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Meeting of the Parliament 06 October 2011

06 Oct 2011 · S4 · Meeting of the Parliament

Item of business

Heritage (Digital Technology)

Griffin, Mark Lab Central Scotland Watch on SPTV

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 Scottish ten project to digitally record important heritage sites and open up access. The work will assist in the preservation of our important cultural heritage, because changes to sites over the years will be tracked in detail and it will be possible to take appropriate measures to prevent lasting damage or loss.

Education plays an important role in getting children interested in our heritage. By using the digital resources on websites such as Scran and PASTMAP to illustrate the past, we can get children excited about the history of Scotland. We have an opportunity to get schoolkids interested in their heritage by using technology in the classroom, rather than showing them pictures and text from dusty textbooks. Pupils should be able to explore important heritage sites interactively and learn in ways that excite and challenge them.

However, the use of digital material in schools should be not the end of the educational experience but the first phase of learning. The obvious follow-up to exploring a site electronically is a class visit to the site.

In central Scotland, the Antonine wall runs for 60km from Old Kilpatrick on the north bank of the Clyde to Bo’ness on the Firth of Forth. It was designated a UNESCO world heritage site in 2008. The wall cuts across the council ward that I represent, and I grew up in the shadow of Bar hill, where the remains of a Roman fort and bathhouse can easily be found. When I was at school, there was a strong focus on our cultural heritage, and the wall and the Romans often came up in projects, but it was only when we visited the sites that real interest was generated in the history and heritage behind the projects.

With that in mind, the Government should put in place a programme that runs alongside the storing of images, to ensure that the digital students become real-time students who appreciate the range of heritage and culture that Scotland has to offer.

The same can be said for digital tourists. Although it is important to acknowledge the work that Historic Scotland and National Records of Scotland do to digitise collections for future generations, thereby opening up access to their collections for a much wider audience, we must do more to encourage people to visit sites in person. In a recent briefing, the British Hospitality Association said that more than 23,000 people are directly employed in the hospitality sector in central Scotland, which contributes massively to the regional economy. Those employees depend on visitors to the region. More must be done to raise the profile of our world heritage sites through the digital archives.

Third sector organisations are involved. The Croy Historical Society has researched and collated material that relates to the Romans and the Antonine wall and regularly hosts exhibitions to do with local history and heritage. Such voluntary organisations should be applauded for, and supported in, their work to preserve and promote local history. If they could be linked into the project to digitise heritage sites, they might be able to expand and enhance the online experience and perhaps provide a local point of contact for people who want to visit the sites and explore them in more detail.

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Meeting of the Parliament 06 October 2011

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