Invite Me to Speak

I welcome opportunities to speak with people who are asking serious questions about African knowledge, health, education, community development, and the way we organise our common life.

My work has taken me from the Benedictine community at St. Benedict Monastery in Ewu to the practical development of Paxherbal, academic research, and my current work at the Collegeville Institute for Ecumenical and Cultural Research.

These experiences inform the subjects I write and speak about. I am especially interested in conversations that bring scholarly inquiry into contact with lived experience and that allow different intellectual, cultural, and spiritual perspectives to meet.

I welcome invitations from universities, research institutes, faith communities, conferences, educational organisations, and groups working in health, community development, and social enterprise.

Topics I Can Speak About

1. African Medicinal Plants: Knowledge, Research and Practice

What can we learn from African traditions of medicinal-plant use, and how can this knowledge be documented and investigated responsibly?

Drawing on my work in phytomedicine and ethnomedicine, I can contribute to discussions about indigenous knowledge, the study of medicinal plants, the relationship between community experience and scientific investigation, and the responsible development of herbal medicine.

Suitable for: Universities, health and research conferences, ethnobotany and phytomedicine events, and professional seminars.

2. From Healing to Community: Lessons from Paxherbal

My experience with Paxherbal opened up questions that extended beyond medicinal plants. Building research and educational initiatives also involves questions about people, institutions, local capacities, sustainability, and the communities that make such work possible.

This topic explores the relationship between practical work, knowledge development, and the wider social conditions that allow institutions to serve communities.

Suitable for: Social enterprise forums, institutional leadership gatherings, community development events, and academic discussions.

3. Communitalism: Rethinking Enterprise and Economic Life

Can economic activity be organised around shared responsibility and community wellbeing, rather than competition alone?

In this talk, I introduce the ideas behind Communitalism and discuss the questions that led me to explore it as an alternative framework for community enterprise. The discussion draws on African experience and Benedictine insights into communal life, work, and responsibility.

Suitable for: Business and social enterprise conferences, development organisations, universities, policy discussions, and leadership programmes.

4. The Communiversity: Connecting Education, Research and Community

How can educational institutions become more responsive to the communities around them? How can academic learning, practical knowledge, and local capacities enrich one another?

This topic introduces the idea of the communiversity and explores possibilities for connecting knowledge creation with real-world needs, community experience, and practical experimentation.

Suitable for: Universities, educators, education conferences, research institutions, and organisations exploring new approaches to learning and development.

5. Afrikology and the Future of African Knowledge

Whose knowledge counts, and how can African intellectual traditions contribute to global conversations without being reduced to imported categories?

This presentation explores questions about knowledge, cultural context, intellectual pluralism, and the relationship between African traditions of thought and contemporary academic inquiry.

Suitable for: African studies programmes, humanities and social science departments, research seminars, and cultural forums.

6. Benedictine Wisdom, Contemplative Listening and Intercultural Dialogue

My Benedictine formation has shaped how I think about community, hospitality, attentive listening, and shared responsibility.

This topic considers how contemplative practices and communal traditions can inform the ways people listen across differences, work together, and build relationships within institutions and communities.

Suitable for: Faith communities, ecumenical gatherings, monastic communities, retreats, leadership formation programmes, and intercultural forums.

Formats and Engagements

Depending on the subject and the needs of the host organisation, I welcome enquiries about:

• Keynote addresses and public lectures
• Academic lectures, seminars, and research discussions
• Conference panels and moderated conversations
• Workshops and small-group discussions
• Retreats and formation sessions centred on contemplation, community, and intercultural dialogue
• Online presentations and virtual conversations

The precise format, duration, and focus can be discussed when planning an engagement.

Let’s Discuss Your Event

When writing to invite me, please include a few details about the event so that we can assess its fit with my interests and availability.

It is helpful to provide:

• The name and purpose of the event or organisation
• The proposed date and location, or whether the event is online
• The intended audience and approximate number of participants
• Your preferred topic or the question you would like the presentation to address
• The format, expected duration, and any relevant arrangements

I welcome invitations that are clearly connected to the themes described on this page. I also welcome a brief conversation about shaping a topic to suit a particular audience.