Chamber
Meeting of the Parliament 06 October 2011
06 Oct 2011 · S4 · Meeting of the Parliament
Item of business
Heritage (Digital Technology)
I am delighted to speak in the debate. My experience is similar to Willie Coffey’s, in that I had a 20-year career in the IT industry prior to entering politics in 2003. I confess to being a bit of a geek and, yes, I do dream of electric sheep. I cannot express how excited I am at the prospect of laser technology and computer imaging. When I embarked on my career in computing, my vision was for technological revolution, animatronics, the realisation of the Star Trek holodeck and a sci-fi vision of a future fuelled by the imagination of HG Wells and Philip K Dick.
I take this opportunity to express my great sadness at the news that Steve Jobs has passed away. He was a true pioneer of the computing age and brought so many innovations under his Apple brand and advanced digital animation through his work with Pixar.
In the 1980s, history and archaeology were for me the very antithesis of what the computing revolution would be about. I therefore find it very exciting that in the early years of our new century our history, archaeology and heritage have become intertwined with our computing innovation and excellence. Heritage sites throughout the world are in constant danger from the effects of the natural environment, from seemingly benign sources such as the sun, wind and rain to dramatic earthquakes and fire—as we saw in Windsor castle a few years ago—and, regrettably, from human aggression. Who can forget the dismay that was felt around the world when the sixth century Bamiyan Buddhas in Afghanistan were destroyed in a matter of weeks by the Taliban?
It was that incident that prompted the developer of the laser technology used in the Scottish ten, Iraqi-born Ben Kacyra, to establish the CyArk not-for-profit, non-commercial project, which is dedicated to the application of new technology in the documentation of archaeological and cultural heritage resources—particularly threatened architecture—throughout the world. CyArk and the centre for digital documentation and visualisation, which was formed in partnership with the Scottish Government, Historic Scotland and Glasgow School of Art, have worked collaboratively with Scottish Heritage’s Scottish ten project to contribute to the groundbreaking work that has been carried out in capturing and documenting archaeological and cultural heritage throughout the world.
I am delighted that at the inception of the project in 2009 the decision was taken not just to document Scotland’s five UNESCO world heritage sites, but to capture five sites throughout the world. The good will towards, interest in and recognition of Scotland’s expertise in this area generated by the Scottish ten project cannot be overestimated. A New York Times article in 2009 described the technology not as new or unique but as Scotland’s team being on the cultural front line.
When thinking about my speech today, I mused about whether to share, as a Lanarkshire lass, my memories of my experiences of visiting New Lanark. It is the individual interaction and relationship with our heritage that is so vital and important. As a primary 5 pupil, I was lucky enough to visit New Lanark as part of a project to examine the work of David Dale and Robert Owen. New Lanark was very different in those days: there was no visitor centre, and many of the now occupied mills were derelict. However, I was welcomed, along with my classmates, into the home of an elderly resident who had worked in the mills and had lived in the same house her entire life. That personal interaction had a profound effect on me and brought to life the project that I had been working on. It was a unique experience that was of its time and a snapshot that is now gone but for my memory and that of my classmates.
However, digital heritage is of this time, and the work that is being done will ensure that people of all ages throughout the world can share, enjoy and learn from our heritage in digital media form over and over again.
Yesterday evening, I hosted a drop-in event for the National Records of Scotland, featuring the Scottish ten, the genealogy support website ScotlandsPeople and the geographical website ScotlandsPlaces. It was amazing to see not only the work that has already been undertaken in the Scottish ten project—I was particularly interested in the New Lanark stage of the project, which is most familiar to me—but the technology in action as a digital scan of the room was prepared, which we were able to browse on screen. Seeing ourselves in that format presented challenges for some of us who were scanned.
I said at the start of my speech that I am a creature of science fiction and fascinated by the future. However, last night, I was moved by, and interested in, the ScotlandsPeople website, where I was able to trace through birth certificates my maternal great-grandparents and see the record of their marriage in the parish registers. I was also able to see that three generations of my family lived together at the time of one of the censuses from the 1800s. It quickly became apparent to me why genealogy is such a popular hobby or pursuit. Scotland’s economy can certainly benefit from it.
Homecoming Scotland 2009 was one of the largest collaborative tourism initiatives that Scotland has ever staged. The year delivered additional tourist visits from the Scottish diaspora and our indigenous population. It is estimated that £53.7 million of additional tourism revenue was generated for Scotland. As we prepare for a second homecoming in 2014, there is no doubt that Scotland is well placed to meet the expectations of our visitors and to inspire them with its digital heritage.
