GAELIC POLICY DEVELOPMENT GROUP

COMMUNITY REGENERATION PERSPECTIVE

1. Introduction

Historically, Argyll and Bute Council’s Community Education Service has collaborated with the Gaelic Community in the development of a range of locally accessible, responsive Gaelic learning opportunities. The model which has evolved places Gaelic Organisations (Gaelic Partnerships, Feisan and occasionally Gaelic Choirs) at the heart of Gaelic language learning opportunities. These Gaelic voluntary organisations identify their local community’s (geographic) Gaelic language learning needs, they develop responsive local community based programmes, they recruit tutors and organise venues etc and importantly they also fund raise and contribute towards the promotion of the learning opportunities. The value of this model can be seen in the high participation levels, in the widening geographical spread of community based venues and in the effective, collaborative practice which has evolved. By placing local Gaelic organisations at the heart of Gaelic teaching and learning this collaborative model has increased their capacity of to develop the Gaelic language and enhanced the appeal of those organisations within their local community. In practice, this model brings the resources, experience, finance and enthusiasm of the Scottish Executive, Argyll and Bute Council’s Community Education Service and Gaelic voluntary-sector organisations together to promote responsive, local Gaelic teaching and learning.

2. Number of Gaelic organisations supported locally 8 Gaelic Partnerships 4 Feisan (week long Gaelic performing arts workshops for young people, incorporating compulsory Gaelic language workshops) 21 Gaelic Choirs (4 adult & 17 school choirs) 4 National Gaelic organisations: Feisean Nan Gaidheal Comman An Luchd Ionnsachaidh An Comunn Ghaidhlig

Feisean nan Gaidheal

3. Range of local services supported and developed collaboratively Children’s’ Gaelic Drama Workshops Adult Gaelic Language Weekend Workshops Gaelic Immersion Weekends Gaelic Language Courses - Beginner / Intermediate / Advanced Levels Gaelic Language Summer Schools - Adults / Children’ Gaelic Taster Events Gaelic Library (Tiree) provision of teaching resource resources Children’s Summer and Easter Feisans Support to Children’s’ and Adult Choirs - Tuition in singing and Gaelic language

A monitoring and evaluation exercise is currently being conducted on Gaelic Specific awards in 2002/03. Financial and statistical data will be forwarded to the PDG, hopefully towards the end of November.

4. Finance

Finance for those collaborative, community based learning opportunities is sourced from both the Gaelic Specific Grant Award and Argyll and Bute Council’s Education Service. Gaelic Specific Grant Award to Gaelic organisations in 2003/04 is £24,000

The financial award to each Gaelic organisation in 2002/03 was Gaelic Partnerships £1,750.00 Feisan £1,500.00 Gaelic Choirs £190.47

In addition, £3,500 per year is awarded to Feisean Nan Gaidheal from central educational development grants, to part finance a development worker in the area for local Feisean. We also give Comman An Luchd Ionnsachaidh (CLI), the Gaelic learner organisation, £150 from the same source. Oban Lorn and the Isles Area Committee also awarded £1,500 towards Feis Latharna’s Lottery funded project.

5. Quality Standards It is a condition of Grant that each that each Voluntary Organisation monitors its performance and provides the Education Service with a detailed evaluation of their programme activity

6. Other associated activities e.g. classes by other agencies or colleges College provides Gaelic learning opportunities through Distance Learning. National Gaelic Organisations i.e. Comman An Luchd Ionnsachaidh have on occasion also collaborated with Argyll Gaelic Partnerships for weekend Workshops or Events.

7. Other relevant information Feisean nan Gaidheal approached Argyll and Bute Council early in 2003 requesting that the £6,000 previously routed by the Council to the four local Feis organisations, was instead forwarded to Feisean nan Gaidheal for distribution. The underlying reason for this request was simply; the HIE had promised the organisation matched funding, so routing the awards through the Feisean Parent Body attracted another £6,000.

The Council is represented (David Craig) on the National Group Community Learning and Development Review Group for Gaelic. This group is made up of education practitioners from those Scottish local authorities that receive Gaelic Specific Grant Award. The group monitors Gaelic Specific Award spending and develops Teaching and learning resources for community based learning opportunities. A two day residential “ Tutoring Adults” course was organised on Skye during July 2003. The training event was targeted at fluent Gaelic speakers intending to tutor adults and children in informal community settings. Argyll Gaelic Partnerships filled six of the twenty eight places.

