Your guide to stories, news and business opportunities in the Highlands and Islands throughout 2014

GET INTO 2014 - NEWSLETTERMarch 2014 Issue 1

2014 EVENTS

Jan - Dec The Year of Homecoming 1 - 15 July Queen’s Baton Relay tours the Highlands and Islands23 July - 3 Aug Commonwealth Games 23 - 28 Sept Ryder Cup

MARCH EVENTS

29 Caithness Orchestra - Northern Lands Concert29-30 Scotland’s best outdoors

APRIL EVENTS

1 Improve your search engine ranking1 Conflict resolution workshop2 Marketing on a shoestring3 Taste our Best Food and Drink Workshop 4 Rural and Islands Housing Seminar 4-5 Inverness Whisky Festival 4 – 15 Tartan Day Scotland Festival8-11 Food Hotel Asia, Singapore Expo8 2 Day Business Start-Up Workshop 10 China-Scotland Business Breakfast (Glasgow)17 Marketing and Selling Skills Workshop19 Culloden Battle 268th Anniversary

For further details on all of the above events please visit www.hie.co.uk/2014

The Queen’s Baton Relay is currently travelling across the Commonwealth and is due to arrive in Scotland on 14 June.

The Highlands and Islands’ leg of the trip will start in Shetland on 1 July. The eyes of the world are following its progress and this really is a great opportunity for communities, businesses and visitors to get involved. For details of the baton route around the Highlands and

Islands go to www.hie.co.uk/regional-information/2014/queen-s-baton-relay.html

If the baton is passing by your door and you have a promotional business idea or a story to tell then the HIE 2014 Events team would love to hear from you. Let’s make the most of the opportunity that 2014 is offering us. Just email 2014events@hient.co.uk

THE QUEEN’S BATON - COMING TO A TOWN NEAR YOU?

YOUR 2014 BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES

• ProcurementopportunitiesfortheCommonwealthGames: logontowww.glasgowbusinessportal.co.uk

• ProcurementopportunitiesforRyderCