Tag: First Minister

Say It With A Kiss: First Minister’s Christmas Card unveiled

John Byrne painting will raise funds for charities

A painting by John Byrne has been unveiled as the First Minister’s 2017 Christmas card. ‘Say It With A Kiss!’ is an original artwork in Byrne’s celebrated trademark style. It features a couple about to share a kiss under the mistletoe. The artwork will be auctioned next year with the proceeds going to four charities – Food Train, SCIAF, Scottish Women’s Aid and Teapot Trust.

SCIAF and children’s art therapy charity the Teapot Trust were chosen by John Byrne, while Food Train, which provides a range of services, to older people including grocery shopping and befriending and Scottish Women’s Aid were selected by the First Minister.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said: “I’m absolutely thrilled to have such a beautiful painting by John Byrne for my Christmas card this year. He is one of our most celebrated artists and this work has a wonderful festive feel while maintaining John’s inimitable style.

“The four charities that will benefit from the sale of the painting do fantastic work on local, national and international levels and I’m very pleased that the card can support such a wide range of good causes.”

John Byrne, while best known as a playwright for his trilogy The Slab Boys, is also a renowned artist, with several of his works exhibited in the Scottish National Portrait Gallery.

He said: “I was both surprised and delighted to be commissioned by the First Minister to produce the artwork for this year’s Official Christmas Card and got to work straight away – I had a notion to paint a young couple from my boyhood days in Paisley, having a great time jiving to the music of Jimmy McCracken’s ‘Big Band’ at the Town Hall c1957 dressed in the style of the day, with a nod to the Festive Season.”

Since 2007, artwork from the First Minister’s official Christmas cards has raised around £170,000 for good causes through sales of the original paintings and limited edition prints. Proceeds from this year’s auction will go to the Archie Foundation, SiMBA, Christine Witcutt Memorial Fund and The Dixon Community.

 

 

 

First Minister is guest of honour at the Tattoo

First Minister Nicola  Sturgeon was the guest of honour at The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo last night. Ms Sturgeon participated in the opening ceremony with a traditional Gaelic Toast taken with the evening’s Lone Piper, Cpl Joey Davies from The Royal Highland Fusiliers, 2nd Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland. Continue reading First Minister is guest of honour at the Tattoo

Charlotte is First Mentee

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon announced the winner of the ‘First Mentor’ competition yesterday – Charlotte Liddell of Buckhaven in Fife. Launched on International Women’s Day in March, the initiative will see the successful applicant mentored by the First Minister for a period of one year – and it is designed to highlight the importance of women in leadership roles mentoring young women. Continue reading Charlotte is First Mentee

First Minister to become ‘First Mentor’!

Young Scot competition offers chance of a lifetime for young women

Aspiring young women aged between 18 and 23 will have the chance to be mentored by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon. The competition, run by Young Scot, will see the successful candidate receive mentoring from the First Minister over a one year period.

The First Minister yesterday called on women in leadership roles to follow her example and become mentors, helping to create a generation of future leaders and greater gender balance in their organisations.

Speaking at the diversity on private sector boards joint partnership event with Highlands and Islands Enterprise, Scottish Enterprise and the Scottish Government in Edinburgh, the FM said:

“Equality for women is at the heart of the Scottish Government’s vision for an equal Scotland. My ambition for all our young people is that they will have a fair chance to succeed, and if they work hard and have the ability, there’s nothing to stop them realising their dreams. It is not acceptable in 2017 for women to be under-represented in senior positions, including in the boardroom.

“That is why our Programme for Government contains ambitious commitments in support of women’s equality, including legislating for gender balance on public sector boards, creating a new Advisory Council on Women and Girls and piloting a Returners Project.

“One of my first actions on becoming First Minister was to appoint a gender-balanced cabinet. Since then, through initiatives such as 50/50 by 2020 and the Scottish Business Pledge, more than 300 businesses in Scotland have committed to achieve gender equality on their boards – and for the first time ever more than half of public sector board appointees are women.

“As well as this, I’m determined to play my personal part by becoming a mentor and I would urge other women in leadership roles to do the same. Together, we can be female role models for the next generation and encourage and empower young women to discover their own leadership potential.”

Louise Macdonald, Chief Executive of Young Scot said: “Supporting young people in realising their career potential and meeting their ambitions is the responsibility of every leader in Scotland. Mentoring is a powerful way of helping young people achieve their goals and will help to create a new generation of positive role models to inspire other young women in the future.

“We’re delighted to support the First Minister and the Scottish Government with this new mentoring programme and we are encouraging as many young women from across Scotland as possible to apply for this amazing opportunity.”

Details of the initiative will be announced soon.

 

 

 

Port of Leith Housing Association welcomes First Minister

Tenants of Port of Leith Housing Association’s (PoLHA) Jameson Place development welcomed a special guest on Monday when First Minister Nicola Sturgeon paid a visit to the Generations Project for their Christmas festivities. Continue reading Port of Leith Housing Association welcomes First Minister