Alzheimer Scotland - Gaelic Project (360G-BNG-TFC-2024-01133)

With the support of Bòrd na Gàidhlig, we have been delivering groups and activities for Gaelic speakers for three years now.  The project has been very successful in engaging Gaelic speakers from the West Highland area and beyond. The funding we have received so far has enabled us to developing our Gaelic Conversations online project and Gaelic events in the community.  We have been able to pay for experienced Gaelic speakers and musicians to engage with people through conversation, music and song.  We have already gained recognition by winning the Community Award at the Gaelic Awards in 2021 thanks to the support of our amazing Gaelic speakers.We want to keep up the momentum by engaging with people living with dementia and their carers, family and friends, including Gaelic primary schools; this has been a well-received option for people both online and in the community.  We are expanding our online presence with Alzheimer Scotland's Virtual Dementia Resource Centre starting in January 2024. This means that the online group will be much more widely available to Gaelic speakers who may no longer live in the Highlands and may be isolated from other speakers.  Our monthly event at the Cuillin HIlls Hotel is very popular and has been an excellent opportunity to engage people in the community for both Gaelic speakers and those with no knowledge of Gaelic.  By bringing these two groups together we have managed to bring Gaelic back into the community, giving the non Gaelic speakers the opportunity to hear the language and songs and experience the Gaelic culture and at the same time give the Gaelic speakers that are there an opportunity to see the language being used and take pride in their culture taking 'centre stage'.We also have just been given the opportunity to develop our in person Gaelic provision in the south end of the island by using a venue in An Acarsaid Care Home in Broadford.  With funding from Bòrd Na Gàidhlig we could have events with Gaelic conversation and song there that would benefit the Gaelic speaking residents of the home and also people in the wider community there.Our continued engagement with local schools to bring GME children along to the groups and encourage intergenerational use of the language in the community is an incredible opportunity for both people living with dementia and carers to share their knowledge and language with a younger generation and to offer the children more opportunities to speak Gaelic with native speakers in an organic setting.