Uist, Social Enterprise Place brochure coverage

The recently released Uist, Social Enterprise Places brochure has received significant coverage on the web and in social media, including from the Scottish Government’s Scottish Rural Network who have commented

“A new digital brochure celebrates the benefits and work of award-winning social and community enterprises on Uist.

“Uist, with a 40+ year history of social and community enterprises, was one award-winner the judging panel felt had much to shout about. The stats are certainly impressive … but it’s not just the numbers that impress …. It is inspiring reading of resilient, resourceful and dynamic communities and a great example of just how much people can achieve together. The document highlights their amazing history, and key priorities for the future.”

Read the whole brochure here 

 

 

vRSP 2021 Session Reports

Click on the images below to view the reports on these sessions from this year’s virtual Rural Scottish Parliament. 

vRSP21 Session Report – Good Food

vRSP21 Session Recommendations - Good Food
Session Recommendations from the Virtual Rural Scottish Parliament 2021 – Good Food

 

vRSP21 Session Report – Rural and Island Social Care

vRSP21 Session Recommendations - rural and island social care
Session Recommendations from the Virtual Rural Scottish Parliament 2021- rural and island social care.

 

vRSP21 Session Report – Mental Wellbeing 

vRSP21 Session Recommendations - Mental Wellbeing
Session Recommendations from the Virtual Rural Scottish Parliament 2021- mental wellbeing

 

Rural and island communities as more desirable places to live

 

Picture: Jane Barlow/TSPL
 
 
Covid-19 has demonstrated beyond doubt the attractiveness of living and working in rural and island communities.  CoDeL’s research on redefining peripherality (see here) has identified many reasons for this, not just in Scotland, but also in regions from Canada to Finland.  
 
Even before Covid-19 many young people wanted to return, settle or stay in their rural and island communities, and the pandemic has accelerated this trend.  The pandemic has also made this so much more difficult for our young people as asset-wealthy urbanites seek to snap up housing as rural and island boltholes to escape to.  This is happening across Scotland and across Britain, from Cornwall to the Scottish islands. 
 
The Scottish Community Alliance, who featured CoDeL’s research in their latest newsletter, also feature a new campaign around housing at Planning DemocracyIomairt an Eilean is working on the issue in Skye, and Misneachd Alba has been taking up the campaign through their Celtic Housing Charter, linking the rural housing crisis to the impacts on Gaelic culture.

Redesigning Regional Policy for Peripheral Areas

CoDeL will be launching the results of our Northern Periphery research on how rural and island communities, from Canada to Finland, have fared under Covid-19 tomorrow at the Regions in Recovery Global e-festival

Our session on Redesigning Regional Policy for Peripheral Areas brings together CoDeL, Liam Glynn (rural GP, Professor of General Practice, School of Medicine, University of Limerick and rural health activist), Mads Wolff (senior policy adviser to the Nordic Council of Ministers) and Ed Mayo (former CEO of Co-operatives UK, New Economics Foundation and National Consumer Council). 

The extensive research findings are available on our website here.

New climate change programme launches for young people in Scotland & Malaysia

British Council, Social Enterprise Academy and University of the Highlands & Islands are looking for young people in Scotland aged 18-35 to take part in a new programme tackling climate change.

The VISION (Virtual Impact Storytelling In Our Network) project aims to encourage young people with different skill sets and areas of expertise to engage in debate, dialogue and mutual exchange of ideas on the impact of climate change on their future.

Starting in May 2021, 30 young people (15 each from Malaysia and Scotland) will participate in a 12-day online learning experience with facilitators from Scotland and Malaysia over the course of six months. These learning sessions will explore ‘visioning for the future’ and ‘impact storytelling’ as ways young people can develop ideas in response to global climate challenges. The programme will close with a Global Impact Festival in November 2021 where young people will showcase and celebrate their projects.

Applications are open from now until 16 May 2021 to young people aged 18-35 who are passionate about supporting the fight for climate justice and collaborating with peers in Scotland and Malaysia.

Supporting partners of the project in Scotland include University of the Highlands and Islands and CoDeL (Community Development Lens).

Are you a young person aged 18-35 interested in supporting the fight for climate justice? Find out more about the programme and how to apply here.

