TMSA's Scottish Traditional Arts Declaration

We, the undersigned, maintain that:-

- Scotland has one of the richest living traditions in Europe;

- the traditional arts of making music, singing, dancing, poetry and storytelling are an intrinsic and vital part of Scottish culture;

- all of Scotland’s indigenous languages and traditions are of equal importance and value;

- Scotland’s traditional arts and languages make an irreplaceable and distinctive contribution to world culture;

- the foundation of all traditional arts is the grassroots inclusive participation of the people of Scotland;

- the traditional arts give a unique perspective on Scotland’s political and social history;

- the traditional arts bind together communities in Scotland and the Scots Diaspora;

- Scotland’s traditional culture can and should be reinterpreted by each generation but that this must not result in discarding the past.

- Scotland’s cultural traditions can and should play a part in the economic and social regeneration of Scotland.

We therefore call on the Scottish Government and Parliament and all bodies sponsored and/or funded by them to ensure that:-

- all the indigenous languages and traditions of Scotland are treated equally;

- funding for traditional arts is enshrined in all government arts policies;

- traditional arts are embedded in Scottish education at all levels;

- opportunities for taking part in traditional arts are actively encouraged;

- provision of spaces for traditional arts is supported;

- initiatives to make our traditional forms of expression accessible to all are supported;

- in the drive to make commercial use of the traditional arts, the traditions themselves are not distorted or lost;

- all of the traditions - not only the more commercial aspects - are valued and maintained;

- recognition is given to the irreplaceable contribution that volunteers supporting traditional arts in Scotland make to the economy.