Though many are frustrated by the tit-for-tat style of the 2014 Scottish Independence Referendum campaign, it is undoubtedly a vital and exciting moment in the country’s long history.
Though many are frustrated by the tit-for-tat style of the 2014 Scottish Independence Referendum campaign, it is undoubtedly a vital and exciting moment in the country’s long history.
The anthem Flower of Scotland sings of the aspiration to ‘be a nation again’. But what does this mean in a global world where peoples and states are mutating and facing fresh challenges?
What of Scotland’s identity and citizenship after the Referendum, whichever way the vote goes? How might Scotland’s sense of self be defined after centuries of Union and immigration? Will this affect voting in September 2014, and if so how and in what way?
Equally, what should be taken into account while revisiting legal aspects of granting citizenship? How will the Referendum shape intra-British and European relations?
These and other issues will be considered today (23 August 2013) in a conversation on Citizenship and Identity as part of Just Festival 2013, co-sponsored by the European Movement in Scotland.
The Speakers will be Iain G. Mitchell QC (Murray Stable) and Perry Walker (New Economics Foundation, and a leading proponent of citizens’ democracy). The chair will be Moira Tasker (Citizen Advice Edinburgh).
The conversation runs from 4-5.30pm in the hall at St John’s Church (corner of Princes Street and Lothian Road), Edinburgh.
Tickets, which cost £5 each, can be purchased online, or at the cash-only ticket office at the venue.
Just Festival, also known simply as Just, runs from 2-26 August 2013. It is based at St John’s Church, Edinburgh, and some 27 other occasional venues, and combines artistic and performance style events with conversations, talks, films, exhibits and other ways of exploring how to live together creatively in a mixed-belief society.
* More information: http://tinyurl.com/l4syhje
* For more information on Just Festival, visit http://www.justjust.org and http://justfestivalnews.blogspot.com
* Ekklesia is a sponsor of Just Festival. Our news, reporting and comment is aggregated at: www.ekklesia.co.uk/justfestival