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Highlands and Islands Drive to Trace Our Roots Launched

24th August 2009

‘Highlander’ Genealogy Challenge gets underway

Today (Monday 24 August 2009) marks the start of ‘Highlander”, a genealogy challenge to encourage people all over the Highlands and Islands to trace their roots as part of Highland Homecoming celebrations.

People wanting to take part in the competition can do so free of charge by collecting their forms at any of the participating Learning Centres. Then they just complete the family history form and submit it with a short narrative explaining which ancestor shines out and why.

‘Highlander’ is part of the Highland Family Tree (A’ Chraobh) project, which offers support for communities and individuals to get involved in this October’s Highland Homecoming Festival. UHI Learning Centre Manager Margaret Boyd met with Ron Mercer, Learning Centre Operations Group Co-ordinator and the panel of judges at the new Highland Archive and Registration Centre to launch the challenge.

Margaret said: “We want to encourage as many people as possible to get involved in his challenge. It’s open to anybody living in the Highlands and Islands, is fun, free of charge and could reveal fascinating insights into the history of many families. And there are great prizes for the winners. First prize is a trip to Edinburgh to visit the Scotland’s People Centre and the Scottish Parliament.”

All entrants will be offered a special guided tour round the new Archive and Registration Centre with the Family History Team. The Centre opens to the public on 26thOctober and will have a dedicated family history centre.

Professor James Hunter, CBE, Director of UHI’s Centre for History, said “There’s a fascination with family – who we are, where we come from – that seems to grow stronger with each passing year. A combination of a hugely successful TV and radio series with widespread family-tree websites and software has made genealogy one of the most popular leisure phenomena of the decade. I am delighted that the UHI Learning Centre Unit has been invited to take the lead in this Highland-wide Genealogy Challenge.

Susan Beckley, Highland Council Archivist added: “It is appropriate that the Highlander Challenge is launched at the new Highland Archive and Registration Centre as the building contains a dedicated family history centre for family historians and genealogists from all parts of Scotland and worldwide.”
To find out more about this exciting project contact the Highlander team on 01397 874402 or visit http://www.achraobh.com

NOTES TO EDITORS
Images available
Principal Partners: Homecoming Scotland, The Highland Council Scottish Government, Highlands and Islands Enterprise, Bòrd na Gàidhlig
Major Partners: Scottish Arts Council, LEADER, EventScotland
In Kind Partner: Ashers’ Bakeries
Event Partners: UHI, University of Aberdeen, University of Edinburgh, Centre for Battlefield Archaeology, University of Glasgow
Homecoming Scotland 2009
1. Homecoming Scotland 2009 aims to engage Scots at home as well as motivate people of Scottish descent and those who simply love Scotland, to take part in an inspirational celebration of our culture, heritage and some of the many great contributions Scotland has given to the world.
2. 2009 marks the 250th anniversary of the birth of Scotland’s national poet, Robert Burns, with the programme’s design guided by Scotland’s unique position as the home of Burns himself, Golf, Whisky, Great Minds and Innovations, and Scotland’s culture and heritage which lives on at home and through Scotland’s global family.
3. The budget for Homecoming is £5.5million and the target is for an 8 to 1 return on investment i.e. £44 million revenue additionality.
4. Homecoming Scotland is funded by the Scottish Government and is managed by EventScotland the national events agency in partnership with VisitScotland, the country’s national tourism agency. Homecoming is part financed by the European Union through the European Regional Development Fund.
5. For more information on Homecoming Scotland please visit: http://www.homecomingscotland2009.com

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