The Scottish Government

FM delivers speech in Skye

First Minister Jack McConnell

Lecture at Sabhal Mor Ostaig
Skye

June 18, 2004

Coming here today - as an islander myself - I have been reminded of the outstanding natural beauty that our country provides.

It really is a pleasure to be on Skye again. I doubt there is anyone who crosses the bridge, or comes on the Armadale ferry, that is not deeply moved by this environment.

I regularly describe our country as having the some of the greatest landscape in the world. And seeing is believing, again today

I'd like to thank Norman Gillies for invitation me to deliver the 13th Sabhal Mor Ostaig Lecture. It's an honour to follow such a distinguished list of lecturers in previous years including Mary Robinson, and Scotland's first First Minister Donald Dewar.

The contribution that Norman and Donnie Munro and the other staff here at the college have made is recognised internationally.

I'd also like to extend my thanks to Farquhar Macintosh - not just for the work he has undertaken as Chair of the Board of Trustees to the college, but for being an active campaigner and ambassador for Gaelic for many years. His influence extends far beyond the Gaidhealtachd and I share his passion for Scottish education more generally.

And, of course, I'd like to offer belated congratulations to Sabhl Mor on receiving the Queen's Anniversary Award for Educational Excellence.

In the thirty years since Sabhal Mor Ostaig came into being the Sleat peninsula has been transformed - and the college has been absolutely central to making that happen. It is now undoubtedly a hub for the creativity and innovation that can be found not just on this island and the wider highlands, but also amongst the Gaelic community internationally.

This is truly is an inspiring place - one of the finest settings for education imaginable - and a physical symbol of the renewed confidence.
Sabhal Mor Ostaig is special not just because of its setting and the excellence it consistently attains - but because of the contribution it makes as the national college for Gaelic.
We regard Gaelic development as a priority, and through the funding council we intend to recognise further the exceptional status of this institution.
That should allow the college to be optimistic as it seeks to meet new standards of excellence in the future.

There are many other success stories too. For example, courses at Columba 1400 are inspiring youngsters, and now headteachers from across Scotland. This special setting provides an ideal backdrop for reflection as the first stage in the development of values and aspirations which has been so successful for so many people.

Introduction

Here, in Skye, the signs of a cultural, social and economic renewal are there for all to see.

No-one visiting here today could deny that this is a place that is on the way up - a place that is not only prospering, but which has a renewed sense of purpose and belief.

And, there are signs that this is happening right across the Highlands and Islands.

The area's recent economic and population growth - combined with an increasing confidence in cultural identity and creative expression - is leading to a profound reversal of the regions fortunes.

And with devolution, the people of the Highlands and Islands, rightly have an expectation that things can change for the better.

Today I want to comment on the cultural, economic and social renaissance of the Highlands and Islands. And I want to draw lessons from here for the rest of Scotland.

Highland and Island renewal has occurred over 40 years and it is accelerating with devolved government in Scotland.

It has been underpinned by government action - local and national. Not a coincidence or a series of accidents, but deliberate choices made to invest and modernise, which have created the conditions for individual and community progress. Government has invested in infrastructure, in education and in culture. And governments have promoted individual enterprise and community responsibility with economic reforms and crucially, with land ownership reform.

Government cannot succeed alone, but these actions have supported individuals and communities inspired by increased confidence, a strong and proud sense of identity, an openness to new people and ideas and a hunger to succeed here, rather than leave a declining home behind.

It is that combination of government action - investment and modernisation - with the celebration of individual and community ambition and enterprise which is the key to a prosperous, just and sustainable future for all of Scotland.

History

Like the original renaissance, the one underway in the Highlands and Islands has come after a long period of decline. De-population, economic failure and a cultural downturn preceded this modern Scottish renaissance.

Downturn followed the Jacobite uprisings of the early part of the 18th century - and, in particular, the Clearances that came later.

Arthur Herman has referred to the Clearances as "the saddest chapter in Scotland's history" - a chapter that came "with a terrible human cost".

And there is little doubt in my mind that the Clearances were in part characterised by the betrayal of a greedy ruling class.

Through the Clearances, the ruling class protected their land and preserved their wealth and status by sacrificing commiunities and people.

