Islanders asked to share their views

Directors of Bòrd na Gàidhlig have been presenting the new draft Gaelic Language Plan 2023- 28 at a series of community consultation events across the Western Isles.

The draft Plan was published at the end of April and will be open for public consultation until 26th July.

This will be the fourth such Plan since the Gaelic Language Act was passed in 2005, and sets out the needs and priorities for the language for the coming five years.

The Plan is formally commissioned by Scottish Government, which directly commits £29million for Gaelic annually, with additional funds supporting the language through education and other public service budgets.

This new Plan will be the first under the leadership of local woman Mairi MacInnes, who took up her role as Chair of Bòrd na Gàidhlig in January 2019. Mairi spoke to Am Pàipear about the importance of the Plan to the Uists:

“Gaelic matters, and it belongs to all of Scotland. That message ringing out from the draft Plan resonates most for us here in the islands, where Gaelic is still very much part of everyday conversation.

“Here in Uist, we can see the value that Gaelic investment adds; we see it in high-quality, Gaelic funded jobs, in the schools, on the sports fields, in our arts and culture, and in the major projects we are developing together, like the new Cnoc Soilleir building that opens its doors this month. “These investments are as a result of the Plans that have gone before. I urge everyone to take this once- in-five-years opportunity to share their views and help us ensure that the next Plan goes further still to realise our ambition, both for the language and for the islands.”

Those who have been unable to attend the consultation events can still contribute their views through an online survey at www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/pl anagaidhlig, or by email to plana@astarmedia.scot, or by letter to National Gaelic Language Plan 2023-2028, Astar Media, 56 Seaforth Road, Stornoway, HS1 2SD.