SWF and St Andrew’s Fair Saturday Small Grants Fund 2019/2020 now open!

BEMIS Scotland are delighted to announce that our Scotland’s Winter Festivals (SWF) small grant scheme is now open.

More Info & Application

With support from the Scottish Government, the small grant fund will be available to Scotland’s diverse ethnic and cultural minority community organisations to programme bespoke multicultural celebratory events that are open to the public to attend. These events will enable everyone to experience the dynamic and invigorating nature of Scotland’s cultural and ethnic diversity.

The application process will be open from today, Thursday 11th July 2019 and close on Monday 16th September. The full programme of events will be announced to the public on Friday 20th September.

Building on the success of our Scotland’s Winter Festivals programme, which has been running since 2014, BEMIS are delighted to announce that we will be continuing our collaboration with the Fair Saturday Foundation (started in Bilbao, Spain) and will integrate our ‘St Andrew’s Fair Saturday Festival’ into the international celebration of arts, culture and diverse communities.

BEMIS and Fair Saturday believe that the arts and cultures of Scotland have a pivotal role to play in helping to shape our cities, towns, villages and communities into thriving, confident and representative places. Thus, like we did for the inaugural St Andrew’s Fair Saturday 2018, we will encourage events to act as a catalyst for additional positive impacts in our communities. For example, in 2018:

  • The Falkirk Rainbow Muslim Womens Group’s ‘Là Naomh Anndrais’ Pakistan and Scotland poetry celebration generated £331 for their local Strathcarron Hospice
  • The Partickhill Bowling and Community Club’s ‘St. Andrews Day Indian and Scottish Concert and Celebration’ raised £250 for a local ‘Indian Tabla Drumming School’.
  • The inaugural ‘St Andrew’s Day Lecture’ by Alastair McIntosh at St. Giles Cathedral in Edinburgh raised £107 for their ‘Refugee Welcoming Project’.

These are only small examples but from small acorns, oak trees grow. In 2019, we are working towards making the St Andrew’s Fair Saturday Festival bigger, more inclusive, more dynamic and more exciting than ever before.

Ben Macpherson Scottish Government Minister for Europe, Migration and International Development said:

“The multi-cultural celebration of Scotland’s Winter Festivals, led by BEMIS Scotland, has gone from strength to strength. Last year’s programme delivered 32 events and engaged over 23,000 people across many different communities, and I am delighted to announce that this year the Scottish Government will provide BEMIS Scotland with £41,000 to deliver a similarly ambitious programme for 2019/20.

“This funding will allow BEMIS Scotland’s successful partnership with the Fair Saturday Foundation and Celtic Connections to continue to grow, and will again provide funding for local events.

“I invite communities from across Scotland to join the celebrations of St Andrew’s Day, Hogmanay and Burns, to showcase the vibrancy of modern Scotland in all of our diversity, and to celebrate building an ever more inclusive, outward-looking, internationalist and welcoming Scotland, together.”

BEMIS CEO Dr Rami Ousta re-affirmed BEMIS commitment to the programme:

“Since 2014, proactive participation in the Multicultural Winter Festival, among the diverse communities of Scotland, has been commendably spiralling at various levels, and we continue to observe a very positive and dynamic advancement in such involvement contributing to enhancing and progressing Scotland’s inclusive national identity for all.

The Multicultural Winter Festival and the St Andrews Fair Saturday programs have and continue to present a unique framework for all to contribute, showcase and celebrate their cultural heritage at several levels. Our diverse cultural heritage in Scotland can only be complemented and cherished as an exceptional platform through which we can sustain, enhance and progress our active citizenship and passion for our HOME Scotland. We are certainly committed to nourishing and advancing our collaborative relationship with the Scottish Government and the Fair Saturday Foundation as well as to facilitating and progressing equal participation of the diverse communities again.”

Jordi Albareda – Director of the International Fair Saturday Foundation commented:

“Scotland is probably one of the best countries in the world to lead Fair Saturday. There´s culture everywhere, combining tradition and a brave look towards the future. It´s a place where while in other places they speak about exits, here we speak about being connected.  A place that instead of ignoring organisations like BEMIS, they give them a voice and a place as co-responsibles of the brave evolution of the Scottish identity. Every territory should have it´s own BEMIS. We will only change the world through little steps. Let´s take this one.”

