The North / South Language Body Annual Report & Accounts 2009

Chairman's ForewordI am pleased to introduce the Annual Report of the Ulster-Scots Agency for2009.Once again, the Agency made the promotion of Ulster-Scots heritage, cultureand language to new audiences at home and abroad a top priority. Wecontinued to develop our communication channels, launching a new websiteand continuing to develop both our periodicals – The Ulster-Scot newspaperand Oot and Aboot magazine – during the year. An excellent new range ofpromotional literature, with particular emphasis on the Ulster-Scots/Scots-Irish connection was also produced.Ulster-Scots heritage and culture was also showcased to major national andinternational audiences both at home and abroad – the Tall Ships Festival atBelfast; Royal Highland Show in Edinburgh; and World Pipe BandChampionships in Glasgow all saw a strong Ulster-Scots presence – whilethe Agency was also represented in the United States at Milwaulkee IrishFest and the Stone Mountain Highland Games in Atlanta, Georgia.Supporting the development of Ulster-Scots expression at a local communitylevel was also to the fore this year, with the Agency supporting an extensiverange of community activity in venues across the nine counties of Ulster.This included over 100 letters of offer for tuition in music and dance, as wellas 36 Ulster-Scots Festivals and 58 Summer Schools.The development of Ulster-Scots provision in schools remains a priority andthe Agency has made significant progress this year, through the developmentof a number of drama based projects which have promoted a range of Ulster-Scots heritage, including a Plantation drama in Counties Tyrone,Londonderry and Donegal; and the first year of our new 'Pat and Plain' dramaseries in conjunction with the Lyric Theatre, which commenced with 5schools in Greater Belfast staging productions of 'The Boat Factory' by DanGordon, which reflects the heritage of the Belfast shipyards. The Agency alsosuccessfully delivered 40 afterschool clubs in schools around the Province.The Agency has continued to support an Ulster-Scots presence on theairwaves, with FUSE FM going from strength to strength in Ballymoney inparticular, where three separate broadcast periods culminated in a Decemberrun which received more than 70,000 texts from the general public, manycalling for a more permanent forum for the broadcasting of Ulster-Scotsculture.While the Ulster-Scots Agency has made much progress in the past year, thishas only been possible with the support of our Sponsor Departments andmost importantly the support of the Ulster-Scots community, who haveplayed and continue to play an invaluable part in preserving and promotingour cultural identity for the future. I would like to thank all those who havesupported us and look forward to a bright future for Ulster-Scots.Tom Scott OBEChairman48