A #Scotword in your ear
Every year, on 30 December, some 20,000 revellers join a torchlight procession with pipers and drummers to mark the beginning of Edinburgh’s Hogmanay celebrations. This year, new organisers Underbelly are planning a few changes: the procession will travel down the Royal Mile to a finale in Holyrood Park, a site which, unlike the previous venue of Calton Hill, is big enough to accommodate all those taking part. The procession will also have rather a special ending.
Flaming torches will spell out #Scotword, a word chosen by the people of Scotland which encapsulates what makes them proud to live here. The word, which is a closely guarded secret until the night of procession, has been chosen from a shortlist created by hundreds of young people which was then voted on by the general public. The plan is to create an iconic photo opportunity to kickstart 2018, which has been designated the Year of Young People.
Underbelly director Charlie Wood says: “The reason that Hogmanay is supported by local and national government is that it sells Edinburgh and Scotland internationally. Edinburgh is in people’s minds at this time of year and we wanted to create a burning image to capture how important young people are to Scotland.”
A team of 26 #Scotword Young Champions organised more than 100 workshops with young people aged between eight and 26 from Orkney to Galloway, working with youth groups, charities, schools and universities. More than 200 possible words had been suggested before the closing date on St Andrew’s Day.
The Young Champions then narrowed this down to a shortlist of seven: culture, braw, welcome, hame, alive, diverse and bonnie, and the public were invited to vote for their favourite word via the Edinburgh’s Hogmanay website.
Katie Tweedie, 24, #Scotword Young Champion for Midlothian, says a broad range of words were suggested. “There were some words which didn’t make the shortlist: “yaldy”, which I liked, “squirrels”, which was a bit random, and words like “Ma” and “cauld”. I was confused by “sunburn”, but apparently Scotland has one of the highest rates of skin cancer in the world.”
She says that there was a lot more to the engagement process than generating possible #Scotwords. “The campaign was co-designed and led by young people and the workshops were about bringing together young people in a safe space, giving them a chance to think about Scotland, what makes them happy, what can be changed, what are the challenges.
“People talked about what was important to them, things like family, education, employment. They felt there should be more opportunities for young people, more scholarships, internships. We asked: if you were in control of Scotland and allowed to pass one law, what would it be and why? Some of the older groups talked about poverty and politics, but one of the younger groups said you should say ‘hi’ to your neighbour at least once a day.
“#Scotword is about providing young people with a platform for their voices to be heard. The word is going to lead the way in the Torchlight Procession as a starting point of the Year of Young People. I hope it will make everyone really excited about what will be a fantastic year of celebrating young people’s achievements.”
Wood says he was impressed by the debates and discussions that went into arriving at the shortlist: “It shows how bright and engaged the young people were that there were lots of questions,” he says. “What’s the difference between ‘open’ and ‘welcome’? Can we use ‘progress’? Is that too political?
“What comes through is how proud people are of their country and that they want to sell it, knowing that this is a burning image that will be photographed and will go around the world.” The #Scotword will be unveiled as
part of the Torchlight Procession on 30 December
‘This is an image that will be photographed and go round the world’