Bòrd na Gàidhlig ([pɔːrˠt̪ nə kaːlɪikʲ] ) is a quango (quasi-autonomous non-governmental organisation) appointed by the Scottish Government with responsibility for Scottish Gaelic.[1] It is not to be confused with Comunn na Gàidhlig or An Comunn Gaidhealach, which are much older.
Bòrd na Gàidhlig was established in 2006 as the body responsible for implementing the Gaelic Language (Scotland) Act 2005 and specifically, as stated in the Act, "securing the status of the Gaelic language as an official language of Scotland commanding equal respect to the English language".[2] The Bòrd represents a cornerstone of the Scottish Government's implementation of their duties under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages.
Its primary aims are
Its duties are
Following a consultation period from October 2003 to January 2004, during which many respondents expressed their concern that any advice Bòrd gives would be likely to be ignored by largely hostile authorities, it was announced in September 2004 that the Bòrd was to be strengthened in several areas:
The first cathraiche (chair-person) of the eight member Bòrd was Donnchadh MacFhearghais (Duncan Ferguson) from Islay, rector of Plockton High School, former convenor of Comunn Luchd-Ionnsachaidh, Comunn na Gàidhlig, and director of the steering committee for BBC Gaelic programming. The current cathraiche is Arthur Cormack, who was appointed in February 2009 after holding the position of Interim Chairperson from July 2008. Mr Cormack is also Chief Executive of the National Gaelic Arts Tuition Festivals, Fèisean nan Gàidheal. Arthur Cormack is from Portree, Isle of Skye and was educated at Portree High School. He was also formerly on the Board of Directors of Eden Court Theatre in Inverness and the Scottish Arts Council.