Vox pop | What is your biggest challenge and biggest cause for hope in 2024?

“Biggest challenge: jumping into the unknown. When I resigned from my senior role, I had no other job lined up. It was a big leap of faith to jump into self-employment and build from there, and I haven’t looked back since. God has been my rock in order for me to sustain and build what I gratefully have now. Hope: to continue growing in 2024 and pray that everyone who decides to go into self-employment is successful in all their freelance endeavours.”

“A challenge I see again and again is that museums and museum workers want to do something to address social and environmental problems, but are unclear on what they want to do or what they can do, so they get confused or give up. My biggest hope is that more organisations take a sustainable development approach. I hope museums and funders will recognise that strengthening action for human rights on the one hand, and protecting and restoring nature on the other, is sustainable development.”

“The biggest challenge is returning NMS to a sustainable and stable budget in 2024. We’ve made excellent progress during 2023, but pressures including high utility bills, and cost of living impacts on our secondary spend mean we’ve got more work to do. And the biggest cause for hope in 2024 is the completion of our Norwich Castle: Royal Palace Reborn project after several years of hard work and invaluable support from many, including Norfolk County Council and the Heritage Fund.