National Islands Plan: annual report 2021

Arts, Culture and Language

Strategic Objective 11 – To support arts, culture and language

We committed to invest in our cultural and historic resources, to ensure that islanders are encouraged to engage with, and participate in, arts and culture.

Work is ongoing in relation to this commitment.

Working with partners, EventScotland aims to raise Scotland's reputation as the perfect stage by supporting and securing a portfolio of events and developing the events industry. EventScotland maintains constant awareness/alignment with wider Scottish Government and VisitScotland initiatives that focus on the islands.

2021 supported events in island locations include:

• Mull Rally
• Small Halls Festival – Isle of Skye
• Tiree Music Festival (digital)
• HebCelt (digital)
• Ultra Tour of Arran
• Skye Live (digital)
• Orkney Science Festival

Other projects being planned for 2022 include the Shetland Folk Festival, Tiree Music Festival and HebCelt.

2022 will also be a key preparation year for the organising committee of Shetland's Tall Ships Race Series, which is scheduled for summer 2023. This is a major event that will bring significant opportunities to promote Shetland, support the tourism sector in its recovery from COVID and provide a strong hook and content for wider VisitScotland led island campaign activity. Orkney will also host the International Island Games in 2025.

Themed Years

Scotland's Themed Years have been running since 2009 as a way to celebrate a particular side to Scotland that deserves recognition, deliver sustainable economic development in the linked tourism and events sectors and also present unique collaborative platforms for a number of relevant stakeholders to work in closer collaboration to achieve shared goals and generate stronger partnership working. In 2020 we began celebrating the Scotland's Year of Coasts and Waters and, in light of the impact of COVID-19, this Themed Year was extended across 2021. SEALL's Summer Programme, The Isle Martin Seaweed Festival and Stornoway on the Ocean were strong island event contributors to the Year of Coasts and Waters.

The next Themed Year is Scotland's Year of Stories in 2022, a year in which stories inspired by, created or written in Scotland will be celebrated and showcased. The year was formally launched by the Minister for Culture, Europe and International Development on 14 December 2021. Following feedback from the EventScotland-led Scotland's Year of Stories Steering Group members, there are five inter-linked strands for the year and these are:

1. Iconic Stories and Storytellers

2. New Stories

3. Scotland's People and Places

4. Local Tales and Legends

5. Inspired by Nature

Scotland's Year of Stories Open Events Fund, administered by EventScotland, has been designed to support new, creative event proposals and programming that will provide high profile content created especially in response to the 2022 Themed Year opportunity. Organisers could apply for individual grants of between £15-60,000 and 21 Open Events will be supported across Scotland during 2022.

Scotland's Year of Stories Community Stories Fund, administered by Museums Galleries Scotland, in partnership with EventScotland and National Lottery Heritage Fund is a £300,000 fund from which community groups could apply for any amount between £500 and £5,000. This fund has been designed to support organisations and community groups to take part in and celebrate Scotland's Year of Stories 2022, spotlighting the unique stories that matter to them with new, creative events, activities and programming. The first funding round was for activity taking place in the first half of 2022 or throughout the year and successful Round 1 applications will support 47 events across 27 local authorities, spread across both physical communities and also communities of interest. The second funding round will be for activity taking place in the second half of 2022 and opened for application from 24 January to 18 March 2022.

Scotland's Winter Festivals

Scotland's Winter Festivals run between 30 November and 25 January and mobilise the people of Scotland and those with an affinity to Scotland to join in the St Andrew's Day, Hogmanay and Burns celebrations, providing an immediate boost to the post-COVID recovery of the tourism and events sectors and the wider economy, enhancing community engagement and raising Scotland's international profile as we recover from the Coronavirus pandemic.

There are a number of initiatives and actions within the overall Winter Festivals Programme. Key components of SWF are:

• Scottish Government funding via EventScotland National events programme (led by VisitScotland's Events Directorate);
• St Andrew's Fair Saturday (led by the Fair Saturday Foundation);
• BEMIS Multi-cultural celebration of SWF; and
• St Andrew's Day Schools Debating Tournament (led by the English Speaking Union Scotland).

