Evaluation Report
Funded Events
Grant Applications
The deadline for applications was Friday 6th November 2015
About the programme
Multi-cultural celebrations will play an even greater part in the 2015 Year of Food and Drink and Scotland’s Winter Festivals thanks to a new funding programme.
A BEMIS Scotland fund of over £52,000—provided with support from the Scottish Government—will be used to arrange events across the country celebrating ‘Scotland’s mosaic of communities and evolving heritage’.
This programme will form part of the ‘Year of Food and Drink 2015’ and Scotland’s Winter Festivals in 2015/16. The majority of the fund will be available to local, diverse community organisations across Scotland to enable them to celebrate Scotland using their own unique cultural characteristics.
BEMIS will also host a unique event at Scotland’s world renowned international music festival ‘Celtic Connections’ as part of the Winter Festival celebrations in January 2016. This is in addition to BEMIS’s continuous partnership with the Scottish Football Association, Just Festival and others.
2015 will see the 2nd year of the national ‘Multicultural Cup’ in conjunction with the SFA and another ‘Celebrating Scotland’s Diverse Communities’ themed conversation with the Just Festival in August.
Cabinet Secretary for Culture, Europe & External Affairs Fiona Hyslop, said;
Scotland is a stronger and better nation thanks to our diversity. Celebrating the unique and vibrant cultures and traditions of Scotland’s minority ethnic communities will enhance the Year of Food and Drink and the Winter Festival. Their events are helping to ensure that there is something for every taste when we welcome people from across the country and the world to celebrate Scotland.
“The multi-cultural homecoming celebration in 2014 was a great success attracting over 6000 people from communities across Scotland. Building on our achievements in 2014 the Scottish Government is providing BEMIS with further support for a programme of activity which invites multi-cultural communities across Scotland to join this year’s celebration of the Year of Food and Drink and Scotland’s Winter Festivals.
BEMIS CEO Dr. Rami Ousta welcomed the continuation of the programme;
BEMIS are delighted to continue this parnership with the Scottish Government, national stakeholders and local community organisations. Scotland in 2015 is more diverse than ever before. We firmly believe that this diversity is an indicator of a dynamic, confident and culturally aware nation. We are particularly delighted to create a special new event as part of Celtic Connections 2016. This partnership will see us cascade and develop an innovative approach to engaging diverse Scottish communities with this world renowned cultural festival
Our diverse ethnic and cultural minority communities responsed with vigour to the Year of Homecoming 2014 and as always they are the key components of evolving Scotland’s living tradition reflected by the small grants scheme and participation in the Year of Food and Drink and Winter Festivals programme. The Scottish Government’s approach to creating an ‘inclusive national identity’ should be commended, putting the emphasis onto our grassroots communities places a positive agenda in their hands and reflects a pro-active approach to building community cohesion and sense of belonging.
This theme was echoed by Celtic Connections Festival Director Donald Shaw;
Celtic Connections as a global brand and conduit for celebrating world cultures welcome the opportunity to engage BEMIS to develop new avenues of engagement with Scotlands diverse communities. In the past we have programmed some of the leading exponents of world music such as Zakir Hussein, Angelique Kidjo and Leo Blanco amoungst others. Celtic Connections is unique in respect that it is both a global and local festival. We look forward to working with BEMIS to engage not only with renowned global musicians but diverse, intricate and multicutural communities resident in Scotland.
Applications to the fund can be made to BEMIS from today and will be open until such times as it has been allocated. The full line-up of events will be announced later this year. The Scottish Government has provided £46,050 from it’s tourism and major events programme. The balance for the programme has been provided by BEMIS.
Groups interested in applying for funding should contact BEMIS Scotland at festival@bemis.org.uk
Year of Food and Drink 2015
- 2015 is the Year of Food and Drink, a celebration of Scotland’s natural larder and the role that food and drink plays in shaping our economic success.
- Scotland generates over £2.5m per day through food and drink tourism.
- A series of themed months will create an appetite for key areas of Scotland’s food and drink industries – from seafood and whisky to berries and high-quality meat
- For more information, visit www.visitscotland.com/tastescotland
