Professor Olinga Ta’eed hosts United Nations International Widows Day at the House of Lords

​Professor Olinga Ta’eed from the Centre for Citizenship Enterprise and Governance (CCEG) at Northampton Business School hosted the ninth United Nations International Widows Day at the House of Lords this week.

International Widows Day was initially launched by the Loomba Foundation, which was founded by Lord Raj Loomba CBE. The date, 23 June, was chosen because on this day his mother Shrimati Pushpa Wati Loomba, the inspiration for the Foundation, became a widow. Lord Loomba is due to receive a Fellowship from the University of Northampton at this year’s Summer Graduation.

The event took place in the Cholmondeley Room, with 120 VIP guests including recognisable faces such as the Deputy Prime Minister Rt Hon Nick Clegg, Cherie Blair QC, Lord David Steel and Baroness Betty Boothroyde, as well as several CEO’s of major corporations, stock exchanges and High Commissioners of India and Sri Lanka who had flown in specially.

The Northamptonshire region was represented by two members of the University’s Board of Governors, Milan Shah and Nick Pitts-Tucker, and Daniel Mouawad, CEO of South East Midlands Local Enterprise Partnership (SEMLEP). Each VIP was given a copy of the CCEG Social Impact Analysis report printed especially for the event.

Speaking after the event Professor Ta’eed commented; “This is the third high profile international event CCEG has hosted in the last 12 months. We have built up a reputation of delivering high quality gatherings allied closely to our agenda of social innovation.”​