Join Nick Coghlan, Canada’s first resident diplomat in Khartoum (Sudan), as he reviews the world’s gravest humanitarian crisis since the end of World War II, assesses what is at stake and suggests why we should care more than we do.

About our Speaker

Nick Coghlan (as you will soon detect from his accent), was born in the UK, and educated at the University of Oxford. He and his wife Jenny immigrated to Canada in 1981 via Argentina and Nick accepted a teaching job at Shawnigan Lake School, on Vancouver Island. In 1991 he joined the Canadian Foreign Service. His six diplomatic postings included an assignment as Canada’s first representative on the ground in Sudan (2000-03) and, later, as Canada’s first resident Ambassador to the newly created Republic of South Sudan (2012-16). Nick and Jenny were both awarded the Meritorious Service Cross for their role in evacuating Canadian citizens under fire from South Sudan when civil war broke out in Juba in late 2013. Jenny worked for the United Nations when in Sudan, and for the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA) when in South Sudan. 

In between careers and postings, Nick and Jenny have sailed 70,000 miles offshore, including a four-year circumnavigation of the world, in two successive 27ft sailboats.

Nick is the author of six books, including Far in the Waste Sudan – On Assignment in Africa (MQUP – 2005) and Collapse of a Country: A Diplomat’s Memoir of South Sudan (MQUP – 2017).

He recently publish a book on sailing titled, Under Wide and Starry Skies, which includes a chapter on sailing in Khartoum.

Each chapter consists of a story, hand-drawn charts and practical information about the remote locations selected, which range from Robinson Crusoe Island (Chile) to Saint Helena (South Atlantic) and Summers Bay (Alison Sound, BC).

Tickets: $40 each > CLICK HERE to purchase tickets online.

• A light lunch and refreshments will be served followed by our speaker.
• For special dietary or seating requirements email vancouverisland@thecic.org.