Names of local Gaelic organisations which received Gaelic Specific Award feature in Appendix 1 The Conditions of the Award made to Feisean nan Gaidheal, safeguarding the Council’s interests are outlined in Appendix 2 Also appended for information is a paper drafted by Alasdair MacCaluim the recently appointed Gaelic Development Officer at the . Alasdair could be a useful resource to the PDG Appendix 3

Appendix1

Gaelic Funding Table 2002/03

Name of Gaelic Organisation Amount Paid

Coaching & Gaelic Language Learning Opportunities

Argyll Male Voice Choir 190.47 Argyll Ladies Voice Choir 190.47 Isle of Mull Gaelic Choir 190.47 Tiree High School Gaelic Choir 190.47 Furnace Primary School Gaelic Choir 190.47 Sandbank Primary School Gaelic Choir 190.47 Achaleven Primary Gaelic Choir 190.47 Easdale Primary Gaelic Choir 190.47 Kilninver Primary School Choir 190.47 Glenorchy Children’s Choir 190.47 Islay School Choir 190.47 Islay Senior Gaelic Choir 190.47 Taynuilt School Gaelic Choir 190.47 Dunbeg School Gaelic Choir 190.47 Tobermory Primary School Choir 190.47 Lochgilphead Choir 190.47 OHS Choirs X 2 380.94 Park Primary School 190.47 Tarbert Primary School X 2 380.94

Gaelic Language Learning Opportunities Gaelic Partnership 1750.00 Mull & Iona Gaelic Partnership 1750.00 Lorn Gaelic Partnership 1750.00 Gaelic Partnership 1750.00 Bute Gaelic Partnership 1750.00 Mid Argyll Gaelic Partnership 1750.00 Tiree & Coll Gaelic Partnership 1750.00 Islay, Jura & Colonsay Gaelic Partnership 1750.00

Gaelic Culture & Language Learning Opportunities FEIS Feis Latharna 1500.00 Feis Mhuile 1500.00 Feis Thiriiodh 1500.00 Feis Ile 1500.00

TOTAL 23999.87

Appendix 2

LETTERHEAD Community Education Service Drummore Lower Soroba, Oban PA34 4SB Tel: (01631) 562466 Fax: (01631 565265 Our Ref: Your Ref: Date: 20 November 2003

If phoning or calling please ask for: David Craig

Arthur Cormack Feisean nan Gaidheal Meall House Portree Isle of Skye IV51 9BZ

Dear Arthur

Grant Award: Feisean nan Gaidheal

Attached is a cheque, value £6,000, for the four Argyll based Feisean.

I’ve copied the Conditions of the Award from an earlier email, these are;

Argyll and Bute Council will pay the money direct to Feisean nan Gaidheal, subject to the following conditions:

1. The sole beneficiaries of the award will be: Feis Latharna Feis Mhuile Feis Thiriiodh Feis Ile

2. The Council’s 2002/03 financial award is paid in full to those designated Argyll Feisean.

3. The award is distributed equally amongst the Feisean.

4. Awards to Feisean will only be made when there is clear evidence of need and where the Feisean are considered viable.

5. Feisean nan Gaidheal will formally evaluate the output of each Feisean and report annually to the Council.

6. An audited Financial Report will be available annually from each Feisean.

7. Argyll and Bute Council will be credited as a source of funding.

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I trust you find these conditions acceptable and look forward to hearing from you in due course.

Yours sincerely

David Craig

David Craig Area Community Education Officer

Appendix 3 A Word from the Parliament

(Translation of a Gaelic article submitted to an Gaidheal Ùr, February 2003)