The Clearances highlighted the very worst in human nature - and they transformed the cultural landscape of the Highlands and Islands forever.

In the space of less than 50 years, the Highlands became one of the most sparsely populated areas in Europe.

Communities were devastated - and, the settlement pattern that had served people for more than a thousand years previously, virtually vanished.

Here, on Skye, more than forty thousand people received writs of removal - and, in some places, one was left where there had been a hundred.

In the first three years of the nineteenth century, more than ten thousand Highlanders left for Nova Scotia and Canada; by the 1820s, that had gone up to twenty thousand a year - most from the Western Highlands, Ross-shire and Sutherland.

By the late 19th century, the great sheep farms that were to provide the landowners with an economic miracle became unsustainable - and the land was given over to sporting estates which became the playgrounds of the few.

The traditional Clan Structure was lost - and, subsequently even the language of the Highlanders was under threat as the education system promoted English in preference to Gaelic.

Here, and elsewhere schoolchildren were belted for daring to speak their own language in the playground, let alone the classroom and were forced to keep their Gaelic for the home.

That language, and the distinctive view of the world it represented, were under serious threat of disappearing.

Before things changed

70 years ago, the Highlands and Islands lived under the dark shadow of that decline.

Without doubt, it was one of the most deprived and run-down parts of Britain. It had been dealt a truly shabby deal by history.

This was a place where the only way to get on, was to get out. Families were continually separated and communities were never given a chance to grow.

And those who did stay were born into a culture that had, understandably, lost its confidence. People had been taught to know their place and to defer to their superiors and to believe that their language and culture were worthless and would hold them back.

This was not a place to have ideas above your station.

It was not a place where people were encouraged to have ambitions.

Too many ordinary Highlanders were taught not to expect much from life - and, because of that, they weren't disappointed.

As Neil Gunn once remarked, Highlanders were "made to despise their language and traditions".

Housing conditions were poor, and internal communications and transport were consistently inferior.

This had a very real impact on the confidence, belief and ambition of the area - on the collective psyche that passed from generation to generation.

70 years ago, history was a nightmare from which the Highlands and Islands was trying to awake.

The area was seen as a place with a past, but with no real future.

A place that, it was eventually said, was on the conscience of the nation.

But things started to change.

A Modern Scottish Renaissance

In the 1940s, Tom Johnson, a man of socialist principles, put in place and afterwards took charge of the North of Scotland Hydro-Electric Board.

This was a remarkable, pioneering organisation which set about developing what is now called renewable energy. An organisation which rose magnificently to the challenge of making mains electricity available to practically every Highlands and Islands community, however remote, however inaccessible. And an innovation that literally transformed living conditions across the region.

But despite this progress, problems remained. Parliament debated 'The Highland Problem' in the 1960s, when Willie Ross, a Labour Secretary of State, steered through Westminster the legislation that created the Highlands and Islands Development Board.

With his colleagues, Willie Ross had the foresight to realise that the HIDB needed more than central government cash. It needed power and responsibility too.

The HIDB, and then its successor, today's Highlands and Islands Enterprise, have possessed those uniquely wide ranging powers ever since: powers to develop communities as well as powers to make grant aid to business; powers to encourage the cultural, as well as the economic, renewal of the area.

Forever recognising that economic progress is greater where confidence and belief in community and culture are encouraged to grow.

As everyone here is aware, both the HIDB and its successor have been central in preparing the ground for the cultural and economic renewal that can be witnessed today right across the Highlands and Islands.

The effectiveness of Highland and Island Enterprise in particular has been driven by an ability to see the whole picture. That economic development, individual confidence, the strength of communities and the quality of life must be inter-twined if progress is to happen and be sustainable.

And I would like to pay tribute to Jim Hunter who retires as Chairman of HIE this summer for his leadership, his understanding and his vision which have taken the strategy for renewal in the Highlands and Island to new heights in recent years.

There are many others who can take credit for others significant developments.

The bridges which dramatically cut journey times between the very north and the south.

The introduction of ISDN technology.

And the many who campaigned and won the argument for resurgence in Gaelic medium teaching - they redefined the place of the language in the Scottish education system - sending a signal about the worth of the language.

