03.04.2014
The Presiding Officer, the Rt Hon Tricia Marwick MSP, Linda Fabiani MSP and Rhoda Grant MSP will today begin a series of engagements on behalf of the Scottish Parliament to mark Scotland Week 2014.
The delegation will visit New York, Ottawa and Toronto, meeting with parliamentarians and Scottish organisations working in North America. They will represent the Parliament at the various events organised to mark Tartan Day which is designated as 6 April.
As part of their programme, the delegation will take part in the Tartan Day parade in New York on Saturday 5 April, walking alongside an estimated 2,000 marchers along 6th Avenue. Earlier that day, the delegation will support the runners taking part in the 11th annual Scotland Run at Central Park.
Other activities include policy meetings in New York and Canada, activities to promote Scotland and the Scottish Parliament, and meetings at the Canadian Federal Parliament and the Ottawa State Legislature to exchange best practice.
The Presiding Officer, the Rt Hon Tricia Marwick MSP said:
“Each year, many individuals and organisations across North America mark their connections with Scotland on April 6th, known as Tartan Day. I am delighted to be leading the Scottish Parliament delegation to join them in showcasing and celebrating their Scottish identity.
“However these links are not just about our shared history. We continue to have a strong and enduring relationship with our American friends and during our visit we will meet with parliamentarians to look at what we can learn from each other. We will also support Scottish institutions as they reach out across North America and develop cultural and economic relationships.”
The Presiding Officer has a busy programme of visits that will see her participate in meetings with her counterparts in Ottawa and Toronto, as well as addressing guests at the St Andrew’s Society of the State of New York’s Scotland Week reception and the ‘Pop International’ reception to mark the opening of Broad Daylight’s exhibition ‘As Others See Us’, featuring a series of portraits of famous Scots themed around the works of Scotland’s national poet, Robert Burns.
Linda Fabiani MSP and Rhoda Grant MSP will take part in a number of different engagements to explore issues relating to welfare, older people, domestic violence and cultural policies.
Linda Fabiani MSP said:
“Scotland Week offers us a great opportunity to talk with our cousins in North America, and join them in celebrating what their Scottish identity means to them. More than this though, it offers us the chance to discuss common issues facing the people of our nations. In both New York and Toronto, I will meet with staff and volunteers providing support to people on welfare, and in food banks. My fellow MSPs on the Welfare Reform Committee and I are keen to find out more about how other countries are supporting some of the most vulnerable in our societies and I will report back to them on my findings later this month.”
Rhoda Grant MSP said:
“It is an honour to represent the Scottish Parliament at the Tartan Day events and for Scotland Week. Tartan Day is a great celebration of all things Scottish in New York and helps promote Scotland in the States. I also hope our visit to Canada will build on the good relationships and shared culture we have with many parts of Canada. It is a great opportunity to learn how other countries deal with the issues we grapple with and to discuss best practice. We will also be sharing how we approach promoting both Scotland and the Parliament.”
Other engagements currently include:
- Attending the opening of ‘Scots Jews: Identity, Belonging and the Future’. A contemporary photography exhibition which features the work of documentary photographer Judah Passow. It contains images taken from across Scotland – from the Shetlands to the Borders – reflecting a diverse community equally at home in both its Jewish and Scottish identities. It was shown in the Scottish Parliament in February 2014.
- Supporting the activities in Bryant Park where the scaled-down versions of Andy Scott’s original sculptures, The Kelpies, are based from 21 March – 22 April 2014. The originals remain in Falkirk.
- Visit to the new Glasgow Caledonian University campus in New York, the first British university to establish a campus in New York and builds on GCU’s previous first when it opened a campus in London in 2010. GCU NY will play a pivotal role in extending the University’s global network, which is vital to GCU’s future growth and is an integral part of its internationalisation strategy.
- Courtesy calls with:
- The Honourable Andrew Scheer MP, Speaker of the House of Commons at the Parliament of Canada in Ottawa.
- The Honourable Noel A Kinsella, Speaker of the Senate at the Parliament of Canada in Ottawa
- The Honourable Dave Levac MPP, Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario
- These visits include observance of Parliamentary proceedings.
- Meeting with, and a Presiding Officer address to the Canada-Scotland Parliamentary Friendship Group.
Since 1998, Tartan Day has been recognised by the U.S. House of Representatives as an official celebration of the contribution of American-Scots to U.S. culture and life. Over the past 10 years Scotland-focused activity around Tartan Day has grown into a week-long programme to promote Scotland in North America and is now called Scotland Week.
Scotland Week 2014 is a week long programme of events in America, aiming to promote all things Scottish. Fifty million people across the world claim Scottish heritage - the majority being in America and Canada.
Further information about all the events in Scotland Week can be found online.
The Scottish Parliament’s budget for all aspects of Scotland Week has been capped at £30,000 since 2009 and remains so for this year.