Category: North Edinburgh News

Successful campaign to reduce street drinking and disorder to continue

A successful campaign to reduce street drinking and disorder will be rolled out to more towns and cities across Scotland.

The “It’ll Cost You” campaign to deter adults buying alcohol for minors was developed by the Scottish Alcohol Industry Partnership (SAIP), Police Scotland and Community Alcohol Partnerships. It ran throughout the summer of 2022 and was the first time the campaign had been delivered nationally.

The campaign was a mix of social and traditional media and direct consumer engagement in targeted areas across Scotland.

Asking an adult to buy alcohol for under 18s is one of the most common tactics used by young people to access alcohol. The Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005 states that it is an offence for a person to “act as an agent for a child in purchasing or attempting to purchase alcohol”. This is also known as proxy purchase.

An evaluation of the summer 2022 campaign showed it was an effective way to communicate the consequences of buying alcohol for minors and demonstrated the benefits of partnership working between retailers and Police Scotland.

Community Alcohol Partnerships will also utilise the campaign in areas where it operates in Scotland to help reduce alcohol harm among children and young people.

Superintendent Hilary Sloan, Police Scotland, said: “We welcome the evaluation report into last summer’s It’ll Cost You proxy purchasing campaign.

“Protecting vulnerable people is one of our top priorities and this includes protecting young people from the associated risks of alcohol. We know that vulnerability increases when alcohol is a factor and this vulnerability is heightened in young people.

“This campaign showcases the benefits of key partners working together and utilising each other’s resources to inform the public of dangers associated with underage drinking, as well as the criminal consequences for supplying those under 18 with alcohol. Proxy purchasing is an offence, which can result in a fine, a prison sentence, or both. Please do not risk it.

“I look forward to continued working with our partners to build on the campaign’s success in 2023”

Luke McGarty, Chair of the SAIP Campaigns Group and Head of Policy and Public Affairs, Scottish Grocers Federation said: “We welcome the publication of the evaluation report and the key learnings from delivering the “It’ll Cost You” campaign nationally for the first time.

“Reducing underage drinking and anti-social behaviour linked to alcohol is one we support and ties in with SGF’s position of promoting responsible community retailing. We will continue to work with the campaign going forward.”

Graham Clarke, Community Alcohol Partnership Advisor for Scotland, said: “Community Alcohol Partnerships (CAP) was delighted to be a partner in the “It’ll Cost You” campaign and to support activity in each of our CAP areas. 

“The campaign gave CAP an opportunity to carry the “It’ll Cost You” resources and messaging in local communities, highlighting the dangers of buying alcohol for young people.  We worked closely with Police Scotland and the Police Scotland Youth Volunteers to make sure that this messaging was carried through all our engagement activity and look forward to supporting the campaign again in 2023.”

Community Safety Minister Elena Whitham MSP said: “The Scottish Government welcomed the publication of the evaluation report. We remain committed to protecting young persons and children from harm.

“Underage drinking can cause short and long-term harm to health and put young persons in dangerous situations when drunk. Purchasing alcohol for someone under 18 is a criminal offence, and we were pleased to support collective efforts to help reduce the attempted purchase of alcohol for those underage.

“The 2022 National campaign illustrated the value of strong collaboration and regular engagement between partners, which helped to deliver shared aims to help reduce underage drinking and anti-social behaviour as a key step to help keep communities safe.”

A copy of the Evaluation report can be found here.

Enjoy a Mum-believable Afternoon Tea at Dobbies’ Edinburgh store

Garden Centre launches Mother’s Day celebrations

The UK’s leading garden centre, Dobbies, is celebrating mother figures in Edinburgh with its Mother’s Day Afternoon Tea, taking place on Saturday 18 and Sunday 19 March in Dobbies’ Edinburgh store.

Show your love and appreciation for the mother figure in your life by treating her to an array of delicious bites, complete with a complimentary gift that can be taken away and planted at home.

From delicious sandwiches to buttery scones with Cornish clotted cream and a melt-in-your-mouth blackberry delice, Dobbies’ traditional Afternoon Tea will certainly impress.

Customers in Edinburgh can enjoy refillable tea or coffee and even upgrade with a 200ml bottle of Prosecco for £6.35 per person. The Children’s Afternoon Tea is also available for families looking to celebrate Mother’s Day together.

