Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology: equality impact assessment

Equality Impact Assessment Results

Title of Policy	Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology
Summary of aims and desired outcomes of Policy	In 2017 the Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology ( YHHA) will celebrate Scotland's historic environment and past. The Year also focuses on archaeological aspects, sites and visitor attractions which are an important part of the tourism product and will provide good opportunities to tie visitor interest into Scotland's landscapes, building on the success of the Year of Natural Scotland, and broadening interest out into built and other heritage
Directorate: Division: team	Directorate for Culture, Tourism and Major Events : Tourism and Major Events: Themed Years Team

Executive summary

A full Equality Impact Assessement ( EQIA) was undertaken to help boost the celebration of the Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology.

The EQIA process identified:

• a lack of data (particularly major events and tourism participation and trends) for the transgender, LGBTI, faith, minority ethnic strands;
• no negative impacts from the celebration of the Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology on any of the protected characteristics;
• significant potential for the celebration of the Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology to provide a broad focus to engage Scotland's diverse communities including participants, audience members and businesses/event organisers;

The Scottish Government has led the delivery of actions from the EQIA for the Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology with support from VisitScotland ( VS), Heritage Lottery Fund ( HLF) and other partners assisting with the delivery of the Year.

To address the issues identified above the following actions are now underway:

• The Scottish Government has provided £10,000 towards a new photography project to incorporate more diversity into VS's image library to support and reflect both Scotland's inclusive growth strategy and the themed year promotions. The aims include:-
• to help add to VS's free-to-use photographic library by commissioning new photography to incorporate imagery which reflects both Scotland's inclusive growth strategy and the themed year promotions;
• to celebrate inclusivity by increasing the range of images which include the themes of age, disability, gender, race and sexual orientation;
• to widen the scope of the photographic library by ensuring the images are suitable for possible use in our campaigns and for general use by third parties.
• The Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology (and Scotland's Winter Festivals 2017/18) will provide further opportunities to engage multi-cultural communities with £64,680 being awarded to BEMIS Scotland to deliver a multi-cultural celebration of 2017 YHHA and SWF 2017/18.
• Regular articles will be cascaded to various communties' newsletters across 2017 through a range of stakeholders, to help ensure that Scotland's diverse communities are engaged with the Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology and will provide an invitation to join the celebration, highlighting events and activities that can be joined in by all.
• On-going activity with VisitScotland, Heritage Lottery Fund and other partners to ensure that positive images of Scotland's diverse communities are used across the marketing and promotion of the Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology.
• VisitScotland's consumer website (VisitScotland.com) contains a wealth of information on the Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology's events programme and this will be promoted to protected communities via the additions to newsletters, including information on the highlights and also events that may have a particular appeal. VisitScotland.com also contains a section specifically designed to welcome the LGBTI community.
• A core support package provided by VisitScotland to assist businesses and event organisers in harnnessing the potential of the Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology. This is open to all and not specifically tailored to specific groups or communities. The toolkit will be highlighted to organisations representing disabled, minority ethnic and LGBTI communities via the addition to newsletters.
• An Inclusive Tourism project took place during 2016 aiming to boost the accessibility of Scotland's tourism and events industry. This was an advanced equality of opportunity during the 2016 Year of Innovation, Architecture and Design and continues during the Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology by helping people experience all of Scotland's tourism assets. The new accessibility tool guide is complete, tested and ready to launch during 2017 and an architect's guide to accessibility is still under development.
• Engaging young people in the Year - the SG is working with key partners such as Young Scot, Education Scotland and Skills Development Scotland to align the themes of the Year and build momementum for 2018 Year of Young People.

Background

Homecoming 2009

Scotland's first ever year of Homecoming in 2009 was a great success, influencing more than 95,000 visitors to travel to Scotland and exceeding its target by generating £53.7m in additional tourism revenue for Scotland in what was a difficult year for global tourism.

Recognising the success of Homecoming in rallying Scotland around a common theme and to show its continued support for the tourism industry through economic recovery, the Scottish Government committed to a series of Themed Years running from 2010 to 2013 and also to the celebration of a second year of Homecoming in 2014.

2010-2013 Themed Years

The 2010-2013 Themed Years had a significant impact. For example, over half a million people attended events and activities celebrating the Year of Food and Drink; there was a 6 per cent increase in participation levels at those events supported through the Year of Active Scotland; the messaging around the Year of Creative Scotland reached almost 70 million people across the globe; and during the Year of Natural Scotland there was a 12% increase in the number of visitors to rural and coastal locations in Scotland, compared to the same period in 2012.

Given the success of Homecoming 2009 and the 2010-2013 Themed Years, a further series of Themed Years were announced by the then First Minister on 10 September 2013. These were: (2014) Homecoming Scotland, (2015) – Food & Drink; (2016) Innovation, Architecture and Design; (2017) History, Heritage and Archaeology; and (2018) Young People.

Homecoming Scotland 2014

Homecoming Scotland 2014 was a great success generating £136m net additional revenue for Scotland and attracting 326,000 visitors from outside the country who cited Homecoming as the primary reason for travelling to Scotland in 2014.

The 2014 Multi-Cultural Homecoming celebration, delivered by BEMIS, and supported by £49,000 from the Scottish Government, was also a great success, attracting over 6,000 people to 43 diverse events across Scotland. The Multi-Cultural Homecoming celebration was a key element of the wider celebration of Homecoming Scotland 2014.

2015 Year of Food and Drink

2015 Year of Food and Drink was another success and from the equality perspective, the multi-cultural celebration of the 2015 Year of Food and Drink and Scotland's Winter Festivals achieved significant impact engaging over 15,000 people at 65 events across Scotland.

