Hansard

I thank John Lamont for his efforts in bringing the debate to Parliament. It gives me great pleasure to acknowledge the tremendous work of our Rotary clubs and to welcome many of their members to the public gallery. As we have heard, they are part of an outstanding worldwide organisation that works at local, national and international levels to run successful campaigns that save lives around the globe.

Rotarians have been using their skills and links to clubs around the world to work to alleviate some of the causes of poverty in countries in which millions of people die of starvation and from diseases that could be prevented by clean water, proper sanitation or medicines. Members have built links with national and international charities, non-governmental organisations and community groups to promote projects to eradicate hunger and malnutrition, to reduce child mortality and to help with disease prevention and education for all. When natural disasters strike anywhere in the world, Rotarians are often some of the first people to take action by organising collections that raise large sums of money for the various charities that are best equipped to provide relief to those who are in need.

As Mr Gray pointed out, we should remember that Rotary makes its mark not only overseas but here in our communities. Today, we have heard some great local examples of the contribution that Rotary has made to the lives of people across Scotland. Everything that is achieved by Rotary International and the Rotary Foundation depends entirely on the work of local clubs such as the Rotary clubs of Duns, Dunbar and Galashiels.

The cause of charitable endeavour—of, as the Rotary motto puts it, “Service above Self”—has a noticeable impact on people and communities across Scotland and beyond. The Government is clear that volunteering matters. It has huge economic significance, as it contributes more than £2 billion to Scotland’s economy every year, but perhaps more important is the fact that, without volunteers, many of our communities would simply cease to function. People all across Scotland make vital contributions every day to their families, communities and society as a whole—usually without fanfare or any reward—because they believe in the same things as we all believe in: equality for all, a fair society and a chance for everyone to participate and make a difference.

Volunteering is good for the volunteer, too, in building skills, enhancing employability and supporting mental wellbeing. At its best, volunteering in Scotland makes a crucial contribution to building social capital, fostering trust, binding people together and making our communities better places to live and work in.

On Mr Lamont’s question about potential sources of assistance for Rotarian projects, I would say that the most relevant sources of funding to any voluntary organisation include the community capacity and resilience fund, the empowering communities fund and the volunteer support fund. We recognise the numerous contributions that volunteers make as carers, providers, mentors and leaders and in many other roles, and we want to continue to support people to volunteer and to contribute to the issues that matter to them. That is crucial to our wider aim of creating a fairer, smart and inclusive Scotland with genuine equality of opportunity for everyone.

It is true that, in an increasingly globalised yet uncertain world, Scotland must remain internationally relevant. Scotland’s international framework, which was published in March 2015, sets the direction for Scotland’s international activity. The twin aims of that framework are

“To create an environment within Scotland that supports a better understanding of international opportunities and a greater appetite and ability to seize them”

and

“To influence the world around us on the issues that matter most in helping Scotland flourish.”

The framework acknowledges Scotland’s desire to be a “Good global citizen” by making

“distinctive contributions in addressing global challenges such as climate change, tackling inequality and promoting human rights”.

Last year, we updated Scotland’s strategies for engagement with India and Pakistan. Those strategies, which might interest members, look at how we can build sustainable partnerships in education, business, energy, water and culture. We are committed to building partnerships that have mutual benefit and which allow the countries involved to achieve their goals while collectively reducing inequality and building opportunities for mutual learning.

I take the opportunity to commend the Rotary clubs in Dunbar and Galashiels for their work in India and Pakistan on providing sanitation in schools and access to breast screening. As we have heard, such work is a clear demonstration that it is not simply for the Government and its agencies to pursue international links—important though that is—but for individuals and organisations to make the connections that impact so much on people’s lives.

It is impressive that community groups across Scotland are working tirelessly to improve lives not just in this country but, as we have heard, around the world. That provides evidence that our relationship with our friends and communities in other parts of the world is truly a combined effort and is being built up not just by Governments but by individuals and communities across Scotland, with much of the work being driven by groups such as our Rotary clubs.

The debate has been positive. I possibly feel personally cheated that I did not attend the Cupar Rotarian meeting in 1974 in which Mr Stevenson explained his views on computer programming, but I have no doubt that much traffic will be driven to his website after today to correct that historic wrong.

I echo the comment that it has given me great pleasure to acknowledge the tremendous work of our local Rotary clubs. I congratulate Rotary International, which celebrates its 112th anniversary this year. With the success of Scottish Rotary clubs at the 2016 champions of change awards, I wish our Rotary clubs all the best for the 2017 awards in April, which will again recognise unsung heroes in domestic and international categories. We should all work to ensure that Rotarians, who make a difference and volunteer their time for the benefit of others, get the recognition that they deserve, as they have today.