2020/21

The headline impacts of SWF 2020/21 were:

• around 120 events delivered; over 8 million views of SWF funded event activity;
• 66 events joined St Andrew's Fair Saturday 2020 reaching across Scotland, the wider UK and also to over 30 countries internationally; and
• 56 events joined the multi-cultural celebration of SWF, including a record 41 events celebrating Burns Night.

2021/22

In 2021/22 there were over 100 events right across Scotland for St. Andrew's Day (including online and hybrid), including participation from SEALL Small Halls Festival (Skye and Raasay) and final evaluation reports are in the process of being collated.

Alison Miller was appointed to the role of Orkney Scriever by the National Library and Creative Scotland in July 2021. Working in partnership with Orkney Library, the Scriever has worked with local writers to celebrate Orcadian writing through book launches, public events and local media such as regular contributions to BBC Radio Orkney Arts programme.

Bringing Orcadian to a global audience through a collaboration with Historic Environment Scotland saw the Scriever write and perform a poem for the winter solstice inside the neolithic chamber of Maeshowe. This event was filmed and later streamed to an audience of 5,000 viewers from around the world.

The launches of two new books of Orcadian writing were hosted by the Scriever, a volume of poetry titled Toonie Void by Kevin Cormack and the anthology Gousters, Glims and Veerie-orum edited by Alison Miller was launched at a virtual event run by the National Library of Scotland and streamed to a global audience.

Going forward, the Library is in the early discussion and planning stages to develop a pilot a programme of events and activities with Orcadian partners which would run over the course of a year. This pilot programme might include online and in-person events, readings, workshops and talks, as well as podcasts and blog posts. They would be co-curated with Orcadian partners and run in partnership with Orcadian communities and organisations. The aim is that this pilot could then serve as a model for collaboration with other island communities. At the same time, we hope that the programme, once in place, might continue to run annually as an ongoing collaboration between the Library and Orkney communities: https://www.creativescotland.com/what-we-do/latest-news/archive/2021/07/orcadian-scriever-appointed

Museums are an important aspect of the culture offering in the islands. The core function of museums is to hold, interpret and exhibit collections on behalf of the public. This work is intrinsically linked to local culture, identity and sense of community. In many parts of the islands museums may be the only, or the primary, cultural infrastructure.

Due to emergency COVID-19 support funding, MGS distributed grants worth £1.61 per capita across Scotland in 2020/21. This spending disproportionately reached island and large rural local authorities, which reflects the importance of these cultural venues to their communities. Total funding breakdown of Museums Galleries Scotland to island museums in 2020/21, broken down by local authority areas is:

MGS funding to island museums (split by local authority area)	Amount (£)
Argyll and Bute (island museums only)	33,825
Eilean Siar	245,639
Highland (island museums only)	43,025
North Ayrshire (island museums only)	35,936
Orkney Islands	115,080
Shetland Islands	28,453
Total	501,958

The sector's health and dynamism is central to our islands attraction as a visitor destination as well as having a significant impact on collective wellbeing, education and sense of identity. Museums and galleries also have major economic impacts as employers and drivers of tourism, and will play an important role in Scotland's, and the islands post-pandemic recovery.

Beyond the core responsibility of caring for and exhibiting collections, museums have a significant impact in supporting learning, wellbeing and sense of community.

A literature review commissioned by Museums Galleries Scotland found that engaging with museums services brought a range of measurable benefits, including: positive impacts on attainment; children and young people from disadvantaged areas benefit most from visiting museums; positive impacts on mental wellbeing; reduced isolation and an increased sense of identity.

We committed to support, develop and promote the creative talents of islanders, and ensure that the culture of Scotland's islands has a wide audience both nationally and abroad.

Work is ongoing in relation to this commitment.

The National Transition Training Fund (NTTF) was introduced in 2020 as a specific response to the economic impact of COVID-19. Although unemployment has thankfully not risen as rapidly or to the levels we initially feared, some sectors have been disproportionately impacted and need continued assistance to address skills shortages and gaps.

