Search starts for Holyrood babies born on July 1, 1999
THE Scottish Parliament is searching for Holyrood babies to help celebrate 20 years of devolution.
Parliament bosses want to reconnect with the 163 babies born on July 1, 1999, the day of the official opening of the Scottish Parliament.
Ken Macintosh, Holyrood Presiding Officer, said he wants the babies who will be 20 this year to feature in and share the year-long events to mark the anniversary.
The young people, when they were 10, helped celebrate the 10th anniversary in 2009 and they are all to be welcomed back.
A special afternoon of celebration will take place on June 29 when the public will be invited to commemorative events.
There will also be a new public devolution exhibition, a national photography competition highlighting Holyrood’s history and a series of family days throughout the year.
Mr Macintosh said: “This 20th anniversary year is an ideal opportunity to reflect on how far we have come over the last two decades and to remind everyone of the
our newsdesk on 0141 302 6520 or send an email to news@evening times.co.uk positive impact the Scottish Parliament has had on peoples’ lives.
“In a time of exasperation with politics and politicians our programme has been designed to reinvigorate interest in Scottish politics and remind people that this is a Parliament for the whole of Scotland based on the values of openness and equality.
“The Parliament is also extremely keen to hear from the 163 young people in Scotland birthday.
“We would like them to play a part in our year long programme of commemoration.
“So, this is an appeal to those ‘1 July babies’ to come forward so we can celebrate together.”
The Parliament first sat on May 12 1999, six days after the first elections but the Official Opening was July 1 when the it assumed legal powers. that share our