And the result is a renaissance in the Highlands and Islands that is nothing short of remarkable.

Since 1960 the population of the Highlands and Islands has increased by a fifth and the number of people in work in the area is up by as much as 50%.

And we need hardly look beyond what is happening here, in Sabhal Mor Ostaig, and the successes you've had in regenerating your proud cultural heritage in Skye and the surrounding areas.

Skye is an island that was once predicted to be in a never ending spiral of decline - but, it is now in its fifth successive decade of population growth.

And, what is striking about that growth is that it being accompanied by a flowering of creativity and an enterprising attitude.

Nowadays in Skye people are not discouraged from having ideas above their station. And they don't let their island location get in the way of their aspirations.

Those attitudes of old are being replaced by an enterprising spirit - and by a sense that, with the right attitude in place, with confidence, belief and ambition, anything is possible.

What government is here to do

I believe the beginnings of that renaissance can in part be attributed to the courage and convictions of previous governments. It is not something that happened by accident.

Tom Johnson and Willie Ross had a vision - that geography would not get in the way of progress. They rejected the notion that communities would fade. Or that terminal decline was inevitable. Instead, with a little courage, and a lot of political conviction, they took steps that every one of us here is grateful for.

I would argue that the pace of progress has picked up with devolution.

The Highlands and Islands have embraced devolution, working with the new arrangements, catching the attention of the politicians and government. We e have the chance to accelerate this progress further still.

There are things still to be done. Ambitions to be pursued. Values to speak up for. Gaps in opportunity to be plugged. As well as successes to be celebrated.

I believe passionately that these things are more possible now, than at any time in our history.

The job of our government is to enable people - individually and collectively - to fulfil their potential and lead fulfilling lives. Government must create excellence in the infrastructure around communities - from schools and hospitals to culture and transport. To build the foundation upon which the collective dynamism of individuals can allow communities to flourish

Government is not here to run lives. Nor is it here to impose restricted choice.

We are here to build a framework where the inherent good and creativity of the human spirit can flourish.

And that is exactly what our devolved government is doing. Investing in the infrastructure of the community, demonstrating belief and ambition, and acting to build more confidence.

And to generate success in Scotland I believe we need to learn from the achievements public and private, here in the Highland and islands

The Highland economy

The nature of the Highland and Island economy has changed.

Once an unemployment blackspot, the region now has its lowest ever unemployment rates - and unemployment has fallen much faster here than in Scotland as a whole.

Fishing, farming, and forestry remain critical to the economy but their nature is changing. In the past the income of those working in these industries was squeezed by the local environment. But that environment is the very thing that makes products from the Highlands and Islands unique and adds value.

New industries are emerging, increasingly based on knowledge and creativity. Levels of entrepreneurship and new business start ups are higher than elsewhere in Scotland.

And in the same way that the emergence of hydro power has had a lasting effect on the fortunes of the region - the potential for increased prosperity from harnessing other forms of renewable energy sources is immense.

I believe Scotland can be the Green Enterprise Capital of Europe - and the Highlands and Islands can lead the way.

While ISDN was the cutting edge at the time, technologies change and improve at an ever increasing rate. The power of new technology to allow more private sector growth is immense. And it is the job of government to intervene - as we are - to make sure remote and rural parts of Scotland can access the wonders of the information super highway.

So we will invest in the infrastructure - roads, bridges, power cables, railways, airports and harbours. The physical framework for progress.

And there are lessons for all of Scotland in the way that the Highland economy has developed.

The central lesson is that basic requirement for government to invest. To provide the framework for the inherent creativity and potential of people to be released.

We know that lack of investment will lead to decline. All of Scotland will benefit from significant enhancements in our road and rail networks, and from universal access to technologies such as broadband.

New investment in schools, in more teachers and in higher standards backs up the Highland tradition of excellence in school education.

And with increased diversity within those schools - greater choices for youngsters - both academic and vocational, and an emphasis on enterprise skills, the modern Highland school produces increasingly confident, articulate and ambitious youngsters.

So for all of Scotland we will invest in enterprise education - so that school pupils are exposed to the spirit of enterprise - having ambitions, taking calculated risks, and not being afraid of failure. A shift in the attitudes of this generation will do much to improve the numbers of business start ups in the future.

