The significant benefits that culture and creativity are delivering for the people of Scotland have been highlighted by Minister for Culture, Fiona Hyslop. Ahead of this year’s Burns Night celebrations, Ms Hyslop attended a Scottish Opera education workshop and performance of Scotland our Scotland! at St Conval’s Primary School in Glasgow, where she saw how creative activity and cultural participation are helping Scotland become a more successful nation.
Scotland our Scotland! is a 25 minute children’s opera which examines Scottish history and culture.
Ms Hyslop said:-“Scottish Opera’s Scotland our Scotland! is a fantastic project which demonstrates some of the ways in which culture and creativity are delivering real benefits for our society and our economy.
“Projects such as this which bring together the education and culture sectors are great fun for children and, at the same time, will equip them with the creative skills they need to succeed. Through Curriculum for Excellence, we are putting creativity at the heart of Scottish education.
“This will help Scotland to flourish and prosper. Scotland’s rich cultural heritage and contemporary creative talent are already delivering significant benefits for our economy. For example, the creative industries is one of our key growth sectors, supporting 60,000 jobs and generating £5.2 billion each year for the Scottish economy.
“We are approaching Burns Night, one of our nation’s most important cultural celebrations. This year, it is part of Scotland’s Winter Festivals – an exciting programme of events which is attracting visitors from home and abroad and generating millions of pounds for our economy.
“The valuable contribution that culture makes to our society and our economy is recognised across the Scottish Government which is why – in the face of unprecedented cuts imposed by the Westminster Government – we are continuing to invest in the sector.”
Scottish Opera‘s Director of Education Jane Davidson said:-“Scottish Opera’s education team has been working with primary schools around Scotland on a regular basis for the past 30 years. We regularly commission new shows – linked to Curriculum for Excellence – visiting 170 schools and working with around 17,000 kids each year to rehearse and perform them.
“This year the show is Scotland our Scotland!, which is a fun, potted history of Scotland in the context of the upcoming Commonwealth and Olympic Games. We’re very proud that it is among the first to be awarded an Inspire mark as part of the Cultural Olympiad.
“Culture has an important part to play in education and we are delighted that the Minister has seen the results first-hand.”
