The final item of business is a members’ business debate on motion S4M-09204, in the name of Margaret Mitchell, on celebrating Commonwealth week. The debate will be concluded without any question being put.
Motion debated,
That the Parliament recognises what it considers the valuable role of the Commonwealth in strengthening relationships between nations across the world and the continued contribution of Scotland and its people to this; supports the work of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) and welcomes the news that the Parliament will host the inaugural conference of the Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians from the British Islands and Mediterranean Region; commends the efforts of the people and organisations in Central Scotland and across the country who are involved in delivering the 2014 Commonwealth Games; believes that Scotland shares many significant links with the Commonwealth, and commends the theme of Commonwealth Week 2014, which is Team Commonwealth.
17:05
It is a particular pleasure for me, on behalf of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association Scotland branch, to sponsor this Scottish Parliament debate celebrating Commonwealth week 2014. Since the CPA Scotland branch was established in May 2000, it has embraced the mission of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, which has involved working enthusiastically with our friends across the Commonwealth, strengthening parliamentary democracy and promoting good governance.
During the past 14 years, the Scottish Parliament has received hundreds of visits from parliamentarians and officials from legislatures around the Commonwealth, who are all keen to share knowledge and experience and learn about the processes and procedures in this Parliament. As part of the CPA Scotland branch’s contribution to Commonwealth week, we are hosting in the Scottish Parliament the inaugural conference of the British Islands and Mediterranean Region Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians. The conference will explore the experiences of female parliamentarians and the representation of women in politics in the region. Patricia Ferguson may speak more about the conference later.
The CPA Scotland branch has also sponsored two members of the Scottish Youth Parliament, Eilidh Collins and David Stewart, to attend Commonwealth day events that will take place in London, and both MSYPs will take part in a Commonwealth debate organised by CPA headquarters.
This year of course sees the Commonwealth games coming to Glasgow and Scots from all walks of life have been inspired to become involved in the event in numerous ways. Thousands volunteered to help at the games, including even members of the CPA Scotland branch.
The Commonwealth games have provided Glasgow and the whole of Scotland with a unique opportunity to deliver lasting change in terms of physical activity, participation in sport, and health and wellbeing. That is indeed an important legacy. For schoolchildren there will opportunities to learn about the Commonwealth, about values and about other countries and their cultures.
Scotland has many historic links with other Commonwealth countries. Hardly a family in Scotland has no ties to the millions who make up the Scots diaspora throughout the Commonwealth. Scots emigrants worked as engineers, doctors, teachers and missionaries in many countries of the Commonwealth. Their contributions helped to develop and shape those countries in the past 200 to 300 years. Agnes Macphail was the first woman to sit in the Canadian House of Commons. Sir John Macdonald was the first Prime Minister of Canada and was central to bringing about the confederation of Canada in 1867. Lachlan Macquarie is hailed as the founding father of Australia. Thomas Douglas, who was born in Falkirk, is considered the greatest Canadian by Canadians. He was Premier of Saskatchewan and developed the Canadian medicare system.
It is almost 10 years since the CPA Scotland branch began to explore the possibility of linking the people of Scotland with Malawi. Scotland’s links with Malawi are well documented and the CPA Scotland branch has sustained and developed those links by establishing an interns programme for officials from the National Assembly of Malawi and completing two technical assistance programmes with the National Assembly, designed to strengthen parliamentary democracy.
Does the member agree that it is important to maintain the links with Malawi and that it is better for the country and the Parliament to concentrate their great efforts on a few countries rather than spreading things more widely?
It is important not only to continue our links with Malawi but to look at the whole Commonwealth. The Scotland branch can be a force for good in encouraging good practice and governance throughout the Commonwealth. I think that we very much need to strike a balance.
Perhaps the best way I can sum up and acknowledge the evolution of the Commonwealth and its continuing relevance is to read out the following message from the Queen as head of the Commonwealth. She said:
“In July this year, the opening of the 20th Commonwealth Games will be marked by the arrival in Glasgow of the baton that started its journey from Buckingham Palace five months ago.
