In his decades-long experience fighting for human rights, Alex Neve has seen the failures and moments of progress for universal human rights—and what humanity can do to fulfill their promise. This fall, he will deliver the 2025 Massey Lectures across Canada, exploring the importance of universal human rights in this era of immense global challenges.

Alex Neve will discuss his book and lectures Universal with journalist Andrea Crossan, executive director of the Global Reporting Centre.

Alex Neve is a Canadian-based international human rights lawyer. He is the former secretary general for Amnesty International in Canada and a former member of Canada’s Immigration and Refugee Board. He is a commissioner with the Ottawa People’s Commission on the Convoy Occupation and an adjunct professor teaching in the area of international human rights with the law faculties at the University of Ottawa and Dalhousie University.

Andrea Crossan is a member of the Tsleil-Waututh Nation. She is an award-winning radio journalist with over 30 years of experience, reporting from over a dozen countries, including Afghanistan, Pakistan, Ukraine, South Africa, Uganda, and Brazil. She is currently the executive director of the Global Reporting Centre (GRC), an independent news organization based out of UBC.

The bookseller for this event is Book Warehouse, and you can order a copy of Universal here.

BC Libraries Present is a virtual author series that brings exciting conversations to library users in every corner of British Columbia.

This series is a project of BC’s public library federations, coordinated by Public Library InterLink, with the generous financial support of the Province of British Columbia through the Ministry of Municipal Affairs.

Alex Neve: Universal