Gigha Day & Simon Fraser Memorial Event

The Isle of Gigha Heritage Trust played tribute to Simon Fraser in a full day event that celebrated the past, present and future of the island.

This year’s Gigha Day not only commemorated the anniversary of island’s community buyout, but also served as a memorial event for Simon Fraser, a solicitor and pioneer for land reform. Simon’s wife, Ann Fraser, launched the festivities by raising the Gigha flag. Alongside the flag raising, Gigha Primary buried a time capsule. All the pupils have included a letter which tells a little bit about themselves alongside what they would like to see Gigha like in 100 years. They have also included a photo of something that is important to them and want children of the future to see.

After the flag raising and time capsule, guests adjourned to the Gigha Hotel for food, and a couple of mapping activities – the first was to create a timeline of what has happened over the last 100 years on Gigha. The second mapping activity was for people to write what they want to see Gigha like in 100 years’
time.

Several speakers were invited to the events, with the theme of their talks being “Community Wealth Building”. Our first speaker was Neil McInroy. Neil is an international expert on Community Wealth Building and is the global lead for Community Wealth Building at The Democracy Collaborative and is Chair of the Economic Development Association of Scotland. Our second speaker was Miriam Brett who is a Co-Director of Future Economy Scotland which is a think tank that aims to create a democratic, sustainable, and just economy for everyone.