Andrew Jennings and Andrew Lind recently organised and ran the UHI Institute for Northern Studies International 6th St Magnus Conference in Lerwick, Shetland. They delivered a joint paper about HerInDep to an audience of linguists, archaeologists and cultural historians from across the North Atlantic, including participants from Iceland, the Faroe Islands and Norway. Their paper was entitled Living on the Edge? Heritage, Identity and Community. They focussed on the importance of Shetland’s cultural heritage to the community, discussing the way cultural heritage can help strengthen communities, but can also cause problems for would-be incomers. The weakness of relying on volunteers was noted, but they concluded that there was strong evidence of the positive impact cultural heritage can play within repopulation strategies and that Shetland is uniquely well-equipped in this regard.
