Whether you're humanist, humanist-friendly, or just curious, please join us for our April Speaker Event at the North Oxford Association Community Centre - Annexe, welcoming Prof Danny Dorling. This event is free to join, but we ask that you register to confirm your place and help us manage numbers. Donations to support the running of the Local Group are very welcome and can be made during registration, on the night in person, or online here.

Talk Title: The Next Crisis

What does the future look like to most people and what we can do about it? In this talk, Danny Dorling explores what polling data tells us about people’s concerns and how global crises are often very different from what we see represented by the headlines. The cost of living, inequality, poverty and unemployment tend to rank highly. Not so much, if you look carefully: immigration and climate change. Each year there are new issues - in 2025 its was “disinformation”.

Dorling explores our main concerns about the world in order of urgency and central to humanist values — equality, social justice, and the well-being of communities. What the cost of living shows us about inequality. How the connection between employment and immigration is used to stir up insecurity. Why we are frightened by distant wars. How corruption corrodes care. What we should really be worried about when it comes to climate change — including what the scientists get wrong about people's fears. And finally, how the great 'unknown unknowns' dictate the way we think about the future and what we should be less afraid of: pandemics, asteroids, tsunamis, even each other

In his book, The Next Crisis, Danny aims to try to help us identify where the greatest threats are actually coming from and how we can tackle them. 

Our Speaker: Danny Dorling is the 1971 Professor of Geography at the University of Oxford. He grew up in Oxford and world mainly on issues of social inequality and how they interact with geography, politics and demography. 

About Oxford Humanists: The Oxford Humanists Local Group has a goal to bring non-religious people together to be happier, more fulfilled and to act as a force for good in our community. We have a growing social group and are keen to build upon this and support a full programme of social and educational events over the coming year. If you're keen on learning more about humanism, seeking to contact a celebrant or school speaker, interested in volunteering for the local group, or simply wish to socialise with like-minded people, we would love to see you at this or any of our future events. Please join our mailing list and see upcoming events listed here. 

Not sure if this is for you or have questions about the event? Please get in touch with our Events Manager; we'd love to hear from you at events-oxford@humanistbranches.uk . 

More about the Venue: The North Oxford Community Centre Annexe will be open at 19:15pm on the night. There is parking close by at Summertown Car Park or Ferry Car Park. The No.14 Bus runs from Oxford Railway Station to Summertown every ~15 minutes. 

We hope to see you there!