Thank you for helping us to mark a decade of devolution!
Throughout 2009 the Scottish Parliament undertook a series of activities to mark its tenth anniversary. From a competition to find the first official Scottish Parliament tartan to new partnerships to a birthday party for 143 ten-year-olds, the year provided a wide range of ways for people to get involved with their Parliament.
If you have any questions
about any of the activities - or general queries about the Parliament - please contact us.
Moving Stories exhibition
 Moving Stories, a photographic exhibition exploring ten people’s experiences of interacting with the Scottish Parliament in its first ten years, was on display around Scotland between April 2009 and January 2010.
Moving Stories webpage
Moving Stories slideshow and interviews
Moving Stories podcasts
Moving Stories press release
Back to top
St Andrew's Day events
 On Monday 30 November the Scottish Parliament hosted a number of events to mark St Andrew's Day.
- St Andrew's Day debate
The St Andrew's Day debate, which was part of the Homecoming Finale programme, saw teams of university students and school pupils from all over Scotland debate their way through to a championship final in the Scottish Parliament's Debating Chamber.
Back to top
1 July 2009
Her Majesty The Queen visited Holyrood on 1 July 2009 to mark the 10th anniversary of devolution. At 11am, exactly 10 years on from the Parliament receiving its full legislative powers, Her Majesty The Queen addressed MSPs in the Debating Chamber before meeting children who share the Parliament's birthday (1 July 1999).
After meeting Her Majesty, the children enjoyed their very own special party – complete with a 3ft-by-2ft birthday cake – and had an official birthday photograph taken with the Presiding Officer in the Debating Chamber.
The day finished with the children taking part in a selection of birthday activities including making their own cupcakes, inventing a new computer game and designing their own tartan ceramic tiles.
1 July picture gallery
1 July press release
Presiding Officer's address to Parliament
 Holyrood Highlights - interviews with party leaders
Holyrood Highlights - MSPs discuss their experiences of a decade of devolution
Interviews with children born on 1 July 1999
The Queen's arrival, speeches and performance by Roddy Hart
The Queen meets 1 July children
Holyrood birthday party
Children take part in arts and crafts in the Main Hall
Back to top
Public activities to mark our 10th anniversary
The Scottish Parliament marked its 10th anniversary in 2009 through a range of public engagement activities.
To mark the anniversary of the Parliament receiving its full legislative powers, ten year olds who share the Parliament's birthday attended a special party at the Parliament on 1 July.
In addition, the Parliament held an Open Day on Sunday 26 July and an innovative one-day conference for local community groups on Saturday 21 November.
The programme of public engagement activities to mark the Scottish Parliament's 10th anniversary also included:
- The Moving Stories exhibition
'Moving Stories: 10 people, 10 experiences, 10 years of the Scottish Parliament' - a photographic exhibition exploring ten people’s experiences of interacting with the Scottish Parliament in its first ten years. For details, see the Moving Stories webpage.
- Free guided tours
Free guided tours of the Scottish Parliament building were introduced on 21 September 2009. If you would like information on these tours, or would like to make a booking, please contact our Visitor Services team. In addition, you can find out more about the launch of the programme in the press release on our free tours.
Back to top
Festival of Politics 2009
The annual Festival of Politics presents a diverse programme of events bringing together politics, media and the arts through performance, discussion and debate.
The 2009 Festival - the most successful ever - had as its theme 'Examining Our Past; Shaping Our Future'.
The Festival hosted a series of events examining the life and work of Burns and considering the importance of Scotland’s Diaspora, both home and abroad.
One session saw the Presiding Officer and two former presiding officers scrutinise the challenges and achievements of the first ten years of the Scottish Parliament.
In addition, Annie Lennox discussed her personal experience of witnessing the HIV/AIDS disease in Africa.
Video highlights of the 2009 Festival of Politics
Festival of Politics website
Festival of Politics on Facebook
Back to top
Canongate Wall competition
 To mark the tenth anniversary of the Scottish Parliament and ten years of devolution, two new quotations were added to the Canongate Wall in December 2009.
The new quotations are:
From Mary Brooksbank’s Oh Dear Me (A Mill Song)
Oh, dear me, the warld’s ill-divided,
Them that work the hardest are aye wi’ least provided,
But I maun bide contented, dark days or fine,
For there’s no much pleasure livin’ affen ten and nine.
From Norman MacCaig's A Man in Assynt
Who possesses this landscape? –
The man who bought it or
I who am possessed by it?
False questions, for this landscape is masterless and intractable in any terms that are human.
The new stones, carved by Gillian Forbes from Perthshire (pictured), were unveiled for public viewing by the Presiding Officer on December 17.
The Canongate Wall
Video of panel members talking about the competition
Stonecarver Gillian Forbes talks about the new stones
Unveiling of new stones on Canongate Wall
Back to top
Official tartan competition
In January 2009, the Scottish Parliament launched a competition to design an official Scottish Parliament tartan. The winning entry - which was announced on 23 June 2009 - was designed by Teri Scott, a textiles student from Heriot-Watt University in Galashiels. The tartan, inspired by the ‘year of homecoming’, was woven by Perth-based kiltmakers and weavers Macnaughton Holdings Limited.
The winning design is exclusively being used by the Scottish Parliament for items sold in the Parliament shop and for marketing and publicity. The new tartan will be registered with the new Scottish Tartans Register as 'the official Scottish Parliament tartan'.
The two runners-up were Ruth Duff, from Heriot-Watt University, and Stephen Swinney, from Cardonald College. Both winner and runners-up have received a paid industry work-placement.
Press release on the winning design and runners-up
Press release on the launch of the tartan competition
Back to top
Community Partnerships Project
The Community Partnerships Project is a groundbreaking initiative to give a voice to people typically under-represented in political life.
The Scottish Parliament's Education and Community Partnerships team are working with blind and partially sighted young people, difficult-to-reach young people and people from black and ethnic minority backgrounds to help them get involved with and influence the activities of the Parliament.
Community Partnerships webpage
Back to top
1999 - The first days of the Scottish Parliament
The Scottish Parliament, elected on 6 May 1999, sat for the first time on 12 May 1999. It took up its full legislative powers on 1 July 1999, a landmark day in Scotland's colourful history. You can find out more about the first days in the History section of our website.
The First Days 1999
The First Meeting
The Opening Ceremony
The Opening Celebrations
Back to top
Find out more about the Scottish Parliament
Our website contains a range of resources that can help you to learn about the Scottish Parliament, its membership and its work. If you're looking for a quick introduction, you may find the following links useful.
- 'Introducing Holyrood' podcasts
These include '10 key facts about the Scottish Parliament', an introductory guide to the Scottish Parliament and its work, and 'How to get involved'.
- Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Our extensive FAQs section includes the answers to questions such as 'what is devolution?' and 'what can the Scottish Parliament do?'.
|
back to top