Scotland 2021

scotland-2021-BLaunching Scotland 2021 at the 20th Radical Book Fair, Out of the Blue, Dalmeny Street, Edinburgh at 7.30pm

What kind of country do you want to live in? What should we demand of our political leaders (now)? What should our priorities be for the next five years? The contributors to this new collection – assembled in the immediate aftermath of the Holyrood elections 2016 – answer these questions attempting to go beyond narrow tribalism and the political here and now to take a longer view.

In forty chapters we explore practical radical innovation and policy challenges with contributions from Irvine WelshJoyce McMillan, Maggie Chapman, Robin McAlpineKathy GallowayTom French, Vonnie Moyes, Anuj Kapilashrami, Niamh Webster, Michael Marten, Milja Radovic, Talat Yaqoob, Jan Bebbington, Adam Ramsay and dozens more.

Join editors Mike Small and Simon Barrow with Lesley Orr and Maggie Chapman tonight to discuss the book and the political landscape ahead.

Comments (15)

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  1. Andi Holmes says:

    Do the organisers of Scotland 2021 remember the People and Parliament Project (1997-9) “Reshaping Scotland? The People Speak”.
    The project timeline is due to ‘mature’ in 2020, will any of those original hopes and aspirations have been realised by then?
    (download via: alastairmcintosh.com)

    “That is the vision by which Scotland’s Parliament will be judged. Our new political servants will ignore that message at their peril. They need to earn the respect and trust of the people, so dangerously eroded at present.

    The people clearly hope and expect that the Members of our new Parliament, and others in positions of influence and power, will grasp the unique opportunity to develop a new culture of openness, accountability and participation; that their conduct will demonstrate their readiness to share power, and to encourage a participative democracy, in which the people really are partners in the development of policy.

    Will it work? Will the new Parliament be, as the Government’s Consultative Steering Group said, “the central institution of a new political and community culture”, or will the high hopes of “People & Parliament” be disappointed, and turn again to cynicism?

    People expect and long for, something different. There will never be a time of greater opportunity than now. The task of creating a new level of democracy, and finding practical ways in which people can really participate, will not be easy. No task could be more important, more worthwhile, or more likely to give Scotland a distinctive role in the Europe of the new Millennium.

    One youth group ended their response like this…

    “We don’t believe any of these comments will make a difference – so please prove us wrong”

    Will we? Can we?”

    (The above taken from ‘People and Parliament’ 1997-9)

  2. Yan says:

    Beyond narrow tribalism!

    What tribalism?

    The only tribalism in Scotland is the myriad of small minded vested interest collectives. That myriad independence movement has more or less seceded from the Scottish people into a politically whimsical and all-encompassing Brigadoon independence without definition, borders or tribe.

  3. Edward Andrews says:

    Sorry but can we have a reference for it I can’t find it even in the Word Power Books site.

      1. Davie byres says:

        Paste the link in browser and will take you there.

        1. Edward Andrews says:

          No I can get the link to the event, but I can’t get a link to the book itself to look at it. It seems the kind of book which I would want to order, buy and read, but I cant get the necessary details.

          1. Hi Edward …

            you can get a copy from the Book Festival today or from here: http://tinyurl.com/Scotland2021

            Alternatives to Amazon will be available shortly.

            Thanks

          2. Edward Andrews says:

            Thanks have it ordered from my local bookshop As I live in Nairn I can’t get to the book festival today

          3. Great, hope you enjoy it, thanks

  4. Andi Holmes says:

    Does anyone remember the ‘People and Parliament Project’ of 1997-9, which will shortly be coming to its timeline conclusion in 2020. Whilst long forgotten by most its content is probably still relevant to ‘Scotland 2021’.
    Below a small extract from ‘Reshaping Scotland? The people speak’.

    “That is the vision by which Scotland’s Parliament will be judged. Our new political servants will ignore that message at their peril. They need to earn the respect and trust of the people, so dangerously eroded at present.
    The people clearly hope and expect that the Members of our new Parliament, and others in positions of influence and power, will grasp the unique opportunity to develop a new culture of openness, accountability and participation; that their conduct will demonstrate their readiness to share power, and to encourage a participative democracy, in which the people really are partners in the development of policy.
    Will it work? Will the new Parliament be, as the Government’s Consultative Steering Group said, “the central institution of a new political and community culture”, or will the high hopes of “People & Parliament” be disappointed, and turn again to cynicism?
    People expect and long for, something different. There will never be a time of greater opportunity than now. The task of creating a new level of democracy, and finding practical ways in which people can really participate, will not be easy. No task could be more important, more worthwhile, or more likely to give Scotland a distinctive role in the Europe of the new Millennium.”

    How much of this has been realised since the late 1990’s?

  5. john young says:

    We have to try and break the stranglehold of the neo-libs/cons who,s only view of the world is profit regardless of the effect it has on others,there surely has to be a better more life enhancing way for folks to live.

  6. Pilrig says:

    “Dalmeny Street, Edinburgh”. Edinburgh ? Sunny Leith actually !

  7. Graham says:

    yaaaaaaaaaaawwwwwnnnnn…exactly what qualifications do any of these ‘medya’ self promoters that gives them any greater insight than anyone else? Pointless.

    1. Thanks Graham. Well let’s see, Joyce McMillan has been writing about Scottish culture for thirty years, Jan Bebbington’s a professor of sustainability at St Andrews University … many people with much valued life-experience across the book.

      What’s wrong with you?

  8. Colin Mackay says:

    Where can we buy?

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