Oxford Convergence 2026 - panels

Education is under strain from high-stakes exams, burnout, and the reduction of learning to measurable outcomes. Students’ growing use of AI reveals a deeper question: if machines can produce answers, what does it mean to be educated, and what is distinctively human about thinking? AI forces a return to first principles, challenging us to identify what truly matters in education and to find paths to renewal grounded in human flourishing.

Following the recent proclamation of John Henry Newman as a Doctor of the Universal Church, the panel will focus on key contributions of Newman to the development of Christian doctrine, education, and sacramental imagination, which can help “drawing new maps of hope” to navigate the current challenges of our wounded world with wisdom, courage, and renewed purpose for individuals, communities, and future generations.

The impact of violent crime extends far beyond physical injury, often perpetuating cycles of despair and self-destruction. Since 2015, the Violence Reduction Programme has worked to break these cycles by understanding the stories that precede injury and providing networks of support. In partnership with the St Giles Trust, it reaches people at a “teachable moment” of vulnerability, showing how timely intervention can help turn lives around.

Public narratives about Africa often focus on crisis, overlooking the forms of life and creativity taking root across the continent. Beyond conflict and poverty, new patterns of entrepreneurship, cultural vitality, and innovation are emerging in response to real human needs, supported by strong networks of community and mutual care. This panel invites a shift in perspective, asking what can be learned from these often-overlooked contexts and what visions of work, leadership, and common life are being shaped through everyday resilience.

 Amid today’s global crises, this panel explores how acts of solidarity can generate tangible hope even in contexts shaped by war. While armed conflict devastates civilian life and social infrastructure, humanity is not entirely erased. Beyond formal institutions, individuals and organisations continue to respond to vulnerability through everyday acts of care and mutual aid. Drawing on documented cases, the panel shows how these humane practices resist dehumanisation, sustain social bonds, and point toward possibilities of recovery beyond conflict.

  Over the past decade, public and social discourse has been increasingly shaped by disinformation, polarisation, and mutual distrust, affecting not only politics but everyday life. This has fuelled scepticism about persuasion and its ethical role in fostering genuine dialogue. Drawing on the tradition of Classical Rhetoric and Aristotle’s ethical optimism, this panel examines the relationship between reason and persuasion, its implications for dialogue, knowledge, and peace, and the importance of educating both younger and older generations in responsible persuasive practices.

 Generative AI has rapidly become a dominant technological frontier, often adopted hastily amid fears of falling behind. Its acceleration raises fundamental questions about human intelligence, responsibility, and the risk of obsolescence. These concerns have also been taken up by religious and public institutions, including recent interventions by Pope Francis, the UK Parliament, and the Vatican’s Antiqua et Nova. Together, they emphasise that technology serves the human person and the common good only when guided by freedom, responsibility, and dialogue.