16:07
I take this opportunity to express my great sadness at the news that Steve Jobs has passed away. He was a true pioneer of the computing age and brought so many innovations under his Apple brand and advanced digital animation through his work with Pixar.
In the 1980s, history and archaeology were for me the very antithesis of what the computing revolution would be about. I therefore find it very exciting that in the early years of our new century our history, archaeology and heritage have become intertwined with our computing innovation and excellence. Heritage sites throughout the world are in constant danger from the effects of the natural environment, from seemingly benign sources such as the sun, wind and rain to dramatic earthquakes and fire—as we saw in Windsor castle a few years ago—and, regrettably, from human aggression. Who can forget the dismay that was felt around the world when the sixth century Bamiyan Buddhas in Afghanistan were destroyed in a matter of weeks by the Taliban?
It was that incident that prompted the developer of the laser technology used in the Scottish ten, Iraqi-born Ben Kacyra, to establish the CyArk not-for-profit, non-commercial project, which is dedicated to the application of new technology in the documentation of archaeological and cultural heritage resources—particularly threatened architecture—throughout the world. CyArk and the centre for digital documentation and visualisation, which was formed in partnership with the Scottish Government, Historic Scotland and Glasgow School of Art, have worked collaboratively with Scottish Heritage’s Scottish ten project to contribute to the groundbreaking work that has been carried out in capturing and documenting archaeological and cultural heritage throughout the world.
I am delighted that at the inception of the project in 2009 the decision was taken not just to document Scotland’s five UNESCO world heritage sites, but to capture five sites throughout the world. The good will towards, interest in and recognition of Scotland’s expertise in this area generated by the Scottish ten project cannot be overestimated. A New York Times article in 2009 described the technology not as new or unique but as Scotland’s team being on the cultural front line.
When thinking about my speech today, I mused about whether to share, as a Lanarkshire lass, my memories of my experiences of visiting New Lanark. It is the individual interaction and relationship with our heritage that is so vital and important. As a primary 5 pupil, I was lucky enough to visit New Lanark as part of a project to examine the work of David Dale and Robert Owen. New Lanark was very different in those days: there was no visitor centre, and many of the now occupied mills were derelict. However, I was welcomed, along with my classmates, into the home of an elderly resident who had worked in the mills and had lived in the same house her entire life. That personal interaction had a profound effect on me and brought to life the project that I had been working on. It was a unique experience that was of its time and a snapshot that is now gone but for my memory and that of my classmates.
However, digital heritage is of this time, and the work that is being done will ensure that people of all ages throughout the world can share, enjoy and learn from our heritage in digital media form over and over again.
Yesterday evening, I hosted a drop-in event for the National Records of Scotland, featuring the Scottish ten, the genealogy support website ScotlandsPeople and the geographical website ScotlandsPlaces. It was amazing to see not only the work that has already been undertaken in the Scottish ten project—I was particularly interested in the New Lanark stage of the project, which is most familiar to me—but the technology in action as a digital scan of the room was prepared, which we were able to browse on screen. Seeing ourselves in that format presented challenges for some of us who were scanned.
I said at the start of my speech that I am a creature of science fiction and fascinated by the future. However, last night, I was moved by, and interested in, the ScotlandsPeople website, where I was able to trace through birth certificates my maternal great-grandparents and see the record of their marriage in the parish registers. I was also able to see that three generations of my family lived together at the time of one of the censuses from the 1800s. It quickly became apparent to me why genealogy is such a popular hobby or pursuit. Scotland’s economy can certainly benefit from it.
Homecoming Scotland 2009 was one of the largest collaborative tourism initiatives that Scotland has ever staged. The year delivered additional tourist visits from the Scottish diaspora and our indigenous population. It is estimated that £53.7 million of additional tourism revenue was generated for Scotland. As we prepare for a second homecoming in 2014, there is no doubt that Scotland is well placed to meet the expectations of our visitors and to inspire them with its digital heritage.
16:07
In the same item of business
The Presiding Officer (Tricia Marwick)
NPA
The next item of business is a debate on motion S4M-01023, in the name of Fiona Hyslop, on the digital future of Scotland’s heritage.15:25
The Cabinet Secretary for Culture and External Affairs (Fiona Hyslop)
SNP
Scotland’s heritage is one of our greatest assets and it attracts many visitors from overseas. Scotland offers not only tremendous natural beauty but an incr...
Jamie McGrigor (Highlands and Islands) (Con)
Con
Does the cabinet secretary appreciate that, in my region of the Highlands and Islands, a great many people cannot access broadband properly? What can be done...
