Listen
Civicus Assembly
18/06/2008
First Minister Alex Salmond highlighted the importance of civil society and its value to Scotland and the world in an address to the CIVICUS World Assembly in Glasgow this evening.
The FM also confirmed that the Big Lottery Fund in Scotland will launch a '2014 Communities' fund.
In a welcoming speech to 1,200 delegates from CIVICUS, an alliance of organisations dedicated to strengthening citizen action and civil society, the First Minister said CIVICUS would leave a lasting legacy for Scotland.
Mr Salmond said:
"CIVICUS represents more than 500 civil society organisations and networks across the world and is a vital global force for democracy, human rights and equality.
"This World Assembly provides a fantastic opportunity for delegates to come together to learn from each other's experiences, and find new ways in which they can work to strengthen democracy and civil society around the world.
"At the end of the week, Scotland and the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO) will hand on the baton to the host of the 2009 Assembly. This will signal the end of the Assembly's time in Scotland, but not the end of Scotland's involvement with CIVICUS.
"I look forward to exploring the possibilities with delegates to ensure our experiences of the past three years leave a lasting legacy for Scotland and for CIVICUS.
"Meanwhile, Scotland is preparing for one of the greatest civic and international events ever to be hosted by this country - the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games.
"I am delighted to confirm that the Big Lottery Fund in Scotland is launching the '2014 Communities' fund - a dedicated legacy fund aimed at presenting new opportunities and possibilities for people across the country.
"We want to make sure that the benefits of the Games go far beyond the sporting legacy and that people and communities across Scotland have every opportunity to participate and benefit from the event."
The new fund aims to spread the benefits of the Games to communities and people across Scotland, through presenting new opportunities in sport, volunteering and in skills development.
2014 Communities is a flexible, responsive programme, through which the Big Lottery Fund in Scotland would route an initial £500,000 (in 08-09 financial year from November).