Member Article

Senior Commonwealth leaders come to Newcastle

Senior Commonwealth leaders will come to Newcastle this week as part of a project to tackle challenges that businesses, governments and society face.

The CSCLeaders programme is taking place across the UK, and Newcastle will host the head of Technology for Luxembourgian diamond miners De Beers; the vice president of the University of Alberta; the general secretary of the Communication Workers Union of Malawi and the state leader NSW for Mission Australia.

Over three days the group will meet with some of the region’s business leaders, including NECC chief executive James Ramsbotham; NewcastleGateshead Initiative chief executive Sarah Stewart; The Alchemists chief executive Lucy Armstrong and Gateshead Council chief executive Jane Robinson.

The group will visit some of the region’s landmarks, including Nissan and The Angel of the North, as well as spending an evening in the home of a local host to sample Geordie hospitality.

Fiona O’Connor, operations director for Common Purpose in the North East said: “Experiencing the diversity of what the North East has to offer is all part of developing the Cultural Intelligence of our Commonwealth leaders – their ability to cross divides and thrive in multiple cultures.

“We have a great history of innovation in our region, and we are now establishing an international reputation for innovation in newly emerging sectors too. Common Purpose is delighted to be bringing together civic, business and academic leaders from the North East to showcase examples of their expertise, know-how and technology to senior leaders from across the Commonwealth, and to develop future networks for international dialogue and cooperation.

“Engaging with such a diverse group of international leaders through CSCLeaders, brings a fresh perspective on leadership and will also highlight opportunities and new networks for our own regional businesses too.”

The whole CSCLeaders group will reconvene in Oxford where the findings from the North East will be incorporated into practical project proposals that will be further tested in Singapore, Toronto, Delhi and Lagos over the coming months.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Tom Keighley .