The £322,000 Treòir | Voar | Virr programme is funded jointly by the National Transition Training Fund and through the Islands Programme, which supports delivery of the National Islands Plan. Minister for Higher and Further Education, Youth Employment and Training, Jamie Hepburn, MSP launched the programme on Monday 27 September. We know how challenging the pandemic has been for our artists and that while recovery has begun, with more creative and cultural opportunities opening up, there is still a long journey ahead and incomes are still affected. This programme helps artists, particularly those living on our islands, to contribute to the wider economic and social recovery for communities, which have been impacted by COVID-19 and Brexit.

This transformational and innovative new programme supports re-training and employment opportunities for creative freelancers through a programme of live, progressive arts-based cultural workshops, offered to all our primary schools on islands. Treòir | Voar | Virr has enhanced access to upskilling and retraining opportunities in relation to the Future Skills Action Plan and contributes to the delivery of outcomes in the National Gaelic Language Plan 2018-23.

The programme has been named in Gaelic, Shetlandic and a term known to have been familiar in both Scots and Norse: Treòir (Gaelic) | Voar (Shetlandic dialect) | Virr (used in Scots and Norse).

The programme delivers classroom lessons that support various aspects of Scottish culture, including Scotland's indigenous languages and dialects, music, drama, dance and visual art. It creates opportunities for children living on our islands to learn more about their culture and heritage, and crucially, have fun at the same time!

The unique delivery model operates through a paired tutor scheme, where tutors work with a primary school class and their teacher. A natural 'on-the-job' training occurs as tutors share their different skill sets with each other and there is also the opportunity of a more formal training, accredited by West Highland College UHI.

We committed to support all of Scotland's indigenous languages and dialects in ways that are relevant to the communities where these are spoken.

Work is ongoing in relation to this commitment.

Continued support for cultural projects and organisations operating though Gaelic and Scots is widening access to the languages. Many projects such as Ceolas, Feisean nan Gaidheal, An Comann Gaidhealach, the Heritage Forum and centres such an Lanntair, Kildonan Museum, Taigh Chearsabhagh, Sabhal Mor Ostaig Urras Oighreachd Gabhsainn contribute to this objective.

We continue to make available translated resources from which practitioners and learners in Gaelic medium education in the islands benefit. We have offered professional learning sessions through the medium of Gaelic, focused on numeracy and particularly aimed at Early Careers teachers, and have also provided opportunities for networking across Scotland.

Education Scotland has recruited an Education Officer, with support funding from Bòrd na Gàidhlig, who has a remit for developing the secondary Gaelic Medium Education curriculum and involves supporting the expansion of the secondary. Island schools contribute to and benefit from this work in building capacity in the island schools.

As part of the development of the Measaidhean Coitchean Naiseanta airson Foghlam tron Ghaidhlig (MCNG) Education Scotland has responsibility for the quality assurance of the assessment content. We continue to ensure there is representation from the islands on the Quality Assurance panel which ensures the needs and contexts of the islands are reflected in the assessments.

We committed to ensure that the commitments in this plan are informed by and aligned with the commitments in the National Gaelic Language Plan, working closely with Bòrd na Gàidhlig.

Work is ongoing in relation to this commitment.

The Gaelic and Scots team has prepared the new Scottish Government Gaelic Language Plan. This is currently out for public consultation after which the final draft, outlining the Scottish Government's alignment with the National Gaelic Language Plan, will be prepared.

Quarterly meetings take place between the SG Gaelic and Scots Team, SG Islands Team and Bòrd na Gàidhlig, to support information sharing and collaboration with regards to synergies across the delivery of our National Gaelic Language Plan and the National Islands Plan.

We committed to ensure that the effect on Gaelic language development is considered from the outset in island-specific policies and initiatives and that these link to statutory Gaelic language plans.

Work is ongoing in relation to this commitment.

A number of authorities and bodies build Gaelic into their early thinking in taking forward new initiatives and developments. This is encouraged by positive policy initiatives such as Gaelic language plans and the Gaelic priorities in the National Islands Plan. Discussion and support for this priority emphasis also results from attendance at gatherings such as the Convention of the Highlands and Islands or the Gaelic Faster Rate of Progress initiative. This progress is welcomed and the Scottish Government would like to support increased momentum with this commitment from bodies and authorities.