More Info & Application

Parents for All project: 3rd newsletter

The 3rd newsletter for the Parents for All project is now available, covering the recently completed Training Materials and Assessment Toolkit, and the Final Conference taking place in November.

Download now:

P4A_newsletter_3_enDownload

Hate Crime Legislation Consultation Response


BEMIS Hate Has No Home Consultation Response

You can see BEMIS’s response below to the Scottish Government’s proposed Hate Crime legislation, informed by our recent Hate Has No Home consultation events and Thematic Conference on Hate Crime motivated by racial and religious prejudice in October 2018.

BEMIS Hate Has No Home Consultation ResponseDownload

SWF Fund Closed

Our Scotland’s Winter Festivals 2018/2019 grant programme has now been fully allocated so we can’t accept any new applications.

Our Year of Young People 2018 grant programme will stay open for a bit longer.

Democracy Matters: Local Governance Review

People across Scotland are being invited to join a conversation about community decision-making to help make public services more locally focused.

The Democracy Matters conversation will identify new legal rights for communities which would place them at the heart of decision-making.

As part of the conversation people are being invited to consider a short set of questions on shaping local democracy. Community groups can also apply for grants of up to £300 to host their own events related to the project.

Communities Secretary Angela Constance said:

The start of the Democracy Matters conversation is an important moment for community decision-making in Scotland. We believe that more decisions about public services should be taken locally, and that communities should be able to influence those decisions. We want to hear from people across Scotland about the issues they want decisions on in their neighbourhood, town or village, and the kind of arrangements that would help that happen.

COSLA President Alison Evison said:

Across the country, it is widely recognised that Scotland needs local solutions to the opportunities and challenges it faces. The conversation is a vital contribution to the change that is needed across all spheres of government to make Scotland a more democratic place, and to ensure that Scotland’s public services are built around the communities they serve.

Scottish Community Alliance Director Angus Hardie said:

As things stand, communities often find that the really important issues that affect them the most are decided without their involvement and in faraway places. But if democracy is working well, most of those decisions would be taken much closer to these communities and often by local people themselves. Democracy Matters is a rare opportunity for communities everywhere – especially for those groups whose voice doesn’t always get heard – to become involved and to re-imagine how democracy can be made to work for everyone.

Background

The Democracy Matters conversation is a joint venture between the Scottish Government, COSLA and the community sector and will run over the next six months.

More information on how to take part in the conversation and how to apply for funding to run an event is available online. People can also contact the organisers via: democracymatters@gov.scot

Find out more and take part

We are Scotland

We are Scotland

Our friends, neighbours and colleagues include people from many backgrounds. Together we create a Scotland that will prosper and meet our future needs.

The Scottish Government is committed to building a fair, smart, and inclusive Scotland where everyone can feel at home. The ·we Are Scotland’ campaign aims to raise awareness of the positive impact of the country’s diversity and shared inclusive values.

We are supporting the #WeAreScotland campaign because no matter your race, creed, colour or culture, you’re welcome here and it’s the contribution of the many, that makes Scotland one great country. We want people from outside Scotland who have chosen to live and work in Scotland to feel welcomed and supported. Take a look at this video that reminds us what a great country Scotland is and it’s even greater when people come together.

Visit onescotland.org and meet some of the people who call this place home. You can find out more about the value they bring to Scotland. If it resonates with you and your organisation, get involved and spread the word #WeAreScotland.

Small Grant Funds now open

We are proud to announce that applications for the Year of Young People 2018 and Scotland’s Winter Festivals 2018/2019 small grants funds are now open.

BEMIS Scotland in collaboration with the Scottish Government is delighted to continue the themed years programme and invite multicultural communities across Scotland to join the celebration of the Year of Young People 2018, 2018/19 Scottish Winter Festivals, and this year, we have an exciting new opportunity: the St Andrew’s Fair Saturday Festival.

This will take place on Friday 30th November – Saturday 1st December. This new festival is happening in venues across Europe and we have teamed up with our colleagues from the Fair Saturday Foundation in Bilbao, Spain to bring this to Scotland. The Fair Saturday Foundation –  like BEMIS – believe that arts and culture can be instrumental in making the world a better place.

