Ann Pettifor
How to change the world
Ann Pettifor was director of Jubilee 2000, a coalition
which aimed to cancel third world debt by 2000. After
an intense campaign involving Bono and Bob Geldof, in
1999 the G7 leaders agreed to write off $100bn of debt
for about 40 countries, although few countries have
yet felt the benefit.
Ann explains 'At first even the aid agencies and the
Left scorned the idea. The key thing was building
the coalition begun by Christian Aid and made
up of aid agencies, churches, ethnic and community organisations.
It was tough going. Most of the big players did not
like being led, especially by a tough cookie like me.
I learnt not to be knocked off course by other people's
obsessions, but to keep listening to people's concerns.
And I learnt how incredibly important it is to have
a core group of backers – interestingly,
mine were all very supportive men, which was a surprise
to me coming from the women's movement.
'Without our volunteers the movement would've got nowhere.
They brought a spirit, a commitment to the movement
that no amount of paid workers could bring - and big
business is finally beginning to realise the unique
value of volunteers. It's important to ensure that those
working in parcel dispatch or in accounts, and those
who volunteer, are as involved in the big strategic
decisions as those working on research and
policy. It leads to greater commitment and fewer mistakes.
'If I were going to do things differently, I would
raise more money before I started so that the campaign
was not affected by financial concerns. I would have
had greater involvement of people from developing countries;
Jubilee 2000's staff and board were mostly Europeans.
And I think I would be more ambitious
– we didn't believe at the beginning that we could
really change anything, and we did.
'But I've learned that you have got to get your analysis
right and you have to find a focus
(like the millennium year), and figures (like the Pope
and Mohammed Ali) who are global. And you have to be
a strong leader - believe in what you
are doing, understand it deeply, and anticipate all
the resistance to it.'
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