3rd May 06

Last night was the start of something big…making the most of Scotland and realising our hopes for the future. Let’s not settle for being just the “best small country” – there’s nothing, and there never has been anything, small about Scotland and our ambitions.

New ideas are Scotland’s currency and contributions last night came from people across business, sport, the voluntary sector, finance, law, architecture and retail. Backing came from three major Scottish sporting stars, Gavin Hastings, Gregor Townsend and James McCallum, Scotland’s medal winning Commonwealth Games champion.

Discussion ranged over redefining Scottish values, finding positive new approaches and identifying ways of creating change in our domestic, organisational and business life. We’re a humorous people, but why is it, for example, that this sense of fun is so often missing in our business life? It doesn’t have to be this way.

We need that humour and we need the ideas of all if we’re to regenerate Scotland, making it a more positive country. Talking Up for a Change is going to be part of this and is already being asked to work with traditionally marginalised communities where people’s view have not been sought or sought in the right way. Invitations are also coming in from schools where we can work to help shape a more dynamic and positive view of the future with young people.

Scotland has much going for it – we really can create the vision of a fit, healthy and creative “superpower” that our guests envisaged last night. Let’s start with ourselves.

Let’s get new words for old. Here’s a brief list of just some of the words and phrases we could ditch in favour of something much friendlier and much more positive…

Not bad / nae bad / not too bad /could be worse:
good, braw, barry (Edinburgh), magic (Glasgow)

Cannae or can’t:
I’ll do my best, I’ll gie it a shot, nae bother

I’ll try:
consider it done, leave it to me, I’ll sort it

It’s not my department:
I’ll deal with it, leave it with me

It’s not my problem:
I’ll sort it

Why did you come tae Scotland?:
Welcome to Scotland, thanks for coming, it’s great to see you here

You cannae dae that here:
you’d be better off at… , let me show you how to get there

Nae chance:
sure, that’s fine, my pleasure

The right word really can change everything. Email your new improved versions of phrases to Mike (mike@designlinks.co.uk), or click on ‘Comments’ (below) to add your thoughts, words and phrases to the thesaurus.

Scotland’s made many major contributions to the world and to human happiness.  Here’s a quick snapshot – or you can make your own.

The School Act of 1696.  It might seem distant and arcane, but Scotland’s Parliament really did make history when it passed a law to establish a free public school in each parish.  It not only led to the most literate nation in Europe, but it embodied the idea of education as a way of life for all people – much more than just a means to professional or social advancement.   Now, that’s real ‘lifelong learning’! Could we not learn from this even today?

Encyclopaedia Britannica – first published in Edinburgh in 1768 and intended as a complete summary of all scientific and human knowledge. 

The Scottish Enlightenment – the flowering and bringing together of arts and sciences into the common purpose – the advance of humankind

A compelling vision of a “free society” in the shape of Francis Hutcheson’s moral philosophy, which rings down through the centuries – “action is best, which produces the greatest happiness for the greatest number.”

The draft of the American Declaration of Independence, written by Charles Thomson, an Ulster Scot.

The creation of the American Supreme Court as “the jury of the country” and one of the US’s most democratic of institutions – largely the work of one man, James Wilson, originally from Carskerdy.

The lad o’ pairts, exemplified by James Watt, the self-taught man who single-handedly powered the Industrial Revolution.

And the best is still to come…

Going for Gold

From shooting to swimming, Team Scotland put in a formidable performance at the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne earlier this year. We won 29 medals in total, 11 of them gold. The feel-good feeling will last a long time…and we haven’t even mentioned the national rugby team. How much changes when you really believe in yourself!

Confident Futures

Education is much more than just academic learning, based on knowledge of a subject. It should be about learning about yourself and about others too, acquiring knowledge of other people’s experience, developing a vision of personal goals and the self-confidence needed to reach for those goals. That’s why Napier University has entered into a partnership called ‘Confident Futures’ with the Centre for Confidence and Well-Being, an organisation founded to promote and improve confidence building across Scotland, working in partnership with individuals and organisations,

A great time for all…

Pride and Passion (http://www.prideandpassion.net) is all about making Scotland the best it can be for visitors. Its aim is to make Scotland, already a great place to visit, a fantastic one by adding the human touch to all our dealings with visitors. It’s about making time for people and really trying to help them have a great time so they recommend Scotland to others and come back again and again.

Being confident and well

Boosting confidence so we can be all we could be is at the heart of the Centre for Confidence and Well-Being http://www.centreforconfidence.co.uk. It provides information on how to develop and put ideas into practice, bringing people together and helping them develop the tools to change their approach.