Many of us are following closely the news of the baton relay as it passes through the 70 countries and territories whose teams will gather for the Games. The images bring vividly to life what we mean by the Commonwealth family: it is wonderful to see the warmth, shared endeavour and goodwill as the baton is passed through the hands of many thousands of people.
Affinities of history and inheritance from the past are strong, yet we are bound together by a sense that the Commonwealth is a powerful influence of good for the future. People of all ages from different cultures are weaving an ever-growing network of links which connect us in our diversity and our common purpose. It is this unity that is expressed in this year's theme: ‘Team Commonwealth’.
While national teams will be concentrating on the competition in August, Team Commonwealth will have a longer focus, working together to achieve a more enduring success.
Experiences of life differ widely throughout the Commonwealth, and we each make contributions from sometimes very different viewpoints. But we are committed to the same goals. Together we offer each other encouragement and draw strength from this mutual support.
The understanding that we belong together, and are able, through teamwork, to achieve far more than we could do alone, has always been at the heart of our approach. For all of us this is now captured in the Commonwealth Charter which sets out the values and principles which guide and motivate us.
This year, more children and young people are participating in Commonwealth Day celebrations. Advances in technology enable us to reach a greater number of young people in schools, on-line using the ‘Commonwealth Class’ initiative, and through events in local communities where the Commonwealth flag is being raised.
I am delighted that in this, the year of ‘Team Commonwealth’, we will be working to build a brighter, united future in which every one of us can play a part and share in its rewards.”
17:13
I thank Margaret Mitchell for her opening speech.
It is apt that in the year that Scotland plays host to the Commonwealth games in Glasgow the theme of this year’s Commonwealth week is, as Margaret Mitchell has already pointed out, team Commonwealth. I only hope that when we welcome competitors and visitors from across the Commonwealth and beyond to the games the sun is shining as brightly as it has today—and as it will, I hope, for the rest of the week.
As part of this Commonwealth year, there will be a celebration of friendship, and motivation to achieve the goals and values that the members of the Commonwealth share. However, when I read the impassioned speech that Malala Yousafzai gave on Monday, I was reminded of the work that we still have to do to achieve those goals and to promote values such as equality. As many of us know, from the age of 11, Malala spoke openly of her views on promoting education for girls, provoking the fury of those who opposed her goals. Despite that, she stood by her beliefs and, as a result, suffered horrific consequences. On the morning of Tuesday 9 October 2012, masked gunmen boarded her school bus as it was travelling to school, asked for her by name and then shot her in the head.
Remarkably, and thankfully, Malala Yousafzai survived that horrendous ordeal and has gone on to become a global campaigner for equality in education for girls. She has been the youngest nominee ever for the Nobel peace prize—and the first girl to be nominated for it—and has become a hugely influential figure, advocating girls’ rights not only in Pakistan but across the globe. In her speech on Monday, she said:
“In many parts of the world—including within the Commonwealth—access to education is denied to children and girls are the most affected ... We need to ... invest more on education to build up a bright future and protect children suffering from terrorism, child labour, child trafficking and gender abuse such as female genital mutilation”.
Malala reminded us that the future success of the Commonwealth depends on the next generation, but she reminded me of so much more. She reminded me of what we can achieve if we have the courage to follow our convictions, regardless of the obstacles that are put in our way, and of the inspiration that people such as her can provide for others who are striving to achieve their goals.
It has been said that, this weekend, the Scottish Parliament will have the honour of hosting the British Islands and Mediterranean Region Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians inaugural conference, which will be a great opportunity to work towards the ideals that underpin team Commonwealth. I know that we will all go away from that with actions to make a difference in each of our countries. That clearly demonstrates the enduring strengths of the Commonwealth of working together effectively and really changing the world from the ground up.
