Celebrating Scotland at the Herald Society Ideas Exchange

Last month saw the first ever Herald Society Ideas Exchange, in partnership with the Big Lottery Fund, take place at the Radisson Blu in Glasgow.

This unique one day event, on November 17, saw over 200 people from across the third and public sectors come together to discuss and share ideas on how Scotland can address some of its deep seated issues in the context of the current economic climate.

Guest speakers included Andy Wightman, Colin Mair, Jennifer Davisdon and Stephen Naysmith – sharing their thoughts on what is working already and what needs to change in Scotland in the coming years and months.

The highlight of the day was keynote speaker Jim Diers whose raw enthusiasm, vast knowledge and experience of grass roots community engagement and achievements left the audience with a whirlwind of ideas and questions.

The Ideas Exchange offered an opportunity to learn about the latest innovative strategies and best practice solutions by sharing success stories, highlighting great work from across the country (and further afield) and showcasing creative approaches which have proved successful elsewhere.

Closing the proceedings were the 4th annual Herald Society Awards which were a genuine celebration of the best of Scotland public and third sectors – there’s a list of the winners below.

For more information about this year’s new format and the winners please go to: http://www.heraldscotland.com/go/societyawards11 or read the twitter feed on the itself @heraldsociety #ideaexchange11

And the winners were:

Education Initiative of the Year: Aberdeen City Council – Countryside Ranger Service

Health Provider of the Year: Scottish Premier League Trust – Football Fans Training

Environmental Initiative of the Year: Shettleston Housing Association – Upkeep Furniture

Young People’s Project of the Year : Castlehead High School – Paired Reading Scheme

Older People’s Project of the Year: Third Age Computer Fun

Equalities Award: Glasgow Disability Alliance – Drivers for Change

Campaigner(s) of the Year: National Autistic Society Scotland – We Exist

Partnership Award: Grampian Police – Aberdeen Youth Justice Development Programme

Community Project of the Year: Kirkcudbright Pool

Herald Society Worker of the Year: Sandy Gemmell

Herald Society Team of the Year: Aberdeen City Council – Children’s Services

The Unsung Hero Award (awarded to two people): Gillian Armstrong – Healthy Valleys Andrew Forrester – Playbusters