Fiona Hyslop
SNP
One thing that can be done is to ensure that the United Kingdom Government invests. When I met Jeremy Hunt only a few weeks ago, we discussed the very point ...
Ruth Davidson (Glasgow) (Con)
Con
The detailed spending plans show that the budget for Historic Scotland, which is doing a lot of the digital work to put archives on the internet, is being cu...
Fiona Hyslop
SNP
No, it will not. The Labour Party’s amendment raises concerns about the spend in the area. I reassure members that Historic Scotland’s front-line services wi...
Jenny Marra (North East Scotland) (Lab)
Lab
Does the cabinet secretary recognise the exciting work that the University of Dundee has done on its family history project in its digital archives and the d...
Fiona Hyslop
SNP
I am more than happy to recognise the University of Dundee and, indeed, all the partners. Scotland really is world leading. We think nothing of debating the ...
Hanzala Malik (Glasgow) (Lab)
Lab
Will the cabinet secretary give way?
Fiona Hyslop
SNP
I am afraid that I will need to make progress.From next year, digital access to 3 million images of the kirk session records will be made more widely availab...
Patricia Ferguson (Glasgow Maryhill and Springburn)
Lab
From the early years of photography on Calton hill in the 1840s and the establishment of the camera obscura in Edinburgh during the 1850s, we have been fasci...
Fiona Hyslop
SNP
As the member will appreciate, given her colleague’s remarks about the University of Dundee, had we named every organisation, the motion would perhaps have r...
Patricia Ferguson
Lab
I thank the cabinet secretary for that explanation. I hope that it means that the Government will be able to support our amendment.If we really want to celeb...
Ruth Davidson (Glasgow) (Con)
Con
Scotland’s heritage does not speak just of our past; it speaks of who we are. From crannog to castle to computer, there is much in the cultural, antiquity, v...
Fiona Hyslop
SNP
I am equally enthusiastic about the site. Unfortunately, when I have had meetings with the UK Government, the Conservative minister John Penrose has indicate...
Ruth Davidson
Con
As I have said for several minutes, I think that the site is a fantastic resource. I support ICH’s work and I support any investment and help that can be giv...
Willie Coffey (Kilmarnock and Irvine Valley) (SNP)
SNP
I am delighted to contribute to this debate on the digital future of Scotland’s heritage. From my perspective, as a computer science graduate from the Univer...
Clare Adamson (Central Scotland) (SNP)
SNP
I am delighted to speak in the debate. My experience is similar to Willie Coffey’s, in that I had a 20-year career in the IT industry prior to entering polit...
David Stewart (Highlands and Islands) (Lab)
Lab
A cynical observer, reading that we were to discuss the digital future of Scotland’s heritage, could easily dismiss our proceedings as dry, irrelevant or out...
Ruth Davidson
Con
Does David Stewart acknowledge that some of us like dusty libraries and museums, that using a computer could direct more people to go and see things in the f...
David Stewart
Lab
I am happy to share memories of dusty museums with the member.The scanning technology can also be used for mobile applications and remote access to inaccessi...
Jean Urquhart (Highlands and Islands) (SNP)
SNP
Like many others in the chamber, I welcome the debate. There has been a learning curve for a number of members. There has certainly been support for, as well...
Jean Urquhart
SNP
I am nearly there.This is where our ambitions for the digital future of Scotland’s heritage may take some time to be realised. Although we have made the inve...
The Deputy Presiding Officer (Elaine Smith)
Lab
I am afraid that you are going to have to finish now, please.
Jean Urquhart
SNP
I will finish on an optimistic note. I applaud the work of all the agencies whose work is concerned with our living history. That work is sustaining our natu...
George Adam (Paisley) (SNP)
SNP
We have all mentioned various projects in our areas. If the cabinet secretary had to put them all in a motion, she would probably need a digital archive of h...
Mark Griffin (Central Scotland) (Lab)
Lab
It is good to have the opportunity to speak in the debate and to acknowledge the work that Historic Scotland is doing in partnership with others through the...
Fiona Hyslop
SNP
Mark Griffin might be aware that there was a conference recently on the frontiers of the Roman empire, which was attended by visitors from Germany and elsewh...
Mark Griffin
Lab
I am sure that those people will have been members of the Croy Historical Society. They display massive passion for their local history and heritage and for ...
Bill Walker (Dunfermline) (SNP)
SNP
Does Mark Griffin agree that the problems with broadband exist not only in the Highlands and that there are broadband problems in the central belt, due to th...