Prìomh-Oifis: Fèisean nan Gàidheal | Taigh a’ Mhill | Port-Rìgh | An t-Eilean Sgitheanach | IV51 9BZ Head Office: Fèisean nan Gàidheal | Meall House | Portree | Isle of Skye | IV51 9BZ Fòn/Telephone 01478 613355 | Facs/Fax 01478 613399 | Post-d/E-mail brath@feisean.org Companaidh earranta àireamh SC130071 a tha na buidheann carthannais SC002040 | Company limited by guarantee number SC130071 and a registered charity SC002040

12 January 2010 Nations Radio Review BBC Trust 180 Great Portland Street London W1W 5QZ Dear Sir/s Nations Radio Review: BBC Radio nan Gàidheal Fèisean nan Gàidheal welcomes the BBC Trust’s support for Gaelic media and would like to put on record our gratitude for its recent decision in relation to the carriage of BBC Alba on Freeview. Fèisean nan Gàidheal’s aim is to make Gaelic Arts, Language and Culture more accessible and more widely appreciated through the support and development of around 45 community-based tuition Fèisean, primarily for young people, which take place throughout Scotland. It is an independent organisation supporting tuition in Gaelic song, Gaelic drama, Gaelic language, traditional music and dance to over 6,000 young people annually. Fèisean nan Gàidheal is provides traditional music tuition in schools through the Scottish Government’s Youth Music Initiative, and in 2009-10 over 5,000 pupils in primary schools within the Highland Council area benefitted from this. We operate Meanbh-Chuileag, the only Gaelic theatre-in-education service which, although it is part-time due to funding constraints, nevertheless manages to offer a drama experience to around 2,000 school pupils annually. Fèisean nan Gàidheal also runs the Blas Festival in partnership with the Highland Council and the Promoters’ Arts Network which attracts an audience of nearly 10,000 people to over 60 events across the Highlands. Cèilidh Trails, organised by 7 Fèisean, reach an audience of nearly 12,000 people during the summer months. BBC Radio nan Gàidheal is a service that all of Scotland should be proud of. It is a service being run on tight resources, yet it has produced programming that stands up extremely well against anything broadcast in English, or any other language. As a means of bringing more people to the Gaelic language and culture, BBC Radio nan Gàidheal is invaluable and we hope it will continue to thrive with the support of the BBC Trust. BBC Radio nan Gàidheal’s links with the BBC Alba television service clearly offers value for money, especially in the area of news where reporters work in both media to deliver audio for radio, and video for the television service. More and more television programmes are being made that can be versioned for radio, and that works well, particularly with music programmes. Therefore, value for money should not be an issue in relation to BBC Radio nan Gàidheal’s service. It is clear that it offers tremendous value. Music and factual programmes have always been done particularly well by BBC Radio nan Gàidheal. More recently, the introduction of more sport and entertainment programmes such as Siubhal gu Seachd, Feasgar and Rapal have added considerably to Radio nan Gàidheal’s appeal and have attracted new listeners. The extension of the service to include Sunday broadcasts is also very welcome.

Fèisean nan Gàidheal’s Gaelic drama initiative was delighted to work with BBC Radio nan Gàidheal’s Aileag programme. It is important for young people learning Gaelic that they have the opportunity to use their language skills as often as possible. The drama pieces broadcast on Aileag were written and performed by young people under the guidance of Fèisean nan Gàidheal drama staff, but it was the icing on the cake for them to have the opportunity to have their pieces recorded and broadcast on a programme that a great many of them listen to. It brought their work to a wider audience and offered BBC Radio nan Gàidheal an audience development opportunity, drawing in new listeners such as parents, grandparents and teachers who might not otherwise tune in to Aileag on a regular basis! This tied in with a national initiative to develop certain communities as areas where there are coordinated Gaelic language initiatives and the children involved in the drama work came from those communities. BBC Radio nan Gàidheal has consistently supported the Gaelic arts with music programmes of good quality, many of them featuring former Fèis participants. Fèisean nan Gàidheal was happy to work with BBC Radio nan Gàidheal on the broadcast of a showcase concert called Ceòl nam Fèis celebrating St Andrew’s Weekend in 2009. There was mutual benefit in this. For us, our work was brought to a wider audience and the young people involved enjoyed the experience of having their work broadcast. Such experiences have been found to build up confidence and self-esteem and, importantly, offer additional opportunities for the youngsters to use Gaelic. For the BBC, the hour-long programme featured Gaelic singing which fitted in with the excellent Bliadhna nan Òran initiative, and the concert offered some additional content for the New Year holiday schedule. We commissioned Gaelic singer/songwriter Eilidh Mackenzie to compose a suite of new Gaelic songs, based on 2010 good news stories for the 2010 Blas Festival. Saoghal Sona was subsequently re-recorded for a programme broadcast by BBC Radio nan Gàidheal on Christmas Eve, giving the Blas Festival some added profile, and giving BBC Radio nan Gàidheal new content in a cost-effective manner. Bliadhna nan Òran was an outstanding initiative and has left a marvellous legacy in the shape of a website packed full of songs, information about them, the writers and the singers. This will be a hugely valuable resource in the teaching of Gaelic song in the future, one of the things the Fèis movement has long been involved with. Gaelic song is one of the most important elements of Gaelic culture and broadcasting a different song each day over the year on BBC Radio nan Gàidheal has been a joy for anyone interested in Gaelic song. The integration, in the schedule of BBC Alba, of programmes based around Gaelic song complemented the many special programmes, and archive programmes, broadcast on BBC Radio nan Gàidheal throughout the year. BBC Radio nan Gàidheal is also supporting jobs for producers, directors, technicians, presenters, artists, writers and researchers and its economic impact should not be underestimated. In these difficult economic times having good jobs, many in rural areas, is welcome more than ever. Fèisean nan Gàidheal believes beyond doubt BBC Radio nan Gàidheal punches well above its weight, adds considerably to a range of other initiatives that are in place to support and promote the Gaelic language and strongly supports its continued development. Leis gach deagh dhùrachd

Arthur Cormack Chief Executive

Please print and sign this declaration if you are sending a hard copy of your response.

The BBC Trust usually publishes organisational responses in full when we reach our conclusions. If you would prefer that all or part of your response is treated as confidential, please complete the confidentiality section below.

What do you want the BBC Trust to keep confidential?

NothingÃX

Whole response

Part of it

[please indicate which part]

Name/Organisation Arthur Cormack for Fèisean nan Gàidheal

Address Meall House, Portree, Isle of Skye, IV51 9BZ

Other contact details (telephone/email) Phone 01478 613355; E-mail arthur@feisean.org

The BBC Trust will retain and use your name, address, email address and organisation you work for (if applicable) for the purposes of administering this public consultation. Your personal details will not be passed to any third parties for marketing purposes.

11 October 2010 4