For all the achievement of Highland schools in the past, people had to move south to pursue higher education.

The development of the UHI Millennium Institute is perhaps the single most important thing we in government can now do for the long term prospects of Highlands and Islands.

The challenge for this decade - like the HIDB was to the 1960's and Hydro power was to the 1940's - is to make sure there is a fully fledged, degree awarding University of the Highlands and Islands. My generation need to deliver that.

The cultural renaissance

Culture for me is more than just the music, the languages and art of Scotland, vital as they are. Our culture helps to define our individual and collective identity. And the greater our confidence in that culture, the greater the sense of our own identity and the greater our positive belief in ourselves.

I am not a Nationalist, but I celebrate my Scottish identity. I also celebrate this country's diversity - Gaelic and Scots, Punjabi and English - and I celebrate them positively in their own right, not by reference to our friends and neighbours in the south.

One thing that this college represents is a move beyond the culture of lament and of grievance into a positive, proactive engagement with a globalising world. It is a lesson that all of Scotland can learn.

Just look at the thriving literary scene that you now have right across the Highlands and Islands.

And just look at recent achievements such as the creation of The Great Book of Gaelic; the expanding export market of the Orcadian craft industry; or the highly impressive surge in interest and participation in traditional music by young people.

Look at the enduring popularity of shinty; at the vibrant fiddle scene on the Northern Isles; or at the resurgence of Highland dancing.

And, look at how the Royal National Mod is still thriving after 100 years - or at the festivals on Shetland which continue to go from strength to strength.

Each year, the area plays host to over 5,000 events, performances and festivals that attract over 1.5 million people.

Highlanders are responding to these and other developments - and they are now twice as likely to go to contemporary art exhibitions than people from elsewhere in the country.

So the lesson for all of Scotland is that we can celebrate our identity in the context of greater diversity, and to positive effect.

Gaelic

But, of course, no cultural renaissance here would be complete without a renewal of our proud linguistic heritage.

Across Scotland - there are strong and clear links between our geography, our natural heritage, our people and Gaelic.

However, Gaelic is about much more that our past and our place names.

Gaelic is a living language, and it is the gateway to enter into a culture both ancient and modern. A language that has helped shape many aspects of Scottish life and society - and continues to do so.

Gaelic does much more than just hang on to the fringes of Scottish culture - as a barely living echo of the past.

Earlier today, during my visit to Sleat Primary School, I saw just how relevant Gaelic language and culture is to Skye's younger generation.

It is vital that we do what we can to preserve our Gaelic heritage - to ensure that it not only survives, but has a chance to thrive. To have a vision for the language so that by the middle of this century Gaelic will be spoken by more people, spoken in more settings and spoken throughout Scotland.

I am proud that in my time as First Minister a Gaelic Bill will be introduced to Parliament to increase opportunities for the use of the language in Scotland - but most of all to enshrine the status of the language in Scots law.

It will also promote the use of Gaelic and enhance the profile of the language - and extend the opportunities of Gaelic speakers to use the language in a wide range of contexts.

We have established Bòrd na Gàidhlig to guide the development of the language and to provide us with advice on the future.

There are encouraging signs in Gaelic medium education. Numbers have been going up, attainment is good, resources are improving and we are training more teachers.

But there is more to do.

In the months ahead we will debate the best way to secure Gaelic-medium education, we will debate how to enhance Gaelic broadcasting for the digital age and how to ensure that public bodies take their responsibilities seriously.

But the context is a firm belief on the part of Government that Gaelic holds a special place in Scotland and that we have a special responsibility towards it.

The power of the land

The very early years of devolution saw many acts passed, and much government activity. But perhaps one of the most symbolic pieces of legislation in those early days, were the reforms to land laws.

This was in part about modernising the law of the land - that nobody had really the time nor the inclination to do before the election of a Labour government committed both to land reform and to the devolution that could make it a reality.

Now, the law of the land is balanced in favour of those who take care of the land. And the opportunity to spread the ownership of the land amongst those who work in it is being seized.

Now we have a H&I where people, far from being cleared from their land, have been leading the way in taking control of their land.

Communities can now take advantage of the opportunities opened up by Land Reform - and are being given the confidence and support to make the most of those opportunities.