Adam Veysey, Dobbies’ Development Chef, said: “We are looking forward to celebrating Mother’s Day this year with a fantastic Afternoon Tea experience which features three tiers of treats to enjoy.

“On the first tier there are freshly made finger sandwiches; the second has our famous Dobbies’ scones; while the third tier has a carefully selected range of delicious cakes, tarts and a mini macaroon. We hope mums enjoy the gift, which comes with care tips to support a successful bloom.” 

The Adult Afternoon Tea starts at £13.50 per person and the Children’s Afternoon Tea can be enjoyed for £8.50 per child.

For more information about Dobbies’ Mother’s Day Afternoon Tea experience in Edinburgh visit, Events | Dobbies Garden Centres

Chancellor heads to G20 meeting to reaffirm support for Ukraine

  • Chancellor arrives in India for G20 meetings one year after Putin’s illegal invasion of Ukraine
  • He will attend meeting of G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors alongside Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey, showing shared focus on tackling global economic issues.
  • He will also attend a meeting of the G7 on Thursday
  • The Chancellor will meet with the Indian Finance Minister and a range of senior Indian business leaders to strengthen ties and help the UK on its way to becoming the next Silicon Valley

The Chancellor Jeremy Hunt is today in Bengaluru, India to attend the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting in his first visit overseas since taking office.

The meeting comes one year after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine – where the Chancellor will reaffirm the UK’s unwavering support for Ukraine and discuss with other G20 members ways to address issues such as elevated global inflationary pressures and the instability in energy and food prices that are being exacerbated by the war.

It follows the latest move on behalf of the G7, the European Union and Australia, who via a Price Cap Coalition, set caps on the price of seaborne Russian oil products effective from 5 February 2023. High-value Russian exports such as diesel and gasoline are capped at $100 while lower-value products such as fuel oil are capped at $45. The UK phased out the import of Russian oil and oil products last year.

The Chancellor is attending the G20 alongside the Governor of the Bank of England Andrew Bailey. Both are focused on tackling inflationary pressures in the UK. Inflation is the first of 5 Prime Minister priorities, with the Prime Minister looking to see inflation halve this year on its way back to the target.

The Chancellor and Bank of England Governor will also join a meeting of G7 Finance Ministers on Thursday.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt said: “The UK continues to stand firm in our support for Ukraine with significant military and humanitarian assistance. The sooner there is sustainable peace in Ukraine and an end to this horrific war, the sooner we can address the global economic fallout – diminishing Putin’s leverage over the UK and our friends.”

The trip also aims to strengthen the already productive UK/India economic relationship and deepen ties to increase new investment and bringing new jobs to the UK. With its rich reputation for a cutting-edge tech industry, the Chancellor will be meeting Indian tech CEOs and founders in Bengaluru to explore investment opportunities and how links with India can help the UK become the world’s next Silicon Valley, building on our existing $1 trillion (£827 billion) tech industry.

The Chancellor added: “I want the UK to be the world’s next Silicon Valley – this is an ambition within reach thanks to our status as a global financial powerhouse and home to world class universities and research institutions.

“We already have a $1 trillion tech industry, but we want to go further to create jobs and wealth across the UK. To help us get there, we need to deepen investment connections with like-minded countries around the world – starting with our Indian friends who are fast becoming an economic superpower in their own right.”

India is projected to be the world’s third largest economy by 2050, with a tech industry that generated US$227 billion (£188 billion) in revenue in FY2022. It is already a significant economic partner for the UK, and the Chancellor is seeking to promote greater collaboration between the two countries.

The Chancellor’s work at the G20 will also contribute to the government’s priorities to halve inflation this year to ease the cost of living and give people financial security; grow the economy, create better-paid jobs and opportunity right across the country; and make sure our national debt is falling so that we can secure the future our of public services.

Audit Scotland: Full transparency on NHS recovery needed

The Scottish Government needs to be clearer about how long it will take the NHS to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic and to reform services, says public spending watchdog Audit Scotland.

The government’s NHS recovery plan aims to reduce the healthcare backlog and change how services are delivered. But the plan does not contain the detailed actions that would allow progress to be accurately measured. It also lacks robust modelling to understand demand and capacity. The backlog has continued to increase in the 18 months since the plan was published as the NHS deals with a range of pressures.

