Weekly workshops for Gaelic speakers coming to Glasgow

Gaelic speakers are invited to attend a series of weekly workshops to engage with urgent environmental issues. 

Environmental charity Keep Scotland Beautiful is hosting the events, which are taking place at An Lòchran in Glasgow. 

Seven events are planned, including events for adults and high school students. The series will end with a public screening of a video created by high school pupils. 

The workshops are being run by the charity’s Our Heritage, Our Future team and will be hosted by Keep Scotland Beautiful’s Gaelic Education and Learning Officer Jonathan Angell. 

Each workshop will have a different theme but they will all aim to empower Gaelic speakers to discuss and respond to environmental challenges in their own language, build confidence in using Gaelic in real-world, meaningful contexts, highlight the connection between traditional Gaelic culture and care for the environment and encourage youth creativity and climate leadership through digital storytelling. 

Jonathan Angell, Education and Learning Officer (Gaelic) at Keep Scotland Beautiful, said: “We’re really looking forward to these workshops and hope to see Gaelic speakers of all ages attend. 

“We’re dealing with climate, litter and nature emergencies in Scotland and it’s crucial that people who are concerned about these issues feel confident and comfortable discussing them in their preferred language. 

“Gaelic is a vital part of Scotland’s unique cultural heritage and protecting it helps to create a future where the language evolves and thrives.  

“We know that the number of Scottish Gaelic speakers continues to grow and we hope these workshops will provide an opportunity for people to celebrate Gaelic and build on the connection between the language and our environment.” 

Dàibhidh MacDheoradhain, Voluntary Board Trustee at An Lòchran, said: “At An Lòchran, we welcome this partnership with Keep Scotland Beautiful to create more Gaelic opportunities in Glasgow. By developing Gaelic environmental action projects we’re giving people the chance to use the language in meaningful and practical ways.” 

Seven sessions will take place at An Lòchran: 

• 21 August 7pm – 9pm – Workshop on climate and heritage  (for adult speakers) 

• 28 August 7pm – 9pm – Workshop on litter and waste (for adult speakers) 

• 4 September 7pm – 9pm – Workshop on nature and biodiversity (for adult speakers) 

• 11 September 7pm – 9pm – Workshop on Gaelic placenames (for adult speakers) 

• 26 and 29 September 9am – 5pm – Activity days for high school pupils to create a video exploring environmental issues 

• 3 October – Community screening event to celebrate young people’s voices and highlight the power of Gaelic in environmental storytelling 

Visit https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/buthan-obrach-gaidhlig-air-dualchas-agus-arainneachd-ann-an-glaschu-tickets-1500470059339?aff=oddtdtcreator for more information and to register for an event. 

Interested high school students can register for the events on 26 and 29 September here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/proiseact-bhidio-airson-oigiridh-youth-video-project-in-gaelic-tickets-1543991111979?aff=oddtdtcreator 

Our Heritage, Our Future, and these workshops, are made possible with Historic Environment Scotland and The National Lottery Heritage Fund, with thanks to National Lottery players.