We committed to work with public authorities and community groups in increasing the use and visibility of Gaelic in Gaelic speaking island communities.

Work is ongoing in relation to this commitment.

The Gaelic and Scots team has prepared the new Scottish Government Gaelic Language Plan. This contains corporate service aims to ensure the equal prominence of Gaelic in SG logo and branding, the prominence of Gaelic signage in SG offices, and encouragement to use Gaelic in our public communications and corporate publications. Other SG agencies, such as Social Security Scotland, provide bilingual material relating to their services and discussions are ongoing with island based SG offices to increase their Gaelic provision. A number of Gaelic development officers are located in island communities with the aim of increasing the use and learning of Gaelic.

We committed to work with relevant authorities to improve Gaelic provision for Gaelic speaking island communities in delivering their functions and services.

We committed to support approaches that promote the sustainable management of the historic environment.

Work is ongoing in relation to both of these commitments.

Our Place in Time: Scotland's 10 year strategy for the Historic Environment, sets out a vision of how our heritage can be understood, valued, cared for and enjoyed. The Strategy is being reviewed in 2022. The Strategy has four priorities:

• Cross-cutting strategic priorities – ensuring that the cultural, social, environmental and economic value of our heritage continues to contribute to Scotland's wellbeing;
• Understand – investigating and recording our historic environment to continually develop our knowledge, understanding and interpretation of the past, and how best to conserve, sustain and protect it;
• Protect – caring for and protecting the historic environment in order to both enjoy and benefit from it, and to conserve and enhance it for future generations; and
• Value – sharing and celebrating the richness and significance of our historic environment.

Climate and sustainability

Historic Environment Scotland (HES) has been researching climate change mitigation, impacts and adaptation in Scotland's historic environment for many years. This includes publishing their findings and advice in INFORM Guides and Short Guides (for planners, owners and contractors), Refurbishment Case Studies and Technical Papers, HES guidance to Planning Authorities in their Managing Change series, comprehensive climate impact risk analysis of the Properties in Care HES look after on behalf of Scottish Ministers, the sector guide on climate change impacts, and their first adaptation plan, Climate Ready HES. HES will also be shortly releasing a Green Recovery Statement, which sets out how the historic environment delivers as part of a 'Green Economy'.

HES leads the sector in climate change innovation and has pioneered the Climate Vulnerability Index, which has gained international recognition, to measure and assess the impacts on our world heritage sites. This means that Scotland will be the first country in the world to have a Climate Vulnerability Index assessment for each of our world heritage sites.

Conservation of our Heritage

Our historic buildings are vulnerable to climate change, especially those without roofs, which is accelerating. The level of decay we are seeing now, and the remedial work needed are beyond traditional routine visual inspection from the ground.

This means that HES now need to reassess the condition of a number of properties throughout Scotland and how we care for them in the future. This is a bold step and we believe HES are one of the first heritage bodies addressing this issue that will be faced over time by most/many owners of older buildings across the world.

Communities

Historic Environment Scotland have a range of Community initiatives such as the HES Community Connections Programme which is a programme that delivers a range of exciting, collaborative projects showing how the heritage that matters to you has a vital role to play in supporting your community's recovery and renewal. The programme spans the whole of Scotland.

HES have created a short visitor leaflet on the Orkney Islands, outlining the main sights including breathtaking landscapes and World Heritage Sites. Other leaflets have been created for other island heritage attractions such as St Kilda.

Engine Shed

The Engine Shed is Scotland's dedicated building conservation centre, based in Stirling. Part of Historic Environment Scotland, it serves as a central hub for building and conservation professionals and the general public. Our historic built environment is a finite and unique resource, yet its care calls for conservation skills that are in short supply. The learning and visitor resource is helping to encourage a greater understanding of traditional building materials and skills – and inspire future generations to continue to care for Scotland's built heritage. Much of the Engine Sheds resources are available online and accessible for all. As part of the 'Scottish 10' the Engine Shed has undertaken detailed 3D scanning of the Heart of Neolithic Orkney monuments which has given us incredible recordings of the Viking graffiti at Maeshowe and of faint Neolithic artwork at Skara Brae.