It was fascinating hearing Fiona talk about leadership
and the challenges of implementing a vision and changing a culture against the
odds and against the grain. She spoke about how she had worked to transform the
NT culture of "closed arms conservation" to “open arms". Moving
from “you shall not" touch, walk on grass, let kids shout etc to a
welcoming and warm approach to people and places.
Fiona began her career in campaigning charities; around
the need to protect the environment and countryside. She argued passionately
about the importance of charity campaigning and the role we have played over
the centuries. She reminded us all that this is the bedrock of what we do and
it just rekindled my own determination to be robust at the challenges we face,
whether that might be the Lobbying Act or the Charity Commission trying to make
us define and account for the so called campaigning we do.
A rather wonderful quote from Eleanor Roosevelt Shows
just what we mean by the way in which citizens who come together to campaign
enrich our democracy and how essential civil society is to us all.
“Where, after all do universal human rights begin? In
small places, close to home, the world of the individual person; the neighborhoods they live in; the school or college they attend; the factory,
farm or office where they work...without concerted citizen action to uphold
them close to home we shall look in vain for progress in the larger world."
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