• Agenda
  
  

Minutes of Meeting of the Gaelic Select Committee held in Committee Room 1, Council Headquarters, Glenurquhart Road, Inverness on Thursday 18 January 2007 at 2:00pm.

 

 

Mr H Fraser in the Chair

 

Preliminaries

 

1.           Apologies for Absence

 

Apologies for absence were given on behalf of Mr A MacKay; Mrs J Urquhart and Mrs M E Paterson.

 

2.            Gaelic Resources Service

 

A presentation was given by Dr D J MacLeod, Quality Development Officer, Gaelic, and Mrs Margaret McConnell, Gaelic Resources Assistant, on the Council’s Gaelic Resources Service which produced and distributed teaching materials for Gaelic and Gaelic medium education.

 

Members were informed of the wide range of materials and learning aids for teachers that were available through the Service. The unit maintained good links with schools and through questionnaires and meetings with teachers were kept informed of the types of resources schools required. The Service had, on occasion, been asked to produce specific material, such as story sacks for primary schools and secondary school course material. Examples were given of these sacks, which included a fiction book and an audio copy of the book as well as associated work sheets on the subject matter. Similar non-fiction packs on subjects such as health were being created for secondary schools as well as Gaelic translations of course material. These allowed secondary pupils to use the same courses as those studying the subject in English.

 

The Resource Service had also pioneered the creation of books in cd rom format, through special software, which allowed the book to be recreated on the computer screen along with sound options. The cd books gave Gaelic learners the opportunity to read and listen to the sound of the text at their own pace and could be produced quickly and at a relatively low cost. Members were also informed of a specially commissioned work by the Education, Culture and Sport Service for a History of the Highlands, in Gaelic, which would be available nationally.

 

The Committee conveyed their appreciation to the small team of staff involved in creating the range of excellent material for Gaelic Education and during discussion the following points were made:

 

·        once completed, the Gaelic School in Inverness would include a library of Gaelic resources
     which would be available to pupils and teachers of Gaelic Medium along with parents and
     the wider Gaelic speaking community;

·        the Gaelic School, Inverness should be a Centre for Excellence;

·        the use of new technologies and teaching resources had been vital to Gaelic Medium
     Education and Highland teachers had a major involvement in the development
     of an on-line curriculum;

·        there was a shortage of fiction in Gaelic, particularly for teenage readers; and

·        the Committee conveyed their appreciation to the Director of Education, Culture and Sport
     for his support for Gaelic.

 

The Select Committee NOTED the presentation and AGREED:

 

      a)      there was a shortage of children’s fiction available in Gaelic and steps should be
            taken to translate suitable texts;

b)      to convey the Committee’s appreciation to the very small team of staff involved in creating the current range of excellent material for Gaelic Medium Education and to the Director of Education, Culture and Sport for his support for Gaelic; and

c)      to emphasise the need for additional resources in both staff and funds to continue and expand the excellent work so far undertaken by the unit.

 

3.           Draft Gaelic Plan

 

There had been circulated Report No GSC 01/07 by the Area Manager, Skye and Lochalsh, informing Members of the work done towards the preparation of a Gaelic Language Plan and setting out a timetable for consultation on and approval of the plan. Members were reminded that the Gaelic Language (Scotland) Act 2005 gave Bòrd na Gàidhlig power to request public authorities to prepare and implement a Gaelic Language Plan which would set out how the relevant public authority would use the Gaelic language in the exercise of its functions.  The Council was amongst the first group of bodies requested to prepare a Plan by 1 October 2007. A copy of the draft Gaelic Plan was circulated separately.

 

Whilst discussing the contents of the draft plan the following comments were made:

 

·        a scheme should be developed to assist local premises to identify Gaelic speaking
     employees to the public;

·        the Council policy on Gaelic signage should be included in the Plan and be made clear to all;

·        primary schools should be encouraged to work out the historical context of the Gaelic name
     of their community in order to preserve local heritage;

·        the target figure for those people speaking Gaelic in the Highlands be a 10% increase in the
     number of 5-18 year olds during each year of the Plan to reflect the growing popularity
     of learning Gaelic in Primary and Secondary schools;

·        there should be a separate target for the number of adults speaking Gaelic;

·        the creation of a ‘Gaelic Team’ for the development and promotion of Gaelic be
     emphasised;

·        the Council work in partnership with other agencies involved in the promotion and 
     development of Gaelic Language and Culture;

·        the availability of Grant Aid from the Council to appropriate organisations for the promotion
     of Gaelic be emphasised;

·        the second bullet point under the heading Status; Place of Work, read ‘establishing a
     Committee…dedicated to the development of Gaelic’;

·        under the heading Acquiring Gaelic, Place of Learning, detail that encouragement should be
     given to other organisations by the Council to ensure every parent in highland had
    access to Gaelic Childcare;

·        discussions take place with those responsible for Council planning and development to apply
     conditions in planning consents relating to the use of Gaelic and/or bilingual signs in new developments.

 

The Committee AGREED to approve the timetable for consultation as set out in the report and to take account of the above noted comments of the Committee within the drafting of the Plan.