Through this legislation, people are encouraged to take charge of their own lives, determine their own priorities and stand on their own feet.

In places like Eigg, Knoydart, Gigha and many more - we are seeing communities being revived and reinvigorated by community ownership. With a spirit of enterprise the greatest entrepreneurs would admire.

With the crofting community right to buy, which we launched on Monday, we can see these successes repeated in communities throughout the crofting counties.

Here again, the Highlands and Islands provide a lesson for the whole of Scotland. The community ownership of social housing in the towns and cities of the lowlands is a model of community empowerment built upon your example. These and other forms of participative democracy can build communities throughout the land.

Population and Fresh Talent

Policy makers in the Highlands and Islands have always understood the profound effect population decline and emigration has had on the vibrancy and sustainability of communities.

This is no longer a place where population is in terminal decline. The opposite is true.

And that growth isn't just confined to Inverness or Nairn.

Today's Highlands and Islands has what people increasingly want.

It is attracting fresh talent because it has or is close to having all the things people strive for - job opportunities, an environmental quality hard to rival anywhere, a safe place with a growing respect for and pride in language and culture, a distinctive character in an increasingly characterless world.

And across the rest of Scotland, we have been predicting demographic change for years. The public sector has been planning how to run schools with fewer children in them. And how to fund care budgets with fewer people paying taxes.

But we have a choice - it does not need to be like that. Governments can change the future. We don't just have to accept it.

The whole point of devolution is that we take responsibility for ourselves. We can say to the world that Scotland welcomes Fresh Talent, new people to play a part, and contribute to the new Scotland. Just as the Highlands and Islands is doing we can grow Scotland's population and reject inevitable decline.

But Fresh Talent is more than just numbers of people. It is about ambition.

I want Scotland to be the best place in the world to live and work. To be the most welcoming. To be a magnet for the world's brightest and best. To create opportunities for home-grown talent - opportunities to open minds and broaden horizons.

This message is good for Scotland - and is good here in the Highlands and islands too.

The Highlands and Islands of Scotland are not full up. There is room for more people to come and live and work here. And there is room for more diversity.

Far from weakening the traditional culture of the region - I believe different people enhance that culture. Only by being exposed to different traditions and cultural expression, does the full character of your own culture become evident.

But for all that is remarkable about the population story of the Highlands and Islands, for all the progress that has been made, there remain fragile communities that are at risk.

There are communities which are still losing their people - and there are areas too where there are shortages of affordable housing. And, across the area as a whole, incomes remain below the Scottish and UK average.

So while progress has been immense - public investment in the infrastructure of the community must continue.

2007 - a new Highland and Island milestone

And it is our government's stated aim to have the UHI millennium Institute achieving university status by 2007.

But, in backing that, we will never bypass, or undermine the value of any other Scottish university or college.

On the contrary. This government is committed to promoting diversity and accessibility in higher and further education - and, of course, we remain thoroughly committed to excellence.

Any university must earn it status on the basis of quality. There can never be a short cut in the creation of knowledge or in sharing that knowledge

But I have no doubt in my mind - we must aspire to the Highlands and Islands of Scotland having a proper university - in a model appropriate to the region. A place where the people of the region can fulfil their ambitions, without having to leave.

To date, the UHI Millennium Institute has made good progress.

It has passed all aspects of its external quality assurance.

The institute has been given been given a commendable rating for its teaching and learning, student progression and learning resources.

This is a good start.

2007 has the potential to be a very special year for the Highlands and Islands.

It is the year that we will celebrate as Scotland's Year of Highland Culture.

"2007" is a major initiative which should bring large numbers of people flocking to Scotland and the Highlands to enjoy all that is on offer.

But, it is important that this is not just a celebration of Highland culture for the Highlands..

It should be a reflection of the region's growing importance for all of Scotland. And it should be a celebration that all of Scotland can participate in.

A symbol for a modern Scottish renaissance

Today, the Highlands and Islands stand proud as a symbol for Scotland's future - a symbol of how the new and old can work together to reinvigorate an economy, a culture and a people.

