Earth Hour is on Saturday 25th of March at 8.30 pm.  Earth Hour is a global movement that seeks to raise awareness about issues such as climate change that affect lifestyles and work-practices. The event is held annually encouraging community, governments and businesses to turn off non-essential lights for an hour as a symbolic action to demonstrate commitment to a safer and healthier planet. Over the years it has seen the Pyramids, Big Ben, the Eiffel Tower, the Taj Majal, the Colosseum, Table Mountain and other key landmarks switch off their lights in support.

As we count down towards Earth Hour, the Gibraltar Small Business Federation (GFSB) is partnering with Prof Daniella Tilbury, to launch a 12-month series of initiatives that support the transition of Gibraltar business towards sustainability. These include; sector specific training workshops on sustainability; events involving international speakers and business strategists; podcasts and social media coverage to share examples of best practice from our membership; a Morocco-Gibraltar Business event amongst other initiatives still in development.

Prof. Daniella Tilbury, formed part of the WWF Australia Board and team that had established the movement in Sydney in 2007. Since then, Earth Hour has become the world’s largest grassroots effort for the environment, engaging millions of people across more than 190 countries and territories. You can learn more about the initiative at  https://www.earthhour.org/ . Previous years has seen Gibraltar engage community groups, education and government stakeholders pledging their commitment to this agenda. In 2023-24 the focus will be on the circular economy and business transition.

The initiative will be launched 25th March 2023 with more details following shortly after about the sustainability initiative which will unfold over the next 12 months.   

The GFSB Women In Enterprise group hosted a successful breakfast workshop at the Garrison
Library to mark International Women’s Day 2023. The event reflected the themes being
explored by many women and supportive men, across the Rock IWD once again gave the
opportunity to focus on the need for greater diversity, inclusion and dialogue surrounding
balance between the genders.
Opening the event, Minister Sacramento reminded those gathered that IWD has a long history
in Gibraltar and will continue to be marked until the balance between genders is visibly
addressed. Fiona Young then addressed the audience from a historical context, reminding
those gathered that human survival as a species depends on better allocation of tasks and
division of labour based on skill, ability and circumstance -rather than on contrived assumptions
about Gender. Stewart Harrison then inspired the audience with his explanation of the role he
has had in normalising gender harmony in cyber-space world, creating a new generation of
diverse coders, programmers and computer scientists. Rebecca Jackson then assisted the
participants to divide into small groups to experience the Lean-in methodology first hand. Giving
each other insights into questions such as “what would you do with an extra hour?” “what one
word would your friend use to describe you?” and “what advice would you give to your younger
self?”- helped the participants explore together their personal needs, approaches and
experiences in a way framed to build empathy, connection and understanding.
Michaela Rees and His Worship the Mayor then closed the event with heartfelt pleas to those
gathered to encourage others to join in the dialogue about diversity. His Worship the Mayor
identified that he was “preaching to the choir” referencing the almost exclusively female
audience. It was recognized that until the outstanding matters are discussed between the
genders and a diverse range of people actively engage together on addressing these matters,
the movement towards diversity will remain extremely slow, which holds the whole of the
community back.
The general conclusion was that there needs to be far greater opportunity for men and women
to work side by side tackling stereotypes, sharing domestic tasks and identifying and utilizing a
person’s key strengths -regardless of gender. While it is clear there is much more to be done
and a much wider audience to reach before hopes for change can become a reality, the event
cemented the understanding that an excellent starting point is honest discourse and connection
between colleagues and peers, both men and women. The GFSB and WIE will be providing
more information on how to receive training to create Lean in Circles in their workplace.
Anyone wanting more information about this, or becoming a member of the GFSB Women in

Enterprise, please email Georgie at gfsb@gfsb.gi

PRESS RELEASE

Gibraltar Business Podcast returns with Emma Jones, CBE
The highly anticipated fourth season of the Gibraltar Business Podcast by the GFSB returns on March 21st,
featuring an exclusive interview with Emma Jones, CBE. The podcast series is hosted by local
communications and marketing professional David Revagliatte and aims to provide insightful discussions on
the local business landscape and economic trends.
In the first episode of the season, listeners will have the opportunity to hear from Emma Jones, a respected
entrepreneur and founder of Enterprise Nation, the UK's largest community of small businesses. During her
recent visit to Gibraltar, Emma shared her thoughts on the local business environment and her insights on the
challenges faced by small businesses in today's economy.
"Emma Jones is a highly respected figure in the business world, and we are thrilled to have her as our first
guest for the fourth season. Emma is also the first international guest on the show," said David Revagliatte, the
podcast host. "Her expertise and experience in supporting small businesses will provide invaluable insights for
our listeners. We are excited to kick off the new season with such a fantastic interview."
Throughout the season, David will interview various guests, including local business owners, entrepreneurs,
and industry leaders. Listeners can expect to hear in-depth discussions on a wide range of topics, from
innovation and technology to marketing and strategy.
The Gibraltar Business Podcast is brought to you by the GFSB and is sponsored by Gibraltar International
Bank. Listeners can tune in to the podcast on all major podcast platforms, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify,
and Google Podcasts.

For more information on the Gibraltar Business Podcast and upcoming episodes, visit the website at
https://gibraltarbusinesspodcast.buzzsprout.com
Contact:
David Revagliatte, Host
Gibraltar Business Podcast
Email: david@motion-gi.com
Phone: +350 54059479
Website: https://gibraltarbusinesspodcast.buzzsprout.com