That is what Commonwealth week means. It is not only about gaining an understanding of our differences, the ideals that bind us, and the aspirations that drive us; ultimately, it is about what we can take away from one another that will make a practical and tangible difference to girls, boys, women or men. Each country must, of course, take away what it believes is best for it—the ideals and values that best represent it. That is another strength of the Commonwealth. We may all be different and have different views on how to take our country forward, but we share certain universal values that, together, we help to promote. We gain strength from our diversity, and we respect and support one another in the choices that we believe will benefit our countries. Should Scotland become an independent country, we will continue to share those values and work together with our Commonwealth partners in the United Kingdom and beyond with the respect and understanding that we would hope to receive from them.
As this year’s theme says, it is a time to celebrate friendship and shared values. It is in everyone’s interests to work together to promote those shared values rather than seek to promote differences.
In conclusion, although I have taken the opportunity to highlight Malala Yousafzai’s words and sentiments, it is important to remember that inequality and lack of opportunity in the Commonwealth and beyond recognise no gender, race or location, and that we must all continually strive to eliminate them.
17:17
I congratulate Margaret Mitchell on securing the debate and enabling the Parliament to mark and celebrate Commonwealth week. I thank the staff of the Parliament’s UK and international relations office for all their hard work throughout the year in supporting the CPA branch executive and keeping its members on the right track. I also thank them, on behalf of all members of the Parliament, for organising travel and other arrangements in the efficient, helpful and professional way that we have come to expect and which we now, I am afraid, sometimes take for granted.
As we have heard, the year ahead is an exciting one for all Commonwealth citizens, but particularly for those of us in Scotland as we prepare for the 20th Commonwealth games. For Glaswegians, it affords a unique opportunity to welcome our friends from around the world to the games, which begin in just 133 days. I believe that Glasgow will demonstrate its support for and belief in the Commonwealth in a tangible way during the games. As a Clydesider volunteer at the games, I hope to do my bit to make our visitors’ experience good.
If 133 days away seems to be a little bit far off, we have, as we have heard, an opportunity in just two days’ time to work with women colleagues from the British Islands and Mediterranean Region as we come together in our first-ever conference. We hope to discuss issues to do with the representation of women and women’s challenges and opportunities in politics, and to look at the experience of women in using new media and of being the focus of media attention. I am sure that we will be mindful of the example of the extraordinary way in which Julia Gillard was treated by the media and fellow politicians.
One of our guests at the conference this weekend will be the honourable Lindiwe Maseko, who is the speaker of the Gauteng Provincial Legislature in South Africa. It will be particularly interesting to hear from her about how equality and human rights are enshrined in the South African constitution and what that means in practice for individual South Africans in their everyday lives.
The adoption of the Commonwealth charter is an important staging post for us all. It sets out very clearly the values and aspirations that should unite the Commonwealth—democracy, human rights and the rule of law—and recognises the commitment to the development of free and democratic societies, and the promotion of peace and prosperity to improve the lives of all peoples of the Commonwealth family.
In any family there will be disagreements and different ways of approaching issues, but an honest approach should be welcomed. That is why I believe that it is important that we tell our brothers and sisters in Uganda, Nigeria and other Commonwealth nations that their legislation on homosexuality is abhorrent to us. However, that is not enough, because we must demonstrate by example and experience that diversity can enhance communities and make them more dynamic. After all, if someone is prevented from being who they really are, how can they contribute fully to society?
If we are to criticise our friends, however, we must also be willing to look at our own actions. In this case, we must consider whether we in the UK have the right policies in place to support asylum seekers who flee their own country because they fear prosecution or persecution as a result of their sexuality. I have heard some extremely worrying stories of people being subjected to degrading questioning by border officials. That must not be allowed to continue.
The Commonwealth charter is a strong and powerful document, but across the Commonwealth we must begin to talk about how we can realise its values rather than simply aspire to them.
