Select a region
She's a former business journalist, PR whizz and all round busy bee.
Natasha Egré is now a PR Director for local agency The Refinery. She is also the Vice Chair of Chartered Institute of PR (CIPR) in the Channel Islands - an organisation this year celebrating 10 years of educating audiences about the value of professional communications.
With just days to go until CIPR's birthday forum on 27 September, for which Bailiwick Express is media partner, Natasha has been prepping away.
But, for just a moment, she left the PR party prep to one side, to speak about the little things she'd do to enhance the island...
1. Where have the coastal restaurants gone?
I am a big fan of our restaurants in Jersey and I also work with many hospitality proprietors and see first-hand how hard they work. However, I have two issues –
where have all the seaside restaurants gone? And do we have enough diversity? It’s been so sad over the years to see the loss of eateries such as Zanzibar, The Beach
House and The Navigator – not to mention popular coastal restaurants of my childhood such as Borsalino Rocque, Bistro Frère and the Lobster Pot.
Pictured: Natasha is mourning the loss of coastal restaurants such as Zanzibar, the Beach House and the Navigator. (Google Maps)
Dining by the sea is part of living in Jersey for me and I wish there were more restaurants providing this. Additionally, I think we need an injection of diversity. I feel like we’re starting to get really inventive with our food trucks but not so much with our restaurants. I’d welcome an authentic Lebanese or a high-quality Asian fusion along the likes of Zuma in London – using our amazing Jersey produce but in inventive ways.
I wrote an article on feminism and diversity in Jersey and whilst I was heartened by some research which showed real change in our approach to this issue and some great champions for change (both male and female) we still need to take this further. I do not believe that more women on boards is detrimental to men, in fact research shows that board diversity makes good business sense.
Pictured: Having women on the board is not detrimental to men says Natasha.
Likewise, I’d like to stand up for more board skill set diversity. Every board should have a PR/Communications expert and not just to mitigate reputational risk but to create business opportunity and growth. The media and business landscape is fast changing and the need for companies to communicate with stakeholders has never been greater.
Going off island for training and CPD is expensive, time consuming and unnecessary. We need access to more local training to upskill our community. Vast developments in online learning are making a great difference but not everyone finds it easy to learn in this way. Thankfully, a number of businesses and associations have made great strides in bringing trainers to the island.
Pictured: More PR learning opportunities on island please!
The annual CIPR Forum will take place in Jersey on 27 September and four speakers are coming over from the UK to talk about value, measurement, professional standards and digital. This is a not-for-profit event and is a great example of how we can upskill on island. We need more of these! And dare I mention an on-island university…
We spend far too much time thinking about reasons why we can’t do things and not enough time thinking about what we can do. Jersey is a wonderful island with so
much to offer and I love showing it off. Super League Triathlon comes to our shores from 28 to 30 September and will broadcast our beautiful island to a worldwide audience – sending out messages of health, wellbeing, community and sportsmanship.
Pictured: "We need to embrace opportunities like the Super League Triathlon and show the world what we’ve got," says Natasha.
We need to embrace opportunities like this and show the world what we’ve got. I can’t wait to watch RBC Super League Jersey this year and I’ll be cheering on the pros and our Jersey participants.
Where space is at a premium and people are crying out for facilities, I fail to understand the procrastination over the future of a number of buildings. How has La Folie Inn at the harbour been left to rot and ruin? I believe people have shown interest in restoring and running it in the past and have been turned away.
Pictured: " How has La Folie Inn at the harbour been left to rot and ruin?"
Additionally, we can’t ignore Fort Regent and how the facilities there have been gradually extracted. I would happily see the island make good money out of the site as a casino, hotel and 360° rooftop restaurant – however, I would be just as happy if someone could make it work as a family activity centre. It needs vision and action!
The views expressed in this article are those of the author and not Bailiwick Express.
Comments
Comments on this story express the views of the commentator only, not Bailiwick Publishing. We are unable to guarantee the accuracy of any of those comments.