Family and friends will gather in Belfast next weekend for a very special memorial event to celebrate the remarkable life of Anna Lo.
Ms Lo, who was originally from Hong Kong, died last November at the age of 74 in hospital in Belfast with family around her following complications from non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
She made history in 2007 when she became the first ethnic-minority politician elected to the Stormont Assembly, representing South Belfast, and the first politician of Chinese ethnicity elected to any legislative body in Western Europe.
At the time of her death, Alliance Party leader Naomi Long described Ms Lo as a “ground breaker” in local politics who was dedicated and passionate about helping her constituents and was a strong advocate for the environment, human rights and women's rights and equality.
Anna Lo moved to Northern Ireland from Hong Kong in the 1970s, and dedicated her life to serving the people of Northern Ireland. Ms Lo worked first as a translator and social worker before taking on more public roles, including at the Chinese Welfare Association, the Assembly and as a founding commissioner of the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland.
In all these roles she fought for equality, the environment, women’s and LGBTQ+ rights, and stood up to discrimination. Ms Lo is survived by her partner Robert, two sons Conall and Owen, grandchildren and wider family. She was awarded an MBE in 2000 for services to ethnic minorities.
Now her vibrant life and legacy will be celebrated with a free public event next weekend. Kindly hosted by Queen’s University, 'Celebrating the life and work of Anna Lo MBE' will take place at Belfast’s Elmwood Hall next, Saturday March 29 starting at 2pm.
Performances will include traditional Chinese dance, music and painting, paying tribute to her passion for art and culture while various speakers and charities will celebrate her work and causes throughout the afternoon.
Key speakers will include the Lord Mayor of Belfast Cllr Micky Murray; Nisha Tandon, CEO of ArtsEkta; Julie Chiang, Director of Chinese Welfare Association, Prof Margaret Topping, QUB; Humanist Rachel Smith and Naomi Long, MLA, Minister for Justice, Leader of the Alliance Party.
Speaking to Belfast Live ahead of the event, Anna's sons Owen and Conall Watson praised their mother's incredible achievements during her life and career. They remembered a loving mother and grandmother; a passionate artist, environmentalist and hillwalker and shared memories of family summers often spent in the Mourne Mountains.
Owen told us: “She was an incredible mum and I was really struck that so many of the tributes when she died reflected the mum that we knew as her life in public was extremely similar to the person she was at home - warm, funny, full of fun, smart and principled.
"She would tell you what she thought but often change her mind, She would be happy to disagree but also be super supportive of what we wanted to do. She drove us all around the province to race mountain bikes when we were tiny kids which mostly involved her standing shivering in car parks.
"She was all about people - curious to know who you were, what you thought or needed and how she could respond to that. She didn't always agree with everyone and that was one of her great qualities that she could disagree in a friendly way. She absolutely loved constituency work because that's when she really felt that she could make a difference by supporting people, improving their life chances and that of their kids."
Conall added: "She was at that stage in her life when she took great joy spending time with her grandchildren. She was the same person with them as she was when we were younger and doing all the things with them that we enjoyed doing our really rich upbringing. In recent years, she also found great joy travelling the world.
"She was principled, pragmatic and really interested in the everyday concerns of people in Northern Ireland that often weren't well covered in political debate. She stood for and fought for equality and women’s rights, against discrimination including racism, and for a political system to serve the needs of people rather than reinforce historic divisions."
Next Saturday's event is open to all and will be family-friendly. To book free tickets please visit this link. Doors open at 1:45pm. Donations to charities connected with her life and work can be made at AnnaLo.info.
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