So what is this thing, Highland 2007?  And is it worth getting out of bed for? BILL SYLVESTER reveals all.

THE HIGHLANDS are incredibly lucky in the strength of their culture.  Music, visual and performing arts, sport, heritage, the environment, even language and dress contain elements which are not only unique but are recognised and admired throughout the world.

Our strength goes further.  The number of people who are actively involved in cultural activity is extraordinary, from volunteers to full-time professionals, from individuals to large organisations, from those based in formal facilities to others for whom ‘performance’ space is wherever they happen to find themselves.

And our culture is alive and kicking.  In fact, there is constant evolution through the application of new talent, trial and error, changing technology and greater knowledge.  Young people creating contemporary music based on Gaelic themes is at least as legitimate a reflection of Highland culture as the Royal Scottish Country Dance Society ensuring the survival of traditional reels, or as broadband communications bringing the Highland environment to a wider audience.

Although the Inverness Highland bid for EU Capital of Culture 2008 may have been unsuccessful, the independent panel gave a great deal of praise for our approach to innovation and partnership, the spread of talent across the whole region and our willingness to look forward.  They acknowledged that the ambition and confidence with which we entered the competition were soundly based on real people and real activities of which we were all entitled to feel proud.

It was clear from the number of people who wanted to be involved in the bid that many shared the belief of the bid team that we were doing something which was worthwhile.  Artists and audience members, performers and promoters, tourism operators and visitors, businessmen and unemployed, schoolchildren and pensioners, single issue activists and strategic thinkers, everyone seemed to have something to contribute.  Well over 2,500 ideas were submitted and many more people just wanted to be part of delivering the year.

It would be a real waste if all that goodwill and enthusiasm were simply left hanging in the air.  The Highland 2007 initiative gives us the opportunity to pick up the threads again and with a clear focus to concentrate the mind.   We have the advantage that we can play to our strengths rather than to a European agenda.  The fact that we have now got to deliver a programme throughout Scotland may add to the task but reflects a growing awareness of what the Highlands has contributed to Scotland in the past, and what it can continue to add in the future.

2007 will be about a programme which allows us to show-off as well as have fun.  Our best talent in every field will get the chance to be seen on a wider stage, whilst at community level, increased participation, improved management and help with promotion and access will mean a legacy of greater sustainability.

We won’t make the best of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity unless everyone with something to offer joins in, be it through artistic performance, environmental renewal, improved access to heritage, more volunteers to support teaching programmes, or simply more audience participation.  But, if we do make the effort, the potential benefits are considerable.

For a start, look at the number of people who want us to succeed.  The First Minister may have led the way, but there are many more for whom a successful 2007 is important.  National organisations ranging from the Scottish Arts Council to the Forestry Commission see this year as giving them a real chance to deliver on their Highland priorities such as better access or environmental education.

Arts organisers and promoters can expect that access to better skills support and improved marketing will raise the quality and appeal of their product.  Tourism operators will know that a real push for the diaspora could result in millions of pounds of additional income for the Highlands and hundreds of extra jobs.  Performers can hope for bigger audiences and perhaps dream of fame.

There are other longer term gains to be made.  In recent years, the Highland economy has grown fast enough to create labour and skills shortages, some of which can only be met by attracting more people to live and work in the Highlands.  The strength and variety of the cultural environment is one of the most important reasons why young people might choose to stay, those who have left might be attracted back and potential incomers might decide to make the move.  The value of 2007 is not just the boost it may give to arts or sport or heritage or Gaelic, but what it may add to the whole life and economy of 21st century Highlands.

Of course, if we achieve everything we hope for, it will be a near-miracle.  On the other hand, if we do nothing, we will have missed a real opportunity.  One thing is for sure, if we don’t all work together, we will only have ourselves to blame.  And maybe, just maybe, we can do something along the way about those people for whom the Highland glass is always half empty.

Bill Sylvester is the Acting Project Manager for Highland 2007.