Of course increased prosperity and renewal are not evident in every corner of this great region. And they bring new challenges too. So our work must go on. In the Western isles and the far north west and in Kintyre and Argyll to secure that same combination of infrastructure and enterprise, jobs and quality of life which can reverse decline and increase confidence.

And we must, as we will, meet the challenges for affordable housing, for improved communication and for the continual development of Gaelic medium education and other services.

For Scotland though, the lessons are clear. Government must invest for the long term. Transport, communications and education are key. But so too is culture, the environment and our quality of life.

The most significant lesson from the renaissance in the Highlands and Islands is that these have to go hand in hand.

And to release the potential for individual responsibility and collective enterprise we have seen in Ghia and elsewhere, community ownership of housing and other forms of engagement and participation will provide the incentive and the opportunity to reverse decline and improve lives.

But more than that Scotland needs a change in attitude. An end to the cringe, the defeatism, the culture of enjoying the failure of others and the embarrassment at ambition and success.

We need to instil in young Scots the idea that they should be ambitious, should expect to live in a diverse, welcoming and open country, should celebrate success and achievement and they can do this while caring more for others and understanding that strong communities protect the weakest and support the successful.

I really believe that there are glimmers and signs that the prospects for all of Scotland are good.

We are in a period of economic growth. Our cities are dynamic and exciting.

Scottish schools are producing ever more confident youngsters.

Scotland is moving up the international league table of entrepreneurship.

We have the world's biggest and most prestigious arts festival - that is getting bigger and better every year.

There are signs that more people want to live here too.

It is just possible that, far from Scotland being in relative decline the whole of Scotland, as it is in the Highlands and Islands is on the way up.

Perhaps what is ahead of us will be far more exciting and successful that anything that went before us.

Conclusion

When Donald Dewar delivered this lecture in September 2000, a month before his death, he summarised the Highlands and Island's achievements.

"All in all", Donald said, "the prospects are good…There is a traditional way of life…There is a tourist industry…there are new manufacturing industries, and service centre growth, bringing prosperity and hope…Above all, there are people, in good heart, proud of their inheritance, determined to build a future in which they will flourish".

"Those who read the record", Donald went on, "know the Highlands and Islands make an enormous contribution to Scotland and, indeed, given their history, have contributed a great deal more to the life of Scotland than perhaps anyone has a right to expect. I see further progress. I see further movement. I can promise you that efforts to drive forward will have the support of the Parliament and the Executive."

If Donald could be here today, I'm sure that he'd be greatly encouraged by the progress that's been made since 2000.

It is no secret, that in these two and a half years I have been First Minister I have spent a considerable amount of time here. I am been impressed - and at times inspired - by the strength of community, from Assynt and Ullapool to Alness and Fort William.

I believe that the nature of the relationship between the Highland and Islands of Scotland - and the rest of Scotland has changed for good.

No longer are the Highlands and Islands on Scotland's conscience.

No longer do the communities of the Highlands and Islands need to be defined by exceptional need.

No longer do national politicians need to debate the Highland problem.

Instead we come here to be inspired - but also to contribute and play our part.

Culturally, economically, demographically, the Highlands and Islands are undoubtedly on the way back - on the way up.

Here, there is sense of collective purpose, ambition, and pride in culture.

Proving that however shabbily an area has been treated in the past, however deprived it has become, however bleak the future looks - things can be made better.

And if ever the corrosive cynicism creeps back in - all we must do is look to that incredible achievement. If it is possible here on Skye then it is possible anywhere in Scotland.

I love coming back to the Highlands and Islands.

There is something happening here that is special.

I applaud the display of ambition and confidence for the future. I am proud to see, as I do through the Highlands and Islands Convention, people and agencies pulling together, with government.

As First Minster, I am ambitions for Scotland. I want to see more Scottish communities and regions develop the confidence to grow just as the Highlands and Islands has grown. I want a Scotland welcoming fresh talent, just as the highlands and Islands are doing as part of its renaissance.

I want a Scotland where people share in its ambition, just as an increasing number do in the Highlands and Islands.

I want a Scotland where the Scottish cringe has given way to confidence and belief, just as the Highlands and Islands has overcome its lack of confidence and belief.

We can build a more prosperous, more just and more sustainable Scotland working together with that confidence and belief. I believe we will.