News

12 Aug 2009
Inverness to stage international Scottish history conference
Over 30 leading historians from around the world will gather in Inverness from 22 to 24 October this year to discuss and debate Scotland's contribution to the wider world.

The Scotland's Global Impact conference forms the centrepiece of Highland Homecoming, the two week festival of arts, culture and celebration from 19 to 31 October.

Opened by First Minister Alex Salmond and chaired by the BBC's Lesley Riddoch, the conference features a number of controversial speakers, including Eric Richards, author of Patrick Sellar and the Highland Clearances.

He'll be joined by Two Men in a Trench's Dr Tony Pollard and writer and singer Dr Margaret Bennett.

Professor Jim Hunter, Director of the Centre for History at UHI, said: "Over the last 700 years millions of people have left Scotland's shores, first for Europe and later for further-flung destinations like the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. And wherever they have gone the Scots have shaped and sometimes shaken the nations that became their adopted homelands.

"This unprecedented event will reveal much about the people of Scotland, exploring why they left their country over many centuries and unravelling the huge impact this small nation has made on the rest of our planet. It will also investigate the effects of migration to Scotland, from the arrival of the Gaels more than 1500 years ago to the more recent Polish settlers."

Other well known speakers include award-winning Professor Ferenc Szasz, who will travel from the University of New Mexico to discuss the connected lives of Robert Burns and Abraham Lincoln; Dr Philomena de Lima; and Lt Col Ian MacPherson MacCulloch who comes from Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Scotland's Global Impact takes place at Eden Court Theatre from Thursday 22 to Saturday 24 October. Tickets can be booked for individual days or the whole event.

From the 19 to 31 October 2009 a packed programme of cultural events - including arts, music, visits to historic sites in the area, informal talks and seminars - will be on offer around the Highlands as part of Highland Homecoming.

For full Scotland's Global Impact programme details go to www.scotlandsglobalimpact.com
For more information about Highland Homecoming go to www.highlandeventsandfestivals.com

Ends

Did you know that:

+ Scotland's first patron saint, adopted long before St Andrew, was an immigrant from Ireland.
+ The man who helped Tsar Peter the Great create the Russian imperial army came from Aberdeenshire.
+ Many thousands of Scots settled in Poland long before any Scot set foot in America.

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