It was a great step forward for the Scottish Parliament and for Gaelic when the first parliamentary Gaelic officer was employed back in September 2000. The first Gaelic Officer, Alex O’ Henley, did an excellent job and it is now a great honour for me to be working for the Parliament as Gaelic Outreach Officer and for me to have this opportunity to develop and expand the Parliament’s Gaelic service. What does the Gaelic service do and what are its aims? What developments will there be? These are questions which many people have asked me since I started in November. I am therefore very pleased to have this opportunity to answer them in the pages of An Gàidheal Ùr. The Parliament sees it as very important that there should be good communication between itself and the public and one of the main aims of the Parliament is that it should be open and accessible to everybody in . The aim of the Parliament’s Gaelic Service is to put this important principle into practice for the Gaelic community through giving people the opportunity to find out about and take part in the work of the Parliament through the medium of Gaelic. And there are many ways to take part in the work of the Parliament or to learn about it though Gaelic. If you have any question about the work of the Parliament, send us it and it will be answered in Gaelic. Or would you like to visit the Parliament through the medium of Gaelic? I will arrange it. Do you live far a way from the Parliament? I can come to you to speak to your group or school or college. And if you wish to write to your MSP or to submit a petition to the Parliament in Gaelic, you may also do so. If you would like to find out about the Parliament on the internet, you have the opportunity to do so on the internet through the Parliament’s Gaelic web pages where there are weekly accounts of Parliamentary debates, a look ahead at the beginning of each week to the Parliament’s agenda, Gaelic news releases, information about what is happening in Parliament as regards Gaelic, information about the Parliament’s activities and services and lots more. The Parliament also regularly distributes email about the Parliament’s work in Gaelic and if you would like to be on the list, you only have to send me your email address. And you also have the opportunity to put forward your views on the issues of the day through the Parliament’s website. Even if you are not too keen on computers, don’t worry as information files and many other parliamentary documents are available on paper too. In addition to my work with the community, I also work with the Gaelic media. Another part of my job will be building links between the Scottish Parliament and other bilingual and multilingual Parliaments and Assemblies. I also aim to create links between the Parliament and Gaelic and other groups outside Scotland These services will be developed and expanded greatly in the near future as the Scottish Parliament Corporate body is committed to creating another Gaelic post within the Parliament – that of Gaelic Information Officer. This means for example that there will be more Gaelic on the Parliament’s website and that more people will have the opportunity to visit the Parliament. At the moment, I am looking at how the Parliament’s Gaelic service can be expanded and improved and in the longer term I will be designing a policy for Gaelic in the Parliament along with my colleagues in the Participation Services team. I am very keen to hear the views of the Gaelic community on the improvements that they would like to see in the Gaelic Service. If you have any views, please let me know. Regardless of which services are, or will be, available, it is important that they are used regularly and frequently by the Gaelic community. Your help in this way will be very important in developing and expanding the Gaelic service. Fortunately, there has never been such a good time to follow Parliamentary matters or to get involved – especially if you are a Gaelic speaker. Gaelic issues are often raised in Parliament. Around 100 written questions about Gaelic have been asked since the parliament was opened for example. Recently Gaelic matters have been before Parliament almost every week. The Education, Culture and Sports Committee are currently considering the Gaelic Language (Scotland) Bill and the Committee is also to publish a document shortly about the of Scotland which will cover languages such as cànainean mar Gujarati and as well as Gaelic and Scots and which will put forward recommendations for the future. The Parliament is also shortly to publish a languages policy which will take in all languages in Scotland and will give Scottish citizens the opportunity to choice to use more languages in dealing with the Parliament. In addition to speaking about Gaelic, the Parliamentary members and committees have also spoken in Gaelic several times. Since the Parliament was established in 1999, Gaelic has been used 10 times in committee and 6 times in the Parliamentary chamber for example. The work of the Parliament will be becoming more and more interesting in the next few weeks, not only with regard to Gaelic but with relation to a wide range of subjects. A large raft of legislation is currently going through parliament dealing with important subjects ranging from land reform to a Children’s Commissioner. And don’t forget that there is going to be a General Election on the first day of May this year! I hope that you will follow these important events and that you will do it through our own language - something which will encourage both democracy and Gaelic.

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Take part in the Parliament! –

Do you have a question about the work of the Parliament? Would you like to arrange a visit to the Parliament? Do you have any opinions on the Parliament’s Gaelic Service? Please let me know:

375 Àrd-Shràid, Dùn Èideann, EH99 1SP, Fòn: 0131 348 5395, [email protected]

The Parliament’s Website can be seen at: www.scottish.parliament.uk/gaidhlig/gaidhlig.htm

You can watch the Parliament’s proceedings live on the internet or put forward your views on the issues of the day in Gaelic on the Parliament’s live webcasting site and bulletin board at: www.scottishparliamentlive.com

Alasdair MacCaluim Oifigear Sheirbheisean Gàidhlig Pàrlamaid na h-Alba