21/07/2008
The Scottish Parliament Presiding Officer, Alex Fergusson completed a two week programme of summer visits throughout Scotland on Wednesday 16 th July.
The aim of the programme and visits was to listen and learn from local people and groups about how the Parliament is communicating with them. The views and attitudes on the Parliament’s approach to public engagement are important in helping inform thinking on how the Parliament develops engagement in its third session. Summer 2008 has been considered an opportune time to undertake such visits as Parliament approaches its tenth anniversary and considers participation and engagement over the next decade.
Highlights of the programme include:
Thursday 3rd July
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The Presiding Officer with Erskine Director of Care, Lorraine Ross and Col Martin Gibson |
The summer tour began with a visit to Erskine Care Home in Renfrewshire, which provides care to veterans of all ages.
The Presiding Officer presented twenty former servicemen and women with veteran badges for their services to their country. He was then taken on a tour of the charity’s pioneering physiotherapy department and introduced to some of the disabled veterans employed within the charity’s Supported Employment workshops.
Tuesday July 8th
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The Presiding Officer meets staff working at Raploch Community Regeneration Project |
At Stirling’s Raploch Community Regeneration Project, a Scottish Government funded urban regeneration company, the Presiding Officer met with community representatives and local people who trained by the project. He also met developers who are continuing to invest in the pioneering initiative.
Wednesday 9th July
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Members of the Lochaber Mountain Rescue Team |
Members of the Lochaber Mountain Rescue team gave the Presiding Officer a tour of their new Mountain rescue centre in Fort William on Wednesday. The £600,000 centre has been developed to help the team continue to provide a service in some of the most remote parts of the country. During the tour, the Presiding Officer heard first hand about the life-saving work carried out by the volunteers and met members of the team. The 40-strong team of volunteers attend an average of 70 rescue call-outs a year.
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Students at Lochaber College UHI meet the Presiding Officer |
The Presiding Officer next visited Lochaber College UHI where students demonstrated their training by cooking him a special lunch using locally sourced products. They also presented him with a hamper of locally sourced products. The college provides degree courses and full and part-time vocational training to more than 1,000 students with courses including Tourism and Hospitality.
Columba 1400
The day concluded with an appointment at Columba 1400, a social enterprise devoted to leadership development. The project helps a wide range of young people and adults who have experienced difficult times work towards gaining new skills and helps them make a positive difference in their community. The Presiding Officer met and chatted with a number of graduates of the scheme.
Thursday July 10th
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The Presiding Officer outside Sabhal Mor Ostaig College |
The first port of call was Sabhal Mor Ostaig on the Isle of Skye, the only college in the world to conduct all its classes in Gaelic.
The Presiding Officer toured the centre and took part in a Gaelic class when he learned to say words of welcome in the traditional Scots language.
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The Presiding Officer and Polish Consul General, Alexander Dietko chat to members of the Polish community |
Later that day he met more than 100 members of the Highland Polish community at an informal reception at St Mary’s church hall in Inverness.
He praised the contribution Polish people have made to Scotland at the gathering, which was also attended by the Polish Consul General to Scotland, Alexander Dietko, Zosia Wierbowicz-Fraser, chair of the Inverness Polish Association and Aldona Fryc-Danielewska, chair of the Polish-Scottish Union in the Highlands.
Friday 11th July
On Friday the Presiding Officer visited the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO) and met some of the staff working there. SCVO is the national body representing the interests of the voluntary sector in Scotland. Its aims are to advance the values and shared interests of the voluntary sector and to provide them with information and assistance.
Monday July 14th
Multi Ethnic Aberdeen
During his visit to the North-east, the Presiding Officer met with staff from the charity Multi Ethnic Aberdeen Ltd (MeAL). The charity is committed to promoting tolerance, cultural diversity, and raising awareness of the value of the ethnic individuals, business owners and organisations within Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, and North East Scotland. He met staff and chatted to them about the importance of working in partnership with other groups to provide equal opportunities for everyone living in their area of Scotland.
The next stop was Middlefield Community project, which serves one of the most deprived areas of the north of Scotland. The Presiding Officer visited an innovative youth flat initiative which helps local youngsters find work and training opportunities.
Tuesday 15th July
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The Presiding Officer browses books in the Islamic Library at Al-Maktoum Institute for Arabic and Islamic Studies |
Whilst in Dundee, the Presiding Officer attended Scotland’s only centre for learning dedicated to Arabic and Islamic studies. The Al-Maktoum Institute for Arabic and Islamic Studies is dedicated to providing post-graduate education and research opportunities into Islam and Muslims. The centre’s philosophy is to promote multi-culturalism. During the visit the Presiding Officer visited the Islamic Library.
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The Presiding Officer meets young people at the Peer Education Project |
The Presiding Officer then visited the award-winning Peer Education Project. It has led the way in using young people to educate peers on the dangers of drugs, smoking and alcohol. The Presiding Officer viewed some of the creative images that the Peer Education group and young people created, warning people about the dangers of substance abuse.
In the afternoon the Presiding Officer visited the Stirling Heritage Trust in Stirling, an independent organisation which works in partnership with other like-minded organisations. Operating on a not-for profit basis its objectives are to protect and preserve the historic, architectural and landscape heritage within the Stirling Council Area. The PO visited local properties currently being refurbished. One was a regency villa representing the early 19 th century expansion of Stirling which has been given a grant for restoration and repair.
Wednesday July 16th
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Staff and former members of the Addaction rehabilitation programme have a cup of coffee with the Presiding Officer |
On the final day of the programme, the Presiding Officer was in Glasgow to visit the UK’s largest provider of drug and alcohol support services, Addaction.
It is a drug rehabilitation programme which delivers help, treatment and support to more than 25,000 drugs and alcohol dependent people across the UK. Here he met staff and a number of men and women who had used the support services.