Tobar an Dualchais
receives funding boost

Tobar an Dualchais receives funding boost

In an exciting new development, the Tobar an Dualchais digitisation centre in Lochboisdale, South Uist has received funding to establish a commercial operation that will employ four people.

Up until now, the centre has been digitising audio recordings as part of the Tobar an Dualchais project which is making several thousand hours of cultural and heritage material available online. The Lochboisdale office already has contracts for digitisation work from the BBC Digitising Service at Maida Vale in London and the National Museums of Scotland as a first step in expanding its client base. As well as undertaking work for larger organisations the digitisation centre can also cater for individuals and smaller groups such as local historical societies who may be looking to preserve their audio recordings in a digital format.

Mairead MacDonald, the Director of Tobar an Dualchais stated: ‘The staff in our Uist office have developed a wide skills base while working for the project and we felt that it was important that these skills be retained and developed after the end of the digitisation phase of the project. We are delighted to have received sufficient funding to enable us to proceed on a commercial basis and look to the future with optimism.’

The centre received funding from LEADER Innse Gall (£60,786), HIE (£35,000) and Comhairle nan Eilean Siar (£30,000) and any profit generated will be used to further the aims of the Tobar an Dualchais project.

Kathlene MacDonald, the LEADER Innse Gall Co-ordinator commented: ‘On behalf of the LEADER Local Action Group I am pleased that we have been of assistance in the funding of this initiative. It will bring new skills and employment to an economically fragile area and with LEADER Innse Gall’s main aim being to ‘Revitalise Communities’ this initiative will assist us to meet our objectives.’

Alasdair MacLeòid of Highlands and Islands Enterprise welcomed the new venture, ‘We are delighted to see the growth of this new social enterprise in South Uist as a trading element of the Tobar an Dualchais project. Just as we see the Tobar an Dualchais resource as a new cornerstone of the heritage of the Scottish Gàidhealtachd, so we see massive potential amongst Gaels and the Gàidhealach communities of the region in taking forward innovative ventures such as this to stimulate new economic activity in fragile areas.’