Empire, Slavery and Scotland's Museums steering group recommendations: Scottish Government Response

Concluding remarks

The Scottish Government accepts that developing an anti-racism and decolonising approach in our museums will take time and a structured strategic focus. This work is vital to ensure that Scotland combats the institutional racism which has marked the establishment of our cultural places.

As a society we need to enact meaningful change to allow all the people who live in Scotland to feel welcome and represented in our cultural spaces and to flourish in the educational and creative opportunities they offer. We want our museum sector to demonstrate the core values of our modern and progressive nation that can honestly confront its past, represent an accurate account of our histories and seek a better future for everyone who lives, works and visits Scotland.

The financial position of the Culture sector, following the Covid-19 pandemic, and as part of the wider cost-of-living crisis is challenging and as a result the Scottish Government is not currently in a position to provide the levels of financial support which the recommendations request. However, we will use the resources we do have available to transparently build an effective, resilient organisation which contains the necessary skills to identify and acquire additional funding streams to allow this crucial work to progress and develop over coming years.

We believe that by building anti-racism and decolonisation into the sector we are forming a clearer vision of the Scotland we want to be. By supporting museum staff, undertaking reinterpretation, and awareness of systemic racism, we can drive tangible results for honest, inclusive cultural offerings and experiences for all the people in Scotland.