17:21
I, too, thank Margaret Mitchell for bringing the debate to the Parliament and for her remarks about the context of the CPA branch’s work and the work that continues around that whole agenda. Patricia Ferguson remarked on the IRO staff and what they do to support the Parliament in its work.
Patricia Ferguson also mentioned gay rights in some African states. It has always struck me, as a member of our CPA branch and our Parliament, that one of the more challenging aspects of our work is meeting colleagues from Parliaments in countries where some of the principles and themes in the Commonwealth charter, which Patricia Ferguson rightly mentioned, are talked about but, my gosh, are not observed. One of the harder pitches that we make in life is to address that in a very frank way with colleagues in those international settings. I know that Patricia Ferguson is doing that work through the part of the CPA family that she is now heavily involved in.
I will make a couple of remarks that follow on from Sandra White’s observations about young people and the role that they will play in this year of all years. On Monday, the Commonwealth flag flew over the town hall in Lerwick—or, at least, it was pulled up the flagpole. No doubt that happened at many flagpoles on Monday, including in Glasgow, as I saw on the television that night. However, the other thing that happened on Monday that was just as important as a flag being pulled up a pole was that Baltasound junior high school in Unst, which is the most northerly part of the UK, took part in the Commonwealth class’s world’s biggest assembly, which took place right across the Commonwealth. It is a collaboration between the BBC, the British Council and the Commonwealth Secretariat to bring together schools and young people right across the globe. The children of Baltasound started their school day, as did other children across the world’s time zones, looking at what brings us together and celebrating the values and connections of the Commonwealth’s diverse global family.
I live in a part of the world that is always very outward looking, which is one of the joys about Shetland as a community. However, it is important that we keep those values moving through the next generation. If something very strong comes out of the Commonwealth games, I suspect that it will not be who does and does not win gold medals, but rather that the next generation reflect on and are aware of the big wide world out there and what they can do in global terms to help people less fortunate than they are.
We will have the Commonwealth baton relay in July and Commonwealth day in Shetland’s schools, which will be opened by youth ambassadors. I think that one of the best parts of the programme that is taking place around the Commonwealth and around the Commonwealth games is the youth legacy ambassador work that is going on right across Scotland. It is certainly very positive in Shetland. A number of the ambassadors came down this weekend to take part in workshops and other events that took place in Glasgow over the past few days. I understand that that was a useful experience for all, and more of it is to come.
On the Commonwealth games themselves, I understand that all local authorities have second teams to support, and Shetland has been given Jersey and Brunei. The latter is a long distance away. We are pretty familiar with Jersey—we regularly beat it in the island games football, so we are happy to support it—but we know less about Brunei, although I understand that we are about to export Shetland ponies to Brunei, knitted or otherwise. Many good connections will come out of that initiative as well. It is admirable that, during the Commonwealth games, different parts of Scotland will lead out the teams as they take part in the opening ceremony. Some very excited youngsters will be taking part in that.
The final point that I will make is about a sports conference that will take place in Shetland in April. That, again, will bring all the partners together around the Commonwealth games, and it will send a positive and inspiring message to young people. Sport and the Commonwealth are being brought together in a way that can only be good for the long-term future of not just my part of Scotland but the whole Commonwealth.
17:26
I begin by thanking Margaret Mitchell for bringing this timely debate to the Parliament and thanking the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association and all the people who make it happen for their on-going work. A lot has been happening on Commonwealth day and in Commonwealth week. Last night, I had the pleasure of representing the Scottish Government at the Royal Commonwealth Association dinner, and today I had the great pleasure of being at Hampden to see it unveiled as the new athletics stadium. It is amazing. If members get a chance, they should go and have a look.
The theme of this year’s Commonwealth week is team Commonwealth, which is apt as we build towards the games this summer. The whole of Scotland is looking forward to 11 fantastic days of sport. As well as the excitement of the sport, there will be opportunities to strengthen our economic, educational and cultural ties with our friends from the nations and territories of the Commonwealth.
Since we won the bid to host the games back in 2007, we and our games partners have been working tirelessly to stage a world-class games that the Commonwealth will be proud of and, importantly, to encourage others to bid to host the games, because we want them to go to parts of the Commonwealth that they have not yet been to.
We are ready. With 133 days to go, I am delighted to say that preparations are on time, on track and on budget. We are proud to host the games and we are of course an enthusiastic participant in the Commonwealth. The games bring together people from many different cultures and traditions. We want the games to be a celebration of the unique power of sport, which can bring people together from all corners of the Commonwealth.
The Queen’s baton relay has already visited 45 of the 70 Commonwealth nations and territories, and it will tour around Scotland for 40 days immediately before the games. The baton’s journey has demonstrated the positivity that the games can bring, with so many different events happening in communities across the Commonwealth. It has been great to see Mark Beaumont capturing some of those moments as he travelled with the baton. It has been touched and held by tens of thousands of children and young people across the Commonwealth, which is a special thing in itself. It is currently enjoying the sunshine in Trinidad and Tobago—of course, we have been enjoying the sunshine as well, which I am sure will continue right the way through to July.
I want to say something about the legacy from the games. They will be athlete centred, quite rightly, but without a doubt they will also be a powerful catalyst for economic growth, for education and for inspiring our young people. We are determined to leave a legacy behind that will continue for many years to come. We have already seen some of the economic benefits, with the construction and refurbishment of venues, the support of jobs and the £60 million contribution to Scotland’s economic growth over the past few years. About 30,000 jobs have been supported, and Scottish companies have benefited from the games contracts.
The Commonwealth is hugely important to Scotland’s economy. We start from a position of relative strength, as the value of our exports to the Commonwealth—excluding the UK—stands at £1.8 billion, so the market is big. That is why we will host the Commonwealth games business conference, which will take place in Glasgow on the eve of the games and will build on the Commonwealth business forum, which has been held this week. The conference will focus on new opportunities for collaboration between Governments and businesses across the Commonwealth.
Scotland has a long tradition of being a nation that is interested in people beyond our shores. We want the legacy of the Glasgow games to extend across the Commonwealth. Members have mentioned some of the fantastic programmes that are being run. Tavish Scott was right to highlight the youth legacy ambassador programme, which is a success. Our official education programme—game on Scotland—is encouraging children and young people to think beyond Scotland, to see Scotland’s place in the world, to recognise the differences in cultures and traditions across the Commonwealth and to make links and, I hope, long-lasting relationships and friendships across the Commonwealth. We are also investing in the 33Fifty Commonwealth youth leadership programme, under which 100 18 to 25-year-olds will come together to learn from each other and to develop the skills and experience that they need to lead change in their countries.
As Patricia Ferguson, Tavish Scott and others suggested, the games will be a platform to showcase all that is good about the Commonwealth games values of humanity, equality and destiny, which are universal and are cherished in Scotland and across the Commonwealth. The Scottish Government expects all participating nations to reflect on those essential values as they prepare to compete in Glasgow. No one from any part of the Commonwealth who visits Scotland will be in any doubt about our values as a welcoming, open and tolerant society. In that respect, the games will be a force for good. We are looking at ways of leaving a legacy on the human rights agenda that is not just about the games in Glasgow but which perhaps produces something that we can pass on to future hosts about changing attitudes to reduce prejudice, discrimination and injustice anywhere that they exist in the Commonwealth.
Sandra White mentioned Malala Yousafzai who, as a young person facing up to discrimination, is a powerful and inspiring role model. If we can play our part when we host the games by looking a bit more widely than just at sport, if we can leave a legacy that benefits those across the Commonwealth who do not have the equality and rights that we sometimes take for granted and if we can nudge things a little further along the road on their journey to better equality and human rights, we will have done something important. I look forward to the games coming and to everybody’s participation in them, in one way or another.
Meeting closed at 17:33.Previous
Decision Time