Scottish Rural & Islands Parliament 2023

Fort William

Thank you to the 500 participants, 60+ curator organisations, 20 venues, 11 local caterers, and 2 folk bands that made the Scottish Rural & Islands Parliament 2023 a resounding success! This year’s gathering, held across 20 thematics under the overarching theme of “village halls & community spaces” truly exemplified the spirit of community engagement and collaboration.

Great to see first hand the impact of community empowerment and the reality of seeing that it is people in and from the communities who are best fit to make a change for the future.

Just a big thank you to all who organised this tremendous event and a big well done to all those who participated and collaborated throughout. It was also fantastic to see ministers in attendance and engaging meaningfully, taking away the key messages from the delegates.

The openness to conversation and connection throughout the days, and the many opportunities for structured discussion. The experience was quite unlike anything I have participated in or attended before – and in a most refreshing way!

I really enjoyed the 3 days – much more than I thought I would. Thank you to the organisers.

Huge congratulations to all involved in running the event, I think everyone felt it was a huge success and a great opportunity to share thoughts with others on the challenges faced by our communities.

It was a great experience, being part of the SRIP. I enjoyed the debate, the conversations, and other people’s stories. And the final speech from the chair reminding us all how very lucky we are to live and work in the Highlands was excellent. We are lucky.

Thank you for all the hard work that went into a thought provoking and informative event. Was so good to have the chance to meet and share experiences in person.

It was a lovely event, and it was very clear that both organisers and attendees are very passionate about their communities and rural matters in general.

Our highlights

Community Connections

The assembly served as a dynamic platform, connecting communities across sectors and linking them with decision-makers. The exchange of ideas and experiences fostered a sense of unity and collaboration.

Thematic Diversity

With discussions spanning 20 diverse themes including poverty, food systems, digital connectivity, skills & enterprise, water & wastewater, climate, population renewal, culture, transport, democracy, and more, the event delved into the multifaceted challenges facing rural and island communities.

Information Gathering

The event successfully gathered crucial information on the commendable efforts communities undertake with minimal support, the policy, regulatory, and fiscal changes needed for progress, and the structural transformations required for sustained development.

Movement Building

The Scottish Rural & Islands Parliament 2023 fostered a sense of collective responsibility, empowerment, solidarity, and optimism. Participants left with a renewed commitment to effect positive change in their communities.

Our Curators

We partnered with some incredible curators to deliver the programme.

Our sponsors

We are very grateful to our event sponsors!