, achieving top spot on the UK best seller list and being translated into six languages.

With his continued passion for adventure, Tim went back for more. His second book, Chasing the Devil, published recently to critical acclaim, sees him trekking 350 miles through the war-torn, complex and forbidding region of Liberia and Sierra Leone.

His most recent book, The Trigger: Hunting the Assassin Who Brought the World to War, published in May 2014, saw Tim retracing the journey of Gavrilo Princip, who assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo, and thereby fired the opening shots of the First World War.

Tim was a journalist at the Daily Telegraph from 1990-2009, serving as chief war correspondent, Africa bureau chief and Middle East correspondent. He specialised in awkward places at awkward times, reporting on the conflict in the Balkans, the Middle East, Africa and south Asia. He has written for a wide range of publications including New York Times and Economist and is a regular contributor to the BBC’s prestigious programme From our Own Correspondent. In 2010 he received an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Northampton for services as a writer and was made Patron of Save The Congo. He was awarded the 2013 Mungo Park Medal for exploration by the Royal Scottish Geographical Society.

Tim covers a broad range of topics as a keynote speaker and has addressed audiences around the world. As an adventurer he inspires corporate audiences covering themes such as teamwork, motivation, risk and leadership. He is equally able to cover any topic on Africa ranging from the socio-economic to conflict resolution, aid and culture.