BÒRD NA GÀIDHLIG SUBMITS ACTION PLAN ON LEARNING AND USING GAELIC

Bòrd na Gàidhlig, the principal public body promoting and developing Gaelic, has submitted an Action Plan to Scottish Ministers detailing its proposals for an acceleration in the number of people learning and using Gaelic and also more effective use of existing resources and structures.
In the summer of 2009, during visits to a number of events and organisations throughout the Highlands and Islands, the then Minister for Gaelic, Michael Russell MSP, emphasised the need to take radical steps to motivate more people to learn Gaelic and to address, as a priority, the issue of creating a new generation of Gaelic speakers. At a meeting with Bòrd na Gàidhlig in Inverness on 20 August 2009, the Minister asked the Bòrd to draw up a new Action Plan for Gaelic which would focus on rapid and realistic initiatives ensuring the wise and more effective use of existing resources and structures.
The Action Plan “Ginealach Ur na Gàidhlig” is the outcome of discussions between the Bòrd and Gaelic organisations representing the community, and delivery agents already involved in key areas of Gaelic development.
Arthur Cormack, Cathraiche (Chair) of Bord na Gaidhlig, said: “The Minister asked us to identify £600k additional funding within existing budgets to channel towards additional acquisition projects, to examine current delivery mechanisms we have in place and find more effective ways of using current funding to increase speakers and to find ways of supporting councils to increase the numbers of Gaelic speakers through work in schools. This Action Plan has tight, simple and achievable aims. It is about taking practical and urgent steps to increase the number of Gaelic speakers in Scotland and it aspires to ambitious outcomes. It focuses on five key areas: Parental Support, Promotion, Adult Learning, Education (0-3) and Education (3-18), offering strategic actions within affordable financial parameters and clear timeframes. This Plan supports the National Plan for Gaelic 2007-12 and the requirements of the Gaelic Language (Scotland) Act 2005, reprioritising resources and actions to produce an incremental increase in language acquisition. It will act as a bridge between the current National Plan and the next one.
Securing the future of a language cannot be achieved overnight or in a short timescale. This Plan puts in place some strategies to accelerate the growth in the number of Gaelic speakers. Key to encouraging the learning of Gaelic is an understanding of what motivates people to learn and positive attitudes towards the language must be fostered. Whether it is a matter of national pride, a sense of history, a desire to better understand the place-names of Scotland, helping children do their homework, understanding the words of a learning a language as a pastime or to secure employment, our aim is to make the learning of Gaelic attractive and accessible. Bòrd na Gàidhlig wants Gaelic speakers to help with this task. Gaelic speakers who have spoken the language all their lives have a great deal to contribute to the richness and quality of the language as it develops and is spoken by all.”
There are five Priority Action Areas in the Plan with specific actions, outcomes, costs and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) detailed under each. Other Actions that may take longer to achieve are also suggested. Delivering this Action Plan will be Bòrd na Gàidhlig’s priority for the period January 2010 to June 2011.
The 5 Priority Action Areas are:
ACTION AREA 1: SUPPORT FOR PARENTS
ACTION AREA 2: PROMOTION OF GAELIC ACQUISITION
ACTION AREA 3: ADULT LEARNING
ACTION AREA 4: 0-5 YEARS EDUCATION
Details of the proposals contained in the Action Plan will be made available following discussion with Ministers and Bòrd na Gàidhlig hopes to be able to begin work on the outcomes of these discussions early in the New year.
Mr Cormack said: “I am hugely encouraged by the work done by staff at Bòrd na Gàidhlig and the Interim Support Management team in recent months. The submission of this Action Plan, on time and with ambitious targets, along with the fact that we have completed the tasks we set ourselves in employing new staff to ensure that the Bòrd itself is fit for purpose, is a major step forward. I am bitterly disappointed with criticism directed at individuals involved in this process by others who should know better. The Bòrd now has a range of possibilities to work on with a full complement of staff in place for the start of the new year and I believe that will make it a much more reasonable task to find a new CEO to lead the organisation at the start of the year as we had always planned.”