2016 Year of Innovation, Architecture and Design

2016 Year of Innovation, Architecture and Design was also a success and from the equality perspective the multi-cultural celebration of the 2016 YIAD and Scotland's Winter Festivals achieved significant impact engaging over 15,000 people at 63 events across Scotland.

2017 Year of History Heritage and Archaeology

2017 Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology is celebrating Scotland's historic environment and past. The Year also focuses on archaeological aspects, sites and visitor attractions which are an important part of the tourism product and provides good opportunities to tie visitor interest into Scotland's landscapes, building on the success of the Year of Natural Scotland, and broadening interest out into built and other heritage.

The Scope of the EQIA

The EQIA has been delivered with support from VisitScotland (who have been mandated by Ministers to lead delivery of the Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology), the Heritage Lottery Fund and BEMIS Scotland.

BEMIS Scotland provided expert advice throughout the Themed Year's EQIA process relating to boosting minority ethnic community participation. BEMIS take part in the evaluation process for the Year with their own measurements playing a part into the wider evaluation of the Year.

VisitScotland leads an Accessible Tourism Steering Group - which includes disabled people, a range of their representative organisations and the tourism industry - to maintain a strategic overview of the Accessible Tourism project (also led by VisitScotland) . The Accessible Tourism Steering Group will have a strategic overview of the three projects being delivered by VisitScotland to celebrate both YIAD and YHHA.

Partners such as Young Scot, Education Scotland and Skills Development Scotland have been working together to highlight the opportunities to engage younger people in the Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology leading us into 2018 Year of Young People.

Key Findings

The EQIA process for the 2017 Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology has identified particular opportunities for more general advice for key partners on how to collect the best images of a diverse Scotland through a Diversity Photography Project taking place throughout 2017.

There are also further opportunities to further engage multi-cultural communities in the Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology and Scotland's Winter Festivals 2017/18.

There is limited data on how Scotland's LGBTI community engages in tourism and events (although this has been boosted by recent research led by the Equality Network and VisitScotland) however there is no particular evidence to suggest any inequality of opportunity for the LGBTI community to join the celebration of the Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology.

Similarly no particular risk of inequality of opportunity to engage in the Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology has been identified for the protected characterists of faith or gender. There are close links between race and faith and any activity undertaken with BEMIS Scotland to contribute to the Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology will also have the potential to boost faith aspects also.

Building on earlier activity around Homecoming Scotland 2014, 2015 Year of Food and Drink and 2016 Year of Innovation, Architecture and Design and now during 2017 Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology, each themed year has provided excellent opportunities to engage younger people building momentum towards 2018 Year of Young People .

Recommendations and Conclusion

To address the findings above a series of actions are being delivered, led by the Scottish Government, with key support from VisitScotland, Heritage Lottery Fund, BEMIS Scotland and other partners. These include:

• The Scottish Government are providing a £10k contribution to VisitScotland for the delivery of a Diversity Photography Project that will work closely with HES, Equality Network, LGBT Youth, BEMIS and SG Tourism/Events and Comms. The project will commission new photography to incorporate more diversity into an image library (to support and reflect both Scotland's inclusive growth strategy and the themed year promotions). The project will explore opportunities for more general advice to partners on how to collect the best images of a diverse Scotland so that they can also submit their own images to the "diversity project bank" .
• Scottish Government is awarding £64,680 to BEMIS Scotland to deliver a multi-cultural celebration of 2017 YHHA and SWF 2017/18 which will build on the success of previous celebrations and will assist in evolving the evidence around the engagement of multicultural communities in tourism and major events.
• Heritage Lottery Fund – through Stories, Stones and Bones, HLF have provided £852,120 to engage a wider range of people in Heritage related projects. In particular £54,200 has been awarded to projects led by Minority Ethnic and Cultural Communities and £118,300 to projects led by or very strongly engaging people with disabilities.
• Arrangements have been put in place to cascade regular, tailored, updates on the Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology to the LGBTI, multi-cultural and faith communities and disabled people via representative organisations.
• VisitScotland's consumer website (VisitScotland.com) contains a wealth of information on the Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology events programme and this will be promoted to protected communities via contributions to multi-cultural organisation's newsletters, including information on the highlights and also events that may have a particular appeal. VisitScotland.com also contains a section specifically designed to welcome the LGBTI community.
• VisitScotlands Inclusive Tourism project running during 2016 will continue to assit to boost the accessibility of Scotland's tourism and events industry during 2017 and beyond with specifics from the project being launched during 2017.
• Significant strands of partner activity, led by the Scottish Government, with support from the likes of Young Scot, Education Scotland and Skills Development Scotland, to record and encourage engagement of young people in the Themes.
• General business/industry support activity - led by VisitScotland and Heritage Lottery Fund including an events fund, growth fund, quality assurance scheme, engagement toolkit and focused support and guidance - open to all businesses. Business/Industry support opportunities will also be showcased to protected communities via the newsletter contributions.

Monitoring and evaluation

VisitScotland has arrangements in place to measure the impact of the Accessible Tourism project and these will also include activity related to the three Accessible Tourism projects underway (innovative/accessible websites and architects guides and also the enhanced access statements).

Information on the engagement of young people in the Year will be provided as part of the end of year report on the Year of History Heritage and Archaeology (delivered by VisitScotland). The delivery, impact and lessons and learning for the equality related activity for the Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology - such as the newsletter contributions - will also be covered in the end of year report.

Heritage Lottery Fund - stories stones and bones - a dedicated fund to YHHA aimed at getting more people involved in heritage, particularly at a community level have developed a questionnaire along with the Scottish Government enabling them to be a part of the evaluation for the Year.