Uist Beò – Online Platform Survey

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CoDeL are excited to be working on a feasibility study to provide a new online platform that will serve the Uist community, from Eriskay to Berneray, locally and beyond.

As part of the study we are consulting widely within the community to find out what residents and visitors alike would like to see from a new website – be that business listings, links to local services or stories about the residents of the islands. 

Please take part in our brief online survey to share your views on the potential for this exciting new platform and take a chance to have your say. 

 

 

 

Uist leading on projects to renew local economies across the Northern Periphery

CoDeL is leading a new European funded project to assess the economic impacts of Covid-19 on peripheral communities from eastern Finland to Prince Edward Island in Canada, and to recommend policy and action that can enable these communities to be sustainable and thrive in the future.

The partnership led by CoDeL is funded under the Covid Response Call of the European Northern Periphery and Arctic Programme and includes 6 universities or research institutes, 3 other public institutions (including NHS Highlands) and 3 business networks in the Highlands and Islands, Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland, all four Scandinavian countries, the Faroe Islands, Iceland, Greenland and Canada.

“With Brexit looming”, says CoDeL Director Thomas Fisher, “the Nordic and Arctic region and Scotland are determined to build ties to enable partnership working in the future.  We are delighted that Uist in the Outer Hebrides can play a leading role in this work stretching across the whole Northern Periphery.  All the partners are determined that the project draw up recommendations for economic renewal and redesign in peripheral areas that together we can implement in future.  The project recommendations will influence the design of the next Northern Periphery and Arctic Programme funding round, and it is so important that Scotland has a strong voice in this.”

Continue reading “Uist leading on projects to renew local economies across the Northern Periphery”

Positive news, resilience and island life beyond the crisis

… were some of the key themes in responses to CoDeL’s survey, targeted in particular at younger islanders on Uist and Barra.  Here are some examples:

Resilience and social innovation would be particularly relevent to the current situation.

I’m sure your groups have covered resilience before, looking for more positive notes now is the time for the global population to wake up to the importance of our native and natural habitats, being environmentally aware, sustainable and not pushing mother nature to the limits that triggered this crisis. Uist is already doing well here, … what more can be done?

I think focussing on good news island stories around local economy and work, what you are already good at would be the best positive message at this time.

Strategies for staying strong, financial support for social enterprise resilience, positive messages.

It would be valuable to talk about how the current crisis could be used for positive social change after the crisis is over so we don’t just go back to how things were.

peer to peer learning is very valuable. What we want for our communities once this is all over. How to make it through.

I think looking at the wider economic potential in a positive light would be worthwhile.

How to organise mutual aid in situations like the current crisis. Finding ways in which we can collaborate beyond the crisis would also be helpful – whether pooling our resources and skills to organise creative get-togethers for the community to combat the lingering emotional impact of isolation, or to find new ways of working.

The survey sought views on what CoDeL as an organisation rooted in an island community could deliver over the internet during lockdown, to continue the work of the Smart Islands project.

Following the lead of the Social Enterprise Academy, CoDeL is primarily offering open sessions over Zoom. There was some interest in sessions and webinars on specific learning topics, and in one-to-one or small group coaching. There was far more interest in ‘open space’ sessions allowing peers to meet and share. In our next post we will report on the outcomes of the first of these sessions which are being held fortnightly.

Even before the Covid crisis, there was particular interest and energy for networking around issues of mental health, and this has become all the more important during lockdown: “I think it’s taking strain on each of us in varied and multiple ways.” So on the alternate weeks we will be organising ‘open space’ sessions focusing on mental health.

Islands’ Social Capital

The Islands revival is being driven by the amazing social capital that islands deliver, which is encouraging people to return, settle and stay. The above average levels of social capital present in the islands has been evidenced by a recent report by the Scottish Government.

Social capital is the social connections that contribute to people’s quality of life, health, safety, economy and well-being in the neighborhoods where they live. These social connections are a source of support through people’s lives, for instance, in education, workplaces, retirement and leisure.

Continue reading “Islands’ Social Capital”

CoDeL to present at ISISA 2020

Representatives from CoDeL have been asked to present at the International Small Island Studies Association 2020 conference in Newfoundland in June.

Newfoundland, an island at the eastern end of the Canadian Maritimes, shares similar concerns regarding outmigration and climate change resilience.