International network: annual report 2023-2024

Reputation, Influence and Relationships

The International Strategy showed how the Scottish Government, in collaboration with partner organisations, will deliver on key soft power objectives to improve Scotland’s reputation and influence, and develop positive relationships to deliver on our ambition to be a good global citizen.

Scotland has a strong global identity that is grounded in relationships and people-to-people links. Our reputation as a welcoming place to live and work, study, visit and do business is already strong. There are an estimated 40 million people or more globally who consider themselves to be of Scottish heritage. Many more have lived, studied and worked here, and have first-hand experience of Scotland as a modern, progressive and dynamic nation.

We want to build on this excellent reputation and these extensive people-to-people links, focusing on the highest impact stakeholders and policy areas to grow our networks and levels of influence for the benefit of Scotland, as well as to learn lessons that can help Scotland address key domestic and international challenges and attract investment and growth.

The rest of this section includes more detailed case studies on:

• sports diplomacy through the Rugby World Cup in France.
• celebrating Scotland’s global moments in Ireland.
• our work on promoting Scottish Connections with Nova Scotia in Canada.

Key achievements from our network

Canada: The historic return of the Nisga’a Nation Memorial Pole from Scotland to the Nass Valley in British Columbia strengthened our influence and reputation in Canada while showcasing Scotland’s commitment to being an active partner in addressing today’s challenges.

Germany: Supported the Showcase Scotland Expo in bringing a Scottish music showcase tour Ceòlas – Scottish Music Nights to Germany, with the aim of promoting music and festival tourism and developing the German market for Scottish music exports. The team promoted Scottish music in Germany at various events throughout the year, including a St Andrew’s Day reception co-hosted with Visit Scotland, targeting key stakeholders in media, tourism and music marketing.

Scotland House Brussels: The Scotland House summer reception, co-hosted by CEO Trudy Lindeblade in June 2023, showcased the UCI World Cycling Championships taking place in August in Scotland. Scotland House Brussels also hosted a roundtable session on the economic benefits of hosting major sporting events, including representatives from Flanders, the French and German governments and the European Commission.

France: The signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Brittany Region during the Celtic Forum held in Rennes was the first ever MoU between Scotland and a French region. This has given a formal framework to an already strong relationship.

China: The first Ministerial visit to China since 2019, taking in Beijing, Shanghai and Kunming, saw the renewal of the Scotland-China Culture MoU and its expansion to include tourism.

Case Study: France

Rugby World Cup in France & Sports Diplomacy

The men’s Rugby World Cup 2023 (RWC) in France provided a great opportunity to showcase Scotland internationally and to establish new connections with French regions and local authorities. We developed a strategy to focus on host cities where the Scotland team would play, whilst also identifying areas of potential policy collaboration.

Our approach focused on stakeholder engagement, communication, and marketing. We proactively built relationships by identifying key partners and reaching out to them, including Scottish Rugby, the French Ministry of Sport, and stakeholders in Marseille, Nice, Saint-Denis and Paris.

We supported two ministerial visits during the Rugby World Cup. The Minister for Social Care, Mental Wellbeing and Sport visited Region Sud in September 2023, followed by the Deputy First Minister visiting the Paris Region in October 2023. Both attended Scotland matches as part of broader programmes of engagement. For example, the Deputy First Minister met with cyclists from the My Name’5 Doddie Foundation who had cycled 700 miles from Edinburgh to fundraise for the charity which supports MND research.

Our programme highlighted Scotland’s reputation as an inclusive and health-conscious nation, particularly through our engagement with young people. Scottish- inspired healthy school meals, designed by our National Chef Gary Maclean, were provided to 28,000 school pupils in the Nice Metropole. Gary also spent three months working with the Jeanne and Paul Augier hotel school of excellence, one of France’s largest state-funded tourism and culinary schools, where he promoted several Scottish food and drink brands and Scotland’s global reputation for animal welfare, food safety, traceability, sustainability, and quality.

Our efforts received positive feedback from our French social media channels, receiving new followers from Region Sud, taking us over 5,000 followers. We also had positive media engagements including an interview with local newspaper Nice Matin, which resulted in two articles in the French press. Additionally, we supported seven Scottish cultural performances in the host cities and facilitated the broadcast of Brand Scotland’s rugby video that was aired repeatedly in the rugby villages, showcasing Scotland’s cultural offer to thousands of fans.

Our programme with the RWC was also featured in research by the think tank IRIS (Institut des Relations Internationales et Strategiques), which has a research strand dedicated to Sports Diplomacy.

