The Declaration of Arbroath updates for the Tiktok generation
The Declaration of Arbroath, a 701-year-old document calling for Scotland's independence, is being refreshed for the social media generation.
Literary group Scottish PEN and Arbroath Festival are calling for 16 to 25-year-olds to submit updated versions of the letter "inspired by the principles of the historic document" for a project called New Declarations.
The outcome will be shared on Tiktok and on Instagram stories, as well as being performed at a spoken word performance at the Arbroath Festival and physically crafted to sit in a writing room at Arbroath Abbey.
The Declaration of Arbroath was written in 1320 by Scottish barons and earls asking the pope to recognise Scotland's independence and acknowledge Robert the Bruce as the country's lawful king.
It was created during Scotland's
long war of independence with England, which began with Edward I's attempts to conquer Scotland in 1296.
Originally written in Latin, the most famous words in the declaration are: "As long as but a hundred of us remain alive, never will we on any conditions be brought under English rule.
"It is in truth not for glory, nor riches,norhonours,thatweare fighting, but for freedom – for that alone, which no honest mangivesupbutwithlifeitself."
Rebecca Sharp, a writer and mentor on the New Declarations
initiative, said: "We studiedthedeclarationofarbroath and how it functioned at the time of 1320 - background factors that influenced how it was written and who sent it, who it wasforandhowitwasreceived.
"That led us into thinking about how to write a New Declaration,inthecontextofwhere we are now.
"The role of technology is always a factor, and clearly influences how we communicate now.
"Digital platforms and online spaces offer useful and exciting possibilities, while at the same time throwing up parallelconcernsaroundownership andcontrol,freedomofexpression, hate speech, censorship, self-censorship and identity."
Tuesdaymarksthe701stanniversary of the letter.
The Arbroath Festival runs fromjuly2toseptember12and isdescribedas"anapoliticalculturalcelebrationofthelegacyof the declaration".