If I knew then: Jenny Foster

Jenny Foster has worked in sustainability education and campaigning for 15 years,  as Bristol and South West Fairtrade Co-ordinator, Regional manager at The Leprosy Mission, and is now the project lead at the Global Goals Centre.

This summer, Bristol24/7 partnered up with the Global Goals Centre for the #Bristol17 campaign, which highlights a different local hero every week on their work to address one of the Sustainable Development Goals ahead of the COP26 conference.

How did you start out in your career?

I have had a very mixed career! I started in youth work before university and then helped set up a theatre-in-education company working on environmental and social issues. It seems incredible that we were talking about the urgency of global warming and inequality 30 years ago.

I then trained as a social worker in London and headed up a resettlement team working with homeless people with mental health needs. I came back to sustainability via running my own café in Bristol, working in Fairtrade and then an international development charity. My passion for the Sustainable Development Goals came as a result of all of these aspects of my career.

If you knew then what you knew now, what mistakes would you have avoided?

I’m not sure I would have avoided my mistakes because I’ve learned a lot through them. But maybe one thing would have been to not assume that ‘most people’ care about the same things I do. I might have achieved more if I’d realised that earlier!

What advice would you give yourself when starting out?

Be patient! If I see a need, I always want to be able to fill it quickly but some of the best projects have taken years to fully come to fruition – but they were always worth waiting for.

The Global Goals Centre has launched the #Bristol17 campaign ahead of the Cop26 conference.

If you knew then what you know now, would you still be sitting there?

Absolutely. It feels as though my myriad jobs have all led me to this point.

What do you know now that you didn’t know then?

So much!

• How much perseverance it takes to create a worthwhile and viable business or project.
• Working in collaboration with others produces much better results than trying to do everything myself – for a project and for my wellbeing
• That working with a diverse group of people adds so much more value to a project, even if it takes longer – it’s worth the investment of time.

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve received so far?

Take time to properly review one piece of work before bowling on to the next one. It’s often in reflecting on what worked and what didn’t that it becomes clear which direction to take next.

What is your business highlight?

Running the International Fair Trade Towns Conference in Bristol’s Green Capital year was a real career highlight for me. For Global Goals Centre, the launch event for our first installation at Bristol Beacon for COP26 – the positive atmosphere and responses were so encouraging. It was also brilliant to be able to offer opportunities to local refugee creatives and to witness the power of their stories to change hearts and minds – exactly what GGC aims to do.

Global Goals Barton Hill by @JonCraig_Photos 07778606070

What is your business low point?

Having all plans put on hold during Covid – you can’t plan for a new visitor attraction/education centre during a pandemic!

What keeps you awake?

Either worrying about lack of funding for the charity or getting excited by new ideas for the Global Goals Centre.

What’s changed from when you started out?

There is so much more awareness of climate and inequality now, which gives us more of a receptive audience. However, that doesn’t always translate into behaviour or policy change, so there’s still a lot to achieve.

What’s still on your to-do list?

Opening the Global Goals Centre! And many steps in between…

What’s next for you in business and personally?

I’m excited to see our Threads fast fashion game come online in January and to see our Refugee Voices project come to life in the spring. Personally, I’d love to work alongside a young person of colour, maybe as a job share – to learn from each other and bring fresh perspectives to this project.

Main photo courtesy of Jenny Foster

Read more: If I knew then: Chloe Garland

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