Professor Jean Orr

This annual school lecture is in memory of the late Professor Jean Orr CBE, (died January 11, 2020) in recognition of her outstanding contribution to the development of nursing and midwifery education at Queen's University Belfast. Professor Orr became a Professor of Nursing in 1991 and was the inaugural Head of the newly created School of Nursing and Midwifery at Queen's University Belfast in 1997. Her leadership and commitment made a significant contribution to the profession, recognised with a CBE awarded in 2004. Professor Orr was renowned for her leadership and since 1995, for her work as a patron with victims of the Troubles in Northern Ireland, through the WAVE Trauma Centre, a charity which offers support to victims of the Troubles. Professor Orr worked with Wave to establish Northern Ireland’s first-degree programme in trauma studies in 2007 and acted as its chairperson from 2014 to 2018. Professor Orr retired in 2008 after an astonishing career as Professor of Nursing and Midwifery at Queen’s however, she remained a close friend of the University in the years that followed. In 2018 Professor Orr was named among the 70 most influential nurses and midwives in the history of the NHS. She was honoured in 2019 with a portrait commission for the walls of the Great Hall at Queen's.

About the Speaker:

Franka Cadée is a midwife and currently serving her second term as the President of the International Confederation of Midwives (2017-2023). Previously, she served on the ICM Board as treasurer (2004-2011). During her Presidency ICM grew exponentially to become the global ‘go to’ organization for midwifery. Franka is an expert on sexual and reproductive justice with a focus on midwifery, with over 30 years of strategy and policy development, advocacy, leadership, research and project and crisis management experience. She is known to many for her PhD research into twinning, a cross-cultural reciprocal process to strengthen the agency of midwives and has managed many twinning projects globally. With her anthropological and midwifery background plus personal experience of living and working across a range of differently resourced countries, she is well aware of the realities of the field and a strong proponent of a human rights-based approach to life and healthcare. Franka is also a member of the Executive Board of the Partnership for Maternal and Newborn Health (PMNCH) representing the Health Care Professional Associations, the chair of the ICM WithWomen charity, and a member of the High-Level Commission on the Nairobi Summit on ICPD25 follow-up.