Workforce capacity remains the biggest risk to the recovery of NHS services. Health boards are continuing to find it hard to recruit the doctors, nurses and other health professionals needed to make sure NHS services are sustainable in the long-term. Key recruitment targets, such as recruiting 800 GPs by 2027, are unlikely to be met. The NHS workforce remains under severe pressure and there are concerns over staffing levels, wellbeing, and retention.

The Scottish Government is moving ahead with the innovation and reform essential to NHS sustainability. But it is too early to gauge the impact of this work. In the meantime, every NHS board is facing significant financial challenges which could limit how much they can invest in recovery. And the Scottish Government also needs to make information on how long people will have to wait for treatment clear and meaningful.

Stephen Boyle, Auditor General for Scotland, said: “NHS staff remain under severe pressure and the Scottish Government is facing tough choices.

“Money is tight but investment is needed in recovery. That means ministers have to prioritise which NHS aims can realistically be delivered. And they need to be more transparent about the progress they’re making.

“The Scottish Government has set out the big challenges facing the NHS. But it also needs to clearly explain to the public what those challenges mean for the level of service they can expect, including waiting times.”

nhs-in-scotland-2022-reportDownload

New annual Winter Heating Payment begins

£20m to help 400,000 Scots with heating costs

Help with heating costs is on its way to around 400,000 people on low incomes through a new Scottish Government benefit, with the first payments processed this week.

More than £20m will be paid out over the course of February and March in Winter Heating Payments.

Winter Heating Payment replaces the Department for Work and Pensions’ (DWP) Cold Weather Payment. Unlike the DWP benefit it replaces, Winter Heating Payment is not paid only to people when there is a sustained period of cold weather in a specific location, but is a reliable annual £50 payment.

Those eligible for Winter Heating Payment will receive it automatically, with no need to apply. It is paid through Social Security Scotland and people will get a letter to let them know they are eligible.

Minister for Social Security Scotland Ben Macpherson said: “Our new Winter Heating Payment is the thirteenth Scottish Government benefit. This year it will provide 400,000 people most in need with a reliable, automatic £50 payment to help towards their heating costs.

“The Payment will reach significantly more people than the benefit it has replaced. On average only 185,000 people received the equivalent Cold Weather Payments from the UK Government over the last seven years – whereas we will pay everyone eligible every year.

“The Scottish Government is investing around £20 million per year compared with an average of £8.3 million annually paid out through Cold Weather Payment. We will also uprate the next Winter Heating Payment by 10.1%, to £55.05.”

Tax agency stopped from operating by HM Revenue and Customs

A company which charged taxpayers significant sums to make claims for tax refunds has been stopped from operating.

Tax Credits Ltd (TCL) can no longer trade as a repayment agent after HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) found they had committed serious anti-money laundering breaches.

As a result of breaching the regulations, which are predominately designed to prevent businesses being exploited by criminals to launder money, it is now a criminal offence for TCL to trade as a tax repayment agent.

The move comes weeks after HMRC outlined greater protections for customers using repayment agents.  

Taxpayers can use repayment agents to make claims for repayment of tax, and while many customers are happy with the service they receive, a large number of taxpayers have complained about the lack of transparency in agents’ processes for signing up clients and high charges for using their services.  

Angela MacDonald, HMRC’s Deputy Chief Executive and Second Permanent Secretary, said:  “TCL have ignored their responsibilities under the anti-money laundering measures designed to protect us all from financial crime.  

“We will not allow a small number of bad actors to tarnish the reputation of the whole tax agent sector. 

“It is crucial taxpayers understand the entitlements they can claim directly from HMRC and are properly protected from the misleading tactics used by some repayment agents. The greater protections we’re bringing in will help to stop people unwittingly losing their hard-earned money to misleading agents.” 

Around 11,000 TCL clients, whose claims had been paused during investigations into TCL, will now receive their tax refund directly from HMRC. 

HMRC will contact all affected clients by the end of March to explain their refund. The refunds will be made automatically – customers do not need to contact HMRC to receive their payment.

In response to public concern, HMRC recently consulted on how to protect taxpayers using repayment agents and unveiled a package of measures last month, which included stopping the use of legally-binding ‘assignments’ as part of claiming an Income Tax repayment, improving agent standards and a requirement for repayment agents to register with HMRC. 

