Tartan Day or Tartan Week are terms which are pretty new in Scotland but have appeared in the press over recent times with increasing frequency. They describe emerging celebrations which are having a major impact in the United States and is making a start back here. At the centre of it all is April 6th which has been designated Tartan Day by the US Senate. This is the date when Scotland's Declaration of Independence was signed in 1320 at Arbroath, which then went on to inspire the American declaration 456 years later.
Since being made an officially recognised day in the US calendar, organisers the length and breadth of the United States have been organising diverse events which recognise the contribution of Scots to north America. For the first time this year it was also marked by Angus Council which put on a public programme which attracted members of the public and personalities alike as well as critical acclaim.
As in past years I travelled to New York and Washington DC to support Tartan Day. I did that to help support events which boost Scotland's image in one of Scotland's biggest tourism and export markets. As in past years a delegation of SNP colleagues also travelled across the Atlantic and the Scottish Executive and Scottish Parliament were also there playing their part.
All of these efforts secured significant media coverage. For US broadcasters there were pictures of the procession down New York's fifth avenue. The Washington Times gave serious coverage about a whisky and tourism promotion event I co-hosted in DC which was attended by Sir Sean Connery. Public broadcaster C-Span was live coast to coast at a major speech by Democrat Presidential hopeful John Kerry and covered a meeting with SNP leader John Swinney.
For people back home however the media stories were altogether different. For a start little was positive. There were acres of space devoted to how the Scottish Executive snubbed Sir Sean Connery and then of course there was the picture of First Minister Jack McConnell in a modern Kilt. Considering the public briefing against me by the Scottish Labour leader readers might be surprised to see me defend him but I will nonetheless.
Tartan Day is criticised by some who have clearly never attended for allegedly perpetuating an out of date view of Scotland that exists in some ex-pat communities. In fact it is a blend of the traditional and the modern and that is what I think the First Minister was trying to illustrate. He did that at the super cool 'Dressed to Kilt' fashion show in New York by wearing a trendy kilt. Undoubtedly the get-up was not the most flattering, which might be a hanging offence for a model, but in terms of getting into the spirit of the event I take my hat off to him.
Other countries would give their back teeth for the annual media opportunity Scotland gets to promote investment, trade and tourism. They are jealous of the chance to pursue a positive public diplomacy agenda, meet the significant players in the US and learn best practice where there are good examples to be had.
I was delighted that Moray-based company Walkers and whisky giant Diageo were in the thick of things. They made key events possible through sponsorship and no doubt helped their profile in the US market which helps secure jobs at home. A big thank-you to them and everybody else who took part. I intend to go back to the States to support Tartan Day in the future where there are significant opportunities for local companies and Moray as a whole. If anybody wants to learn more and help promote a good news story please get in touch.