Newfoundland
Last week I attended a three day international conference in St John’s, Newfoundland, Canada called ‘Culture, Place and Identity: at the Heart of Regional Development’. It was organised by the North Atlantic Forum, the Canadian Rural Revitalization Foundation, the Small Islands Cultures Research Initiative and the Leslie Harris Centre of Regional Policy and Development from Memorial University, Newfoundland.
The conference explored how the arts and the strong cultural identity of remote rural communities can contribute to the development of sustainable communities and local economies. Sustaining culture through tourism, harnessing culture as a tool for community building, global trends in tourism and best practice in cultural tourism and cultural industries all featured as key themes.
These themes were thoroughly examined in 70 papers including those from 6 keynote speakers. Amongst the many highlights were the papers by Johannes Lampe, the Minister of Culture, Recreation and Tourism with the Nunatsiavut Government in Labrador, who explained how the Labrador Inuit were using their culture to promote self-esteem and generate income in their new self-governing territory, Dorothee Lubecki, the cultural representative of South Iceland, who set out the remit of the Icelandic cultural councils and their varied work in supporting cultural projects in rural Iceland, Zita Cobb, who explained how the Shorefast Foundation is changing lives on Fogo Island, Newfoundland, Dr Brendan O’Keefe, who described how rural Ireland is reinventing itself in the face of the collapse of the Celtic Tiger and Heiða Helgadottir, the organiser of the new Icelandic political party The Best Party, who described in humorous terms how a group of musicians and comedians have won control of Reykjavik Town Council and are incorporating culture and identity into public policy.
My paper was delivered in the session called The Art of Regional Development and was entitled ‘The Old Rock’s Rockin’: a Cultural Anatomy of Modern Shetland’. In it I made the case that Shetland has arguably the most vibrant, energetic artistic scene and the best organised cultural heritage and arts development agencies in the Amenity Trust and Shetland Arts, of any similar sized community in the world. There was general agreement in the hall. Many of the communities represented, including those from Iceland, were extremely envious of Shetland’s cultural assets and the ability of Shetland to brand and market them so effectively.
I also gave a live interview on CBC Newfoundland Radio’s Arts Programme. Chris O’Neill Yates the host was keen to know more about Shetland, the landscape, the way of life, and how cultural life is organised. She was also interested in how Newfoundland resonated with a visitor from Shetland and intrigued that, just as Newfoundland is called ‘The Rock’, Shetland is the ‘Old Rock’. She is currently researching material for a programme about the Titanic and would like to know more about Walter Gray, from Shetland, who received the distress call.
One of the most important aspects of conferences such as these is the networking and personal contacts that are created. There are many delegates who now want to come to Shetland, including the cultural representatives from Iceland who are very keen to attend Up Helly Aa next year. I am now discussing a possible project with them, which will involve sheep, the traditions of sheep farming and the traditional crafts associated with wool.
It was clear from the conference that Shetland has an important role to play within the culture of the North Atlantic, both as a receiver and as a promoter of new ideas. Members of other isolated and island cultures are keen to know what is going on in Shetland. Its position and identity make it a potential centre for the new discipline of Island Studies. The Centre for Nordic Studies will be joining the North Atlantic Forum and the Small Islands Cultures Research Initiative to further this aim.