HMRC urges anyone thinking of using a tax repayment agent to carefully consider their options when appointing a tax adviser to act on their behalf. Taxpayers are urged to do their research before committing to anything, and are reminded that they, not the tax agent, are ultimately responsible for their own tax affairs. 

Taxpayers are advised to be particularly careful when clicking on online ads as some unscrupulous repayment agents have made their customer sign-up pages appear to be mere requests for more information. 

Anyone who thinks they are owed a tax rebate can make claims direct with HMRC via GOV.UK; they can do this for free and will receive 100% of any refund. 

If a taxpayer can show a tax repayment agent has made an invalid claim with HMRC on their behalf, they can contact HMRC.

International Mother Language Day 2023

Responding after the International Mother Language Day 2023 event hosted by the Edinburgh & Lothians Regional Equality Council (ELREC), Foysol Choudhury MSP said: 

“It was my great honour to speak at the City Chambers in Edinburgh today in celebration of International Mother Language Day 2023 and to promote linguistic and cultural diversity.

“It is a true honour for me to observe International Mother Language Day in my role as Shadow Minister for Culture, Europe and International Development and also as the first Bangladeshi Member of the Scottish Parliament. 

“International Mother Language Day was first proposed by Bangladesh in 1999, being approved by UNESCO that same year.  

“As a national day in Bangladesh, the Head of State and Head of Government lay a floral wreath at the Language Martyrs Monument, as I did today at the Quadrangle with the Lord Provost of Edinburgh, the Rt. Honourable Councillor Robert Aldridge.

“This event gives us a vital reminder about the importance of preserving more than 6000 languages – 23% of which are endangered- and promoting tolerance and understanding.  

“This year’s theme is “Multilingual education – a necessity to transform education”. As 40% of the global population cannot access education in a language they speak or understand, it is not hard to understand why this has been chosen. 

“Much of the internet is only available in 12 languages. As we use the internet for education more and more, it is important that multilingualism online is promoted so that all can access and learn from online content.  

“Otherwise, those who use minority languages may unfortunately face a threat to their education and access to information. 

“The internet can be a force for education and strengthening disappearing minority languages, both through preservation and revitalisation. Apps and resources can be shared to help educate learners, both young and old, to enrich their understanding of their mother tongue.  

“By normalising multilingualism in education, we can also improve access to it and promote language learning.  

“Multilingual education can teach us understanding and tolerance from youth, allowing for better social cohesion throughout life.   

“Our mother tongue, whether it is English, Scottish Gaelic, Irish, Bengali, Urdu, French, Brazilian-Portuguese, Ukrainian, Chichewa, Polish or Mandarin, is the linguistic device that shapes our personal, social and cultural identities. 

“It is the vital tool that helps us transmit, preserve and maintain our different traditions, the sayings, jokes, songs, poems that make all our lives much more vibrant and interesting.  

“A speech by a Ukrainian woman at the event today resonated strongly with me, when she spoke about the importance of the Ukrainian language to her, her devastation at its censorship and why it’s preservation is so important during the conflict in Ukraine. 

“Language is the cultural tool that allows us to share different knowledge to better understand one another, where we come from and what makes us all unique, and to foster tolerance among different groups of people. 

“It is vitally important that languages are preserved and multilingualism is promoted, for the reasons shared by distinguished speakers at today’s event. 

“Thank you to ELREC for organising the event at the City Chambers today and for all the distinguished guests, speakers and performers for helping us to celebrate this important topic. 

“I have lodged a motion at the Scottish Parliament supporting the achievements of International Mother Language Day and I hope we can remember this day as a day to celebrate our differences, whether it is our languages, cultures, or identities that make us who we are. 

“I encourage everybody today to approach our peers and share information about our different languages and cultures, so that we can be enriched by each others’ differences.” 

Over 3,000 child abuse crimes were recorded by Police Scotland in 5 years

  • NSPCC urges UK Government to seize last opportunity to strengthen Online Safety Bill so it creates online spaces for children safe from pervasive abuse

More than 3,100 child abuse image offences were recorded by Police in just five years, the NSPCC reveals as it calls for a more robust Online Safety Bill.

