This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Tartan Week in America
11/03/2005
The Executive today announced what it calls its most
ambitious Tartan Week programme to date for the annual
showcase of all things Scottish in the US.
Strengthening business and cultural links will be the
main focus this year, with an additional emphasis on
health, in a series of events leading up to the official
Tartan Day on April 6.
The objective will be to underline the promotion of
Scotland in the US as a place to visit, to study and to do
business with.
Highlights of the Ministerial programme include:
- Scotland Run in New York's Central Park
- Official opening of showcase Scotland Village in
Grand Central Station in New York
- New York Tartan Day Parade on Saturday, April
2
- Launch of Life Sciences project in Boston which
will see Scottish Universities embark on joint working
with their US counterparts
- Visit to the Big Dig - the biggest public sector
infrastructure project in the world in Boston
- Examining the impact of the two-year-old New York
smoking ban
- Ringing of the bell at the New York Stock
Exchange
A wide range of other public and private sector
organisations will also be participating in Tartan Week in
the US.
The involvement of Ministers in Tartan Week is intended
to build on ongoing Executive activity in the US
where Scotland is promoted and represented by its US Office
and a wide range of activity, including Ministerial visits,
takes place throughout the year.
Three Cabinet Ministers will attend Tartan Week events
in Washington, New York and Boston - Public Service Reform
Minister Tom McCabe, Tourism, Culture and Sport Minister
Patricia Ferguson, and Health Minister Andy Kerr.
Mr McCabe said:
"No-one should be in any doubt that the Executive is
totally committed to promoting Scotland in the US and
elsewhere in the world. Tartan Week is a fantastic
opportunity for a wide range of public sector organisations
to work together and put Scotland in the spotlight. It is
now well established as the biggest international
celebration of Scotland.
"Tartan Week is, of course, an extremely important focus
for our work in the US - but Scotland is promoted 365 days
a year in the US through our Office there.
"Ministers have visited the US many times since the last
Tartan Week and our ongoing dialogue with the US will be
highlighted later this month when senior Congressmen visit
Edinburgh to meet the First Minister.
"I believe this is our most ambitious Tartan Week
programme to date, a wide-ranging series of events with a
strong focus on business, culture and health. It offers the
perfect opportunity to promote Scotland, build on the links
which already exist and seek out new opportunities to tell
the US that we are the best small country in the world.
"New York still pays host to the biggest celebration of
Tartan Week, but Executive Ministers are delighted to be
attending events promoting our universities and celebrating
Scottish achievements in the arts in Boston and Washington
DC."
Ms Ferguson added:
"The USA is our most important tourism market. That's
why during Tartan Week VisitScotland's Scottish Village
will be pitched in Grand Central Station - a magnificent
showcase to promote Scotland as a must-visit, must-return
destination, which offers visitors a friendly welcome,
great service and value for money.
"VisitScotland is using increased funding to exploit the
lucrative US market. The first nine months of 2004 saw US
visitor figures rise to 448,000, an increase of nine per
cent on the same period in 2003.
"Tourism is one of the fastest growing sectors of the
Scottish economy, and the Executive has ambitious plans to
grow the value of tourism by 50 per cent in the next ten
years. That will mean more wealth and more jobs for the
people of Scotland."
Mr Kerr said:
"Alongside the work being done to promote Scotland, this
week gives me an excellent opportunity to see first hand
the effects of legislation on smoking in public places.
"There is a lot we can learn from the experiences of New
York, which will help inform the work being done in
Scotland to protect the public from the dangers of second
hand smoke."
Brian Shaw, Director Field Operations for Scottish
Development International, said:
"This
Health of Nations, Scotland and America - defining Life Science Partnerships
Conference is one of the most important events of this
year's Tartan Week. Four of Scotland's Universities -
Glasgow, Aberdeen, Dundee and Edinburgh - have joined
together with each other and with SDI to promote the
excellent work that is being done here to further enhance
our transatlantic partnerships.
"It will provide a forum for exchanges of experience and
ideas, and to showcase Scotland as a home to world-class
science across a broad spectrum of life science
subjects."
Bill Sinclair, VisitScotland's US marketing manager,
added:
"Tartan Day provides a fantastic opportunity to promote
Scotland to what remains our most important overseas
visitor market. This year's event is even more special, as,
besides the wider programme of events, it also marks the
official unveiling of the VisitScotland-commissioned
Scottish Village structure at Grand Central Station.
"The village, which features a range of Scottish
organisations, will be based in the station's Vanderbilt
Hall for a nine-day period, and contains a series of zoned
areas, each showcasing an aspect of Scottish life and
culture, which will afford New Yorkers a glimpse of
Scotland, and act as a spur to them visiting the country
in future.
"Overall, we're looking forward to this year's
celebrations, and alongside the other Scottish
organisations involved, can't wait to get out there and
show what Scotland has to offer."
Main aspects of the Scottish Executive programme:
Thursday, March 31
- Mr Kerr will meet Commonwealth Fund re US
healthcare system in New York
- Mr Kerr will visit New York Presbyterian
Hospital
- Mr Kerr will visit Veterans Administration in New
York
Friday, April 1
- Patricia Ferguson will undertake event at Scotland
Village in New York
- Ms Ferguson will undertake Parliament and Executive
event with Carnegie Institute in New York
- Mr Kerr will meet Tobacco Control advocacy
organisations in New York
- Mr Kerr will meet clinician in New York
- Mr Kerr will meet Department of Health staff in New
York
- Mr Kerr will visit smoke-free restaurants and
premises in New York
- Mr Kerr will visit Columbia University in New
York
Saturday, April 2
- Ms Ferguson will undertake official opening of
Scotland Village in New York
- Ms Ferguson will take part in New York Tartan Day
Parade
- Ms Ferguson will undertake joint local authorities
and Tartan TV event in New York
- Mr Kerr will visit VisitScotland Village exhibition
in New York
Sunday, April 3
- Ms Ferguson will start Scotland Run in Central Park
in New York
- Ms Ferguson will undertake event with Traverse
Theatre in New York
- Mr Kerr will take part in Scotland Run in New
York
Monday, April 4
- Tom McCabe will meet Consul-General at the British
Consulate in Boston, and tour Scottish Development
International's business incubator facilities
- Mr McCabe will launch Life Sciences event in
Boston
- Mr McCabe will meet with Harvard Business School in
Boston
- Mr McCabe will meet New England Creative Economy
Council in Boston
- Ms Ferguson will undertake Tartan Day event at
Canadian Embassy in Washington
Tuesday, April 5
- Mr McCabe will visit the Big Dig in Boston - the
biggest public sector infrastructure project in the
world
- Mr McCabe will meet businesses and undertake
private meeting in Boston
- Ms Ferguson will undertake event with VisitScotland
Business Tourism Unit in New York
- Ms Ferguson will attend Icons of Scotland event in
New York
Wednesday, April 6 - TARTAN DAY
- Mr McCabe will meet the Leader of the Transatlantic
Enterprise Challenge Fund in Washington
- Mr McCabe will meet representatives of the National
Conference of State Legislatures in Washington
- Mr McCabe will meet Congressman John Duncan in
Washington
- Ms Ferguson will ring American Stock Exchange
Opening Bell in New York
- Ms Ferguson will attend ceremony for British
Memorial Garden in New York
- Ms Ferguson will attend Scottish Executive and
Scottish Parliament reception in New York
Thursday, April 7
- Ms Ferguson will visit Museum of Modern Art in New
York
Please note, this programme may be subject to change and
is not definitive as there are other meetings which are not
shown here.