Case Study: Ireland

Celebrating Scotland’s global moments

Scotland benefits from three annual touchstone cultural dates offering a platform to promote our wider interests internationally. The global moments of St Andrew’s Day and Burns Night (and Tartan Week in North America) are invaluable in capturing an audience interested in Scotland’s history and traditions and connecting them to modern Scottish society.

Our Burns Night event in Dublin in January 2024 strengthened and enhanced the relationship between Scotland and Ireland. It helped us build networks, explore trade and investment opportunities, forge partnerships in the arts and culture, support academic collaborations, and develop meaningful policy links between our two nations. We also used it as an opportunity to encourage key stakeholders to join Scottish Connections, the Scottish Government’s online community for connecting with diaspora. To ensure value for money, we secured sponsorship which supported Scottish performers to travel and perform at the event.

A highlight of the evening was the performances by the Association of Exiled Scots and Irish singer Simon Morgan. We also enjoyed captivating readings from Asif Khan, Director of the Scottish Poetry Library, and Leyla Josephine, the renowned Scottish poet. Their performances showcased the richness of Scottish culture and its strong connection with Irish audiences.

We received several notes of thanks from guests after the event. Feedback included:

‘I work for a Scottish company but have never felt so immersed into the culture … you have a wonderful set up over here and are working hard to connect with Ireland across multiple levels.’

‘culturally enriching and memorable, and underlines the ties between our two countries like few other events I’ve attended”.

In November 2023, we hosted a reception to celebrate Scotland’s national day, St Andrew’s Day. Approximately 200 guests attended the event, which took place in the iconic Long Room at Trinity College, Dublin. We used this as opportunity to highlight that St Andrew’s Day is becoming more meaningful to those connected to Scotland across the world. We also showcased Scottish produce to influential contacts in Ireland.

The First Minister attended the event, and provided a keynote address, in which he said:

‘Scotland’s relationship with Ireland has been a priority throughout our history, and it continues to be so. Our shared history, culture and geography have nurtured a profound connection – one that thrives on mutual respect, understanding, and a shared dedication to progress. I am steadfastly committed to deepening our partnership and to continuing collaboration on key issues to build a better future for both our countries.’

We also coincided the reception with trade missions focused on property-tech and health-tech, involving six Scottish companies hosted by our SDI colleagues. This provided growing Scottish companies the opportunity to network with key stakeholders in Ireland. Our social media activity covering the event received almost 56,000 impressions, 523 likes and 204 reposts.

Case Study: Canada

Engagement programme in Nova Scotia

The Celtic Colours International Festival offers a rich tapestry of cultural experiences, from Gaelic performances to artist-led workshops and school presentations on Celtic history. To support Scottish artists and strengthen ties with local government representatives, Scottish Government Canada organised a ministerial visit from the Cabinet Secretary for Constitution, External Affairs, and Culture to Cape Breton Island and mainland Nova Scotia. In collaboration with the Government of Nova Scotia and Celtic Colours, the team arranged an intensive four-day itinerary featuring discussions with the Gaelic College and St. Francis Xavier University, as well as meetings with key provincial and federal figures.

Focusing on Gaelic language and culture, we used the visit to strengthen connections with the provincial government and increased the visibility of the office amongst the largest Scottish Gaelic community outside Scotland. We were able to refresh commitment and enthusiasm for academic and cultural collaboration amongst stakeholders. Hosting a reception at Canada’s historic Museum of Immigration, we were able to amplify the historic connections between Scotland and Canada, whilst providing the backdrop to usher in a new, modern diaspora connection with strong attendance from Members of the Legislative Assembly (15 MLAs). The Cabinet Secretary was formally introduced in the Nova Scotia Legislature and had a series of meetings with ministerial counterparts, paving the way for closer collaboration and knowledge exchange.

The visit generated significant online engagement, including a televised interview on CTV News Atlantic, the leading television channel in Canada’s Maritimes. The Ministerial visit showcased a modern, forward- looking Scotland, highlighting our equities and key interests, and reinvigorating the relationship with a key Canadian province. The visit also highlighted a strong willingness from Nova Scotian colleagues to collaborate with Scottish counterparts to improve access to Gaelic language resources and media. The team have since held conversations with the relevant organisations in Scotland, such as MG Alba and Speak Gaelic and is developing tangible work strands on these topics with Nova Scotia, within the margins of Gaelic Month. Looking ahead, Scottish Government Canada expects that the relationships strengthened through our annual engagement with Celtic Colours and Nova Scotia politicians will enhance their work on Scottish Connections and will facilitate visits from provincial Ministers to Scotland within the current financial year.