Last year, 662 crimes including the sharing and possession of indecent images of children were recorded by Police Scotland.1

The NSPCC warns that unregulated social media is fuelling online child sexual abuse and behind every offence could be multiple child victims who are continually revictimized as images are shared. 

They said the issue of young people being groomed into sharing images of their own abuse is pervasive and tech bosses are failing to stop their sites being used by offenders to organise, commit and share child sexual abuse.

The charity is calling on the UK Government to give children, including victims of sexual abuse, a powerful voice and expert representation in future regulation by creating a statutory child safety advocate through the Online Safety Bill.

This would ensure that children’s experiences are front and centre of decision making, building safeguarding experience into regulation to prioritise child protection. 

NSPCC analysis of data obtained by FOI from England and Wales police forces shows Snapchat is the social media site offenders most used to share child abuse images where platform data was provided. The app, popular with teens, was used in 43% of instances. Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, which are all owned by Meta, were used in a third (33%) of instances where a site was flagged.

And for the first-time virtual reality environments and Oculus headsets, used to explore the Metaverse, were found to be involved in recorded child sexual abuse image crimes.

The NSPCC said committing to a statutory child safety advocate is crucial to act as an early warning system to identify emerging child abuse risks and ensure they are on the radar of companies and the regulator Ofcom.

The advocate would reflect the experiences of young people and be a statutory counterbalance the power of the big tech lobby to help drive a corporate culture that focusses on preventing abuse.

Holly* called Childline in despair when she was 14. She said: “I am feeling sick with fear. I was talking with this guy online and trusted him. I sent him quite a lot of nude pictures of myself and now he is threatening to send them to my friends and family unless I send him more nudes or pay him.

“I reported it to Instagram, but they still haven’t got back. I don’t want to tell the police because my parents would then know what I did and would be so disappointed.”

Sir Peter Wanless, Chief Executive of the NSPCC, said: “These figures are alarming but reflect just the tip of the iceberg of what children are experiencing online.

“We hear from young people who feel powerless and let down as online sexual abuse risks becoming normalised for a generation of children.

“By creating a child safety advocate that stands up for children and families the UK Government can ensure the Online Safety Bill systemically prevents abuse.

“It would be inexcusable if in five years’ time we are still playing catch-up to pervasive abuse that has been allowed to proliferate on social media.”

Online Safety Bill amendments

The NSPCC is seeking amendments to the Online Safety Bill as it passes through the House of Lords to improve its response to child sexual abuse.

They are asking Lords to back the creation of a child safety advocate which would mirror statutory user advocacy arrangements that are effective across other regulated sectors.

The amendment would give Ofcom access to children’s voices and experiences in real time via an expert child safety advocate akin to Citizen’s Advice acting for energy and postal consumers.

And after the UK Government committed to holding senior managers liable if their products contribute to serious harm to children the charity says this must also include where sites put children at risk of sexual abuse.

The move would mean bosses responsible for child safety would be held criminally liable if their sites continue to expose children to preventable abuse – which is backed by an overwhelming majority of the public.

Meta Encryption

In response to the latest data, the NSPCC also renewed calls on Meta to pause plans to roll out default end-to-end encryption of Facebook and Instagram messenger services in order to comply with future requirements of the Online Safety Bill.

They said Meta will turn a blind eye to child abuse by making it impossible to identify grooming and the sharing of images making the importance of external bodies such as a child safety advocate even more paramount.

However, the charity said the Online Safety Bill should be seen as an opportunity to incentivise companies to invest in technological solutions to end-to-end encryption that protect adult privacy, the privacy of sexual abuse victims and keep children safe.

Scottish Budget Bill passed

Further support for councils, culture sector and island ferries

An additional £223 million will be provided to local authorities to support pay awards to staff as part of the 2023-24 Scottish Budget.

Deputy First Minister John Swinney said an improving financial position enabled him to address some pressing asks. The extra money for local authorities comprises a new £100 million for non-teaching staff and the £123 million announced last week for 2023-24 to support a new pay offer for teachers which would see salaries rise by 11.5% from April.

It comes on top of the additional £570 million already included in the local government settlement and takes the total settlement to nearly £13.5 billion.

