Meeting of the Parliament 11 November 2015
I am delighted to have the opportunity to speak about the unique and very special relationship that exists between Scotland and Malawi. As the motion in the name of the minister, Humza Yousaf, rightly recognises, we are here to discuss the 10th anniversary of the historic co-operation agreement between our two nations.
As the minister, Claire Baker and Jamie McGrigor did, I pay tribute to former First Minister Jack McConnell, who was so instrumental and forward looking in his role in the creation of the historic agreement. I do not recall being so kind to Jack McConnell from the SNP benches when he was First Minister. Perhaps we should have been kinder to him then.
Tributes should also go to the minister. Like the best of leaders, he likes to hand out praise to others, but there is no doubt that he has helped to strengthen and deepen the relationship.
As the minister said, the relationship stretches back more than 156 years to the time of David Livingstone. However, it is only when we are reminded of the relationship in contemporary times, as we are by the briefing from the Scotland Malawi Partnership, that the sheer depth of it becomes clear.
In terms of civic links, we were reminded that the relationship benefits 300,000 Scots and 2 million Malawians annually, with 683 organisations having active links with Malawi. Today, more than 94,000 Scots and 198,000 Malawians are engaged in active civic links. Those numbers alone tell us that the relationship is well worth cherishing and nurturing.
The work that is done in Malawi by a large number of organisations, from Government right through to primary schools, covers a significant number of important and valuable programmes. However, it is in the field of education that I believe the most valuable and sustaining work is being undertaken. More than 150 Scottish schools have active links with schools in Malawi. In my constituency, a number of schools are using those links to foster what the Scotland Malawi Project calls “people-to-people and community-to-community links.”
For example, in the summer, Bannockburn high school sent a group of students and teachers to Malawi for the first time, and they helped to build and refurbish classrooms. I am glad to have played a small role in helping to make their trip to Malawi possible by introducing them to the McConnell International Foundation and encouraging them to apply for funding to support their work. I am also proud of the work that they accomplished, along with the many other schools that have been connected with Malawi. I can only imagine how much they learned about their own lives and the lives of others, especially through the relationships that they formed. The benefits of school partnerships cannot be overstated, as they allow communities in Scotland and Malawi to feel connected to a greater global society. We are teaching our young people to celebrate and learn about other cultures while finding common ground.
The Scottish Government has done some valuable and important work to improve the quality and availability of education in Malawi. One noteworthy programme is the inclusive education project, which is working to improve access to education in the most rural areas. Through that project, communities are working together to support the students in Malawi who are at the highest risk of dropping out. Scottish Government funding has also helped to establish mother groups and female teacher networks, which have trained almost 1,000 female teachers to handle issues that particularly affect girls’ access to education. The importance of education cannot be overestimated. When we invest in education, it is an investment in the future because it paves the way for economic and social development.
There is still much work to be done to strengthen Malawi and our partnership with the Malawians. I very much look forward to seeing what will happen in the next 10 years as, I hope, we strengthen and deepen that relationship further. It is a unique and special one, as I said. I look forward to what the minister, in summing up, has to say about the next 10 years.
15:58