We’re delighted to announce that this year’s Campaign for Social Science Annual Sage Lecture will be delivered by the Honourable Julia Gillard AC, 27th Prime Minister of Australia and Chair of the Global Institute for Women’s Leadership.
In this year’s lecture, Julia will share insights from the world of politics and her role chairing the Global Institute for Women’s Leadership at the King’s Business School. She will focus on how social science can still have global impact in an era of political polarisation and widespread misinformation, public scepticism, political interference, and funding reductions. In these challenging times robust social science remains indispensable for understanding and shaping a more equitable world.
Following the lecture, Yuan Yang, the Labour MP for Earley and Woodley, and Stian Westlake FAcSS, Executive Chair of the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), will reflect on Julia’s talk and share their own thoughts on the vital role of social science in our increasingly divided world.
The event will be chaired by Professor Bobby Duffy FAcSS, Director of the Policy Institute at King’s College London and Chair of the Campaign for Social Science, and will be followed by a networking reception.
Truth and Trust: The Vital Role of Social Science in a Divided World will take place on Thursday 20 November 2025 between 6.30pm-8.30pm. The event will be held at Bush House, King’s College London Strand campus, 30 Aldwych, London, WC2B 4BG. Doors open at 6.15pm, with the lecture starting promptly at 6.30pm. A networking reception will follow the lecture until 8.30pm. Spaces are limited so register now to avoid disappointment.