For application forms and more information, please click the button below.

Find out more and apply

 

Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology – Progress Update

As our key stakeholders representing the equalities priorities for the Year, further to our progress update earlier in the year, we felt it was timely to touch base with you again on our History, Heritage and Archaeology programme.

More than half way through the Year, it is going incredibly well. Over 39 supporting partners continue to be fully engaged in the Year. Their engagement is broad and varied, including use of the YHHA brand at events and on materials; registering their public-facing events in the YHHA partner programme and being promoted through VS.com; supporting the Year through social media, blogging and articles in members/industry publications; and building key YHHA messages into their content and signposting members to the visitscotland.com web pages. Some activities which have been undertaken since the last update include:-

  • Fife Council are running a year-long competition for a chance to win prizes and discover Fife along the way. They are promoting World Heritage Sites, listed buildings, cultural traditions and myths, stories, and legends, as part of the Year to shine a spotlight on Fife’s greatest assets and icons (http://www.welcometofife.com/HHA2017?utm_source=popup1)
  • Edinburgh Tourism Action Group (ETAG) launched ‘Edinburgh in 101 Objects’ in May, which is proving to be extremely popular. ETAG have followed this by recently launching “The People’s Choice” campaign as suggested by locals and visitors, who can now vote for their favourite object. You can vote for your favourite here: http://edinburgh.org/101toolkit/select-your-object-101/
  • National Records of Scotland (NRS) – ‘Famous Scots from the Past’ is a free exhibition, 1 August to 1 September 2017, which will focus on four infamous/famous individuals from Scottish history represented in the archives of the NRS. YHHA branding is being used on posters, banners and advertisements. The exhibition highlights the vast and diverse collections that Scotland’s national archives hold and their accessibility to the public, through the life stories of: Sir William Arrol, Madeleine Smith, Robert Burns and Mary Queen of Scots.
  • Dig It! 2017 – As a follow up to the ‘Scotland in Six’ events held on World Heritage Day in April, the organisers set out to find six “lesser-known” sites to bring them into the spotlight. The ‘Scotland in Six – Hidden Gems’ campaign began in June after 28 sites were nominated by local groups and organisations and the six winning Hidden Gems sites are now preparing to mark their victory with six events during Scottish Archaeology Month in September.

A full list of all funded and partner activities taking place during YHHA can be found at http://www.eventscotland.org/funding/partner-programme-yhha/

We also told you in May about the Heritage Lottery Fund’s (HLF) dedicated grant scheme for YHHA – ‘Stories, Stones and Bones’.  We are delighted that the HLF have now allocated funding to a number of events which have Scotland’s communities and also young people at their heart, in the run up to 2018’s Year of Young People.  A few of these include:

  • ‘Voyage of Discovery’: Maritime Stories at Our Place, Trinity House, Port O’Leith – The grantee will work with young people aged 11-18 who will conduct their own research of the collections and be trained in heritage skills. Participants will then deliver their own events and guided tours.
  • Hidden Histories of Dumfries and Galloway: The Lost Chronicles of Lincluden & Lochside – providing skills and personal development opportunities for young people through exploring key heritage sites of Dumfries. Young people will attend site visits, become ‘history detectives’, have treasure hunts and share things learned through social media.
  • Digging up the dirt on Threipmuir Cottage – raising awareness of the heritage surrounding Threipmuir cottage through visits to local museums and archives, talking to experts, skills training workshops, an archaeological dig and an exhibition.

As you can see, there is a lot happening across the whole of Scotland – something for everyone, both young and old.  For further details about all events taking place across the various funding aligned to YHHA you may find the following links helpful:-

 

Please do feel free to get in touch with the Themed Years Team (Stephanie.Bow@gov.scot) if would you like any further information on any of the above or if you would like to let us know of activities and events you are carrying out.

 

SWF Fund now closed

The Scotland’s Winter Festivals fund has now been fully allocated and we can no longer accept any new applications.

We look forward to celebrating all these fantastic events over the next couple of months.

YHHA fund is now closed.

The Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology fund is now closed, and we are no longer taking any applications.

The Scotland’s Winter Festivals fund, however, is still open for any events taking place around St Andrew’s Day, Hogmanay or Burns Night.