Opening the Budget Bill Stage 3 debate in the Scottish Parliament, Mr Swinney also announced a £6.6 million increase to Creative Scotland’s budget and promised to fund the revenue cost increases incurred by local authorities managing the inter-islands ferry network.

He said additional funding confirmed by the UK Government in Supplementary Estimate figures this morning had enabled him to go further in 2023-24 – but stressed that the financial position remained exceptionally challenging and would require continued prioritisation throughout the coming year.

Mr Swinney said: “I am very aware of the challenges faced as we manage our way through this cost crisis and this Budget is designed to do as much as we possibly can to assist at this most difficult moment.

“None of this is easy – this is by far the hardest Scottish Budget process that I have led – with the effects of raging inflation being felt against the impact of more than a decade of austerity and Barnett funding down 5% in real terms since 2021-22.

“I hope this additional funding will enable a swift agreement in the Scottish Joint Council pay negotiations so that relevant staff receive a pay increase as early as possible in 2023-24.  

“The Budget strengthens our social contract with every citizen of Scotland who will continue to enjoy many benefits not available throughout the UK. Delivering support for people most in need, in these difficult times, is the foundation of this Budget.

“The Budget that has been set out to Parliament enables us to invest in our public services, to ensure a strong boost to local authority funding and to ensure that we help those who need it the most.”

The Deputy First Minister’s statement to Parliament.

SARAH BOYACK ON SCOTTISH GOVT’S DECISION TO REVERSE CULTURE CUTS

The Deputy First Minister, John Swinney, announced an uplift of £6.6 million for Creative Scotland in his Scottish Budget statement on Tuesday.

John Swinney acknowledged “the calls form Claire Adamson MSP, Convener of the Parliament’s Culture and Constitution Committee to continue to sustain our investment in culture and the arts.” 

In his statement, Scotland’s Deputy First Minister said: “We had asked Creative Scotland to sustain investment next year by utilising £6.6 million from their accumulative Lottery reserves in place of a further year of additional grant funding to compensate for generally lower National Lottery income.

“I am now in a position now to require that and I will provide an uplift of £6.6 million for Creative Scotland for 2023-24 to ensure their reserve funding can supplement rather than replace grant funding.” 

The decision comes following calls from trade unions, artists, cultural organisations and campaigners to reverse the cuts.

Last week, the Scottish Trades Union Congress wrote to John Swinney and Culture Secretary Angus Robertson on behalf of the Musicians’ Union, the Scottish Artists Union, BECTU, Equity, the Writers’ Guild, Scottish Society of Playwrights and the Society of Authors, warning that cutting arts funding is “the wrong choice at the wrong time.”

Commenting, Scottish Labour’s Culture spokesperson, Sarah Boyack MSP said: “I welcome Scottish Government’s U-turn and the decision to reverse the culture cuts.

“The proposals to cut Creative Scotland’s funding should have never been put forward – they simply didn’t make sense and if implemented, would have added to the huge pressure the culture sector is facing because of the cost of living crisis and rising costs.

“Culture workers have been living with uncertainty, precarious and under-paid work for years – the current crisis has only made things worse for them.

“There is so much more that the Scottish Government should be doing now to support the sector. In my own city for example the King’s Theatre needs support now. ”

David Watt, Chief Executive, Arts & Business Scotland, said: “We warmly welcome yesterday’s announcement by the Scottish Government to reverse the proposed £6.6m reduction in Creative Scotland’s funding for 2023/24.

“Arts & Business Scotland serves as the bridge between Scotland’s cultural and business sectors, fostering innovation and cross-sector collaboration and delivering major cultural, social and economic benefits both here and internationally. The success of our nation’s cultural profile relies on this and the creative and cultural sector has an essential role to play in facilitating a thriving and innovative economy.

“Scotland’s creative and cultural sector continues to reel from the aftermath of the pandemic, from rising energy costs and from increasing inflation; so opportunities to maintain ongoing financial support are very much a step in the right direction for both the sector and for the many businesses across Scotland that collaborate with them.

“Indeed we believe the coming together of the arts, culture and business communities can bring innovation and fresh thinking to the economy. Whilst we welcome this renewed confidence in the sector, we now need to look towards a sustainable, longer term future that embrace Scotland’s creative and cultural landscape as a catalyst for social and economic, as well as cultural, change.”