University of Northampton professor honoured to speak at the Vatican in Rome

​Professor Olinga Ta’eed, Director of the Centre for Citizenship, Enterprise and Governance at Northampton Business School, was invited to take part in the third International Conference on Human Dignity at the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences in the Vatican.

The conference was hosted by the Dignitatis Humanae Institute on 27 June and Professor Ta’eed was one of only nine speakers. His talk, ‘The connection between the profit motive and the reduction of poverty’ was held in a historic four-sided debating chamber at the Casina Pio IV, where past and present Popes have addressed some of the greatest thinkers of our time. The conference started with a personal letter to the privileged few from His Holiness Pope Francis read out by His Excellency Cardinal Renato Raffaele Martino.

Commenting on his experience, Professor Ta’eed said; “This really was one of the highlights of my life. The level and power of the debates was truly extraordinary. No one could fail to be impressed. Even the simple act of eating at the Pontificia Accademia delle Scienze built in 1561, surrounded by the greenery of the Vatican gardens, and the architecture of frescoes and stucco reliefs, reminded us that life should be an act of worship to the suffering of others.”