Why has access to the sea remained a crucial issue for Ethiopia throughout its history? How have changing patterns of maritime access shaped the country’s relations with its neighbours? And what does Ethiopia’s position mean for the wider Horn of Africa today?
We invite you to a public lecture by Yonas Seifu Desta and Tsegaye Zeleke Tuffa, Assistant Professors of History at Jimma University, Ethiopia, who will explore Ethiopia’s historical relationship with the Red Sea and examine how the country’s long-standing quest for maritime access continues to shape its politics and regional relations.
Lecture: Perpetual Quest for Access to the Sea
Date and time: Friday, 9 October 2026, 17:00
Location: Faculty of Arts, Charles University (nám. Jana Palacha 1/2, Prague 1), room 301
Registration: HERE
The event will be held in English. Admission is free, registration is required, and capacity is limited.
Annotation
In this public lecture, we will delve into Ethiopia’s historical relationship with the Red Sea and its importance for the country’s present and future. We will problematize the changing politics of maritime access and how they influence Ethiopia’s relations today. Finally, we will explore the regional implications for Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa. Today, these issues are important not only for East Africa but for the African continent as a whole.
About the speakers
Yonas Seifu Desta is Assistant Professor of History at Jimma University, Ethiopia, where he has taught since 1997. His academic interests include social and urban history, with a particular focus on the history of Jimma Town. His research has addressed the foundation and early development of Jimma, the history of modern education in southwestern Ethiopia, and the Horn of Africa in the context of the Cold War. Alongside his research and teaching, he has extensive experience in curriculum development and history education in Ethiopia.
He received both his BA and MA in History from Addis Ababa University. In addition to his academic work, he has contributed to the development of history textbooks, teaching materials, and training programmes for history teachers in Ethiopia. His publications include research on the early growth of Jimma Town and the development of modern education in Jimma.
Tsegaye Zeleke Tuffa is Assistant Professor of History at Jimma University, Ethiopia, and currently Head of its Department of History and Heritage Management. His research and teaching cover Ethiopian and African history, Oromo history and ethnohistory, historiography and historical methodology, inter-ethnic relations, religious history, and the history of the Middle East and the Horn of Africa. His research has focused particularly on the history of Central Ethiopia and relations between the Tulama Oromo and the Kingdom of Shawa.He holds a PhD in History from the University of South Africa (UNISA), an MA in History from Addis Ababa University, and a BA in History from the same university. He has nearly three decades of experience in higher education, combining research and teaching with postgraduate supervision, curriculum development, and academic leadership. His doctoral research examined continuity and change in the history of the Tulama Oromo between approximately 1700 and the 1880s.
This event is organized by the Centre for African Studies at Charles University in cooperation with the Center for Multidisciplinary Area Studies (CenMAS) and the ERA-AREAS project, which supports the development of research and teaching in area studies at the Faculty of Arts, Charles University. The project is funded by the European Union.