Abstract
In 1999, the Scottish Executive embarked upon a public consultation which engaged 1000 people and organisations around questions that included definitions of culture, the purpose and priorities of the proposed first Scottish national cultural strategy and the structures required to support its implementation. The consultation process revealed a strong and widely expressed desire for the Scottish Executive to lead and create a national cultural strategy, which would state clearly what culture meant to Scotland, the role it played throughout Scotland and on an international stage. There was a clear demand for structural change, an aspiration for change in education and a desire to be involved in celebrating and sharing Scotland's rich and diverse culture in all its aspects, to recognise Scotland's past and present culture as well as plan the future. Over the next decade, post-devolution, successive ministers and administrations embarked on a turbulent journey of policy setting, strategy development and structural change. They took action in some of the key areas identified in 1999, including those concerning Scotland's international image, the creative industries and Scotland's languages and education. The most recent statements on cultural policy are contained in the White Paper on Independence published in November 2013. This paper reviews the issues prevalent during the 1999 consultation and reflects on those that have been addressed, superseded and those that remain unresolved.
Published Version
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