 

4.           Update Report

There was circulated Report No GSC 02/07 by the Gaelic Development Officer which informed Members of the following issues:

 

·        Gaelic Inter Agency Liaison Group;

·        Ainmead Àite na h-Alba (Gaelic Place-Names of Scotland);

·        Gaelic Media Service;

·        Bòrd na Gàidhlig;

·        Lebhar na Gàidheal Òga – Gaelic Youth Publication;

·        Gaelic Rings Tourism;

·        Gairm Publication 1952-2002;

·        VisitScotland Gaelic Policy; and

·        Inverness City Partnership.

 

The City Partnership Officer attended the meeting and gave a presentation to Members on the proposals of the ‘City Vision’ for Inverness. Working alongside other organisations, the vision entailed a 30 year strategy for a future view of the City of Inverness and included activities such as streetscaping and improving the cultural and aesthetical image of the city. The design principles of the streetscaping aimed to introduce traffic calming measures as well as transforming the entrances to the old town and creating small civic spaces, giving more space to pedestrians and the introduction of seating. It was intended to integrate Gaelic into the infrastructure of the plan, through bi-lingual information boards and street signage.

 

Members welcomed the presentation and during discussion the following points were made in relation to the Update Report:

 

a)      Mr Allan Campbell, Director of Bòrd na Gàidhlig was to retire at the end of March 2007, and
    had been involved in Gaelic language and culture revitalisation during his career; and

b)      the Select Committee had a notable list of achievements to date and had been actively
     involved in initiating some ambitious plans regarding Gaelic language and heritage and it
     was therefore important that there was a Council Committee dedicated to Gaelic culture,
     language, media and education beyond April 2007.

 

The Select Committee NOTED the report and the presentation by the Inverness City Partnership and AGREED:

 

i.              to write to Mr Allan Campbell on his retirement form Bòrd na Gàidhlig and thank him for
        his advice and leadership in relation to Gaelic development; and

ii.            there was a need for the retention of a Council Committee dedicated to Gaelic culture,
        language, media and education beyond April 2007.

 

5.           Highland Nova Scotia Memorandum of Understanding

 

There was circulated Report No 03/07 by the Area Manager, Skye and Lochalsh, which outlined the projects proposed for implementation during 2007 under the terms of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between Highland Council and Nova Scotia.

 

The following projects were proposed for 2007, subject to securing the necessary finance and resources:

 

·        to follow up the visit made in 2006 by a Lochaber group to Nova Scotia by identifying
     someone to spend several months in Nova Scotia to offer Gaelic Learning opportunities
     to children and families;

·        an Exchange Craft Residency be run at Ardnamurchan High School, Lochaber during the
     autumn term 2006 to coincide with the National Mod and allow schools and craft makers
     the opportunity to participate in the proposed Nova Scotia Day. During the National Mod the
     Council’s Exhibition unit would also display selected crafts from Nova Scotia and Highland;

·        to send Calum Colvin’s ‘Ossian’ exhibition to Inverness Art Gallery, Cape Breton, in October
     2007 during the Celtic Colours Festival;

·        an invitation be made to the author Alasdair MacLeod, to visit Highland during 2007 to
      conduct a series of School and public readings of his work;

·        an number of initiatives to celebrate both Highland and Lochaber links to Nova Scotia as
     part of the National Mod fringe events.

 

The Select Committee NOTED the report and AGREED to recommend the proposed activities for 2007 subject to securing the necessary finance and resources.

 

6.           An Comunn Gaidhealach/ Royal National Mod Lochaber 2007

 

Mr C MacLeod, Chief Executive of An Comunn Gaidhealach and Mr M Morrison, Mod Manager, attended the meeting and informed Members on the progress with the arrangements for the Royal National Mod in Lochaber on 12-20 October 2007.

 

A presentation was made to Members, giving an overview of how the National Mod event was managed, together with how the event was financed and the responsibilities of the local Mod Committee. Details were also given of some of the venues and events that were hoped to be included in the 2007 event, and the types of valuable in-kind support provided by the Council in addition to the generous direct funding it provided.

 

It was emphasised during discussion that it was hoped to build on the existing links with Nova Scotia through the Mod, and An Comunn Gaidhealach, the Company behind the Mod, was always open to ideas on how to extend or improve the Mod event, particularly the ‘fringe’.

 

The Committee NOTED:

 

i.              the presentation:

ii.            that Mr John Hutchison, Area Manager, Lochaber, had been appointed as Vice Convener
       of Mòd Lochabair 2007; and

 

AGREED to emphasise that the Committee wished to see all Services of the Council giving appropriate in-kind support towards the 2007 Mod in Lochaber.

 

7.            Meeting at Sabhal mor Ostaig                                                                                               

 

The Committee was informed that there would be a visit to Sabhal mor Ostaig on Friday 23 February 2007, to allow Members to take a tour of the College facilities and discuss the development of the College and projects which would be of interest to the Council.

 

The Select Committee AGREED to recommend that an additional meeting of the Committee take place at Sabhal mor Ostaig on Friday 23 February 2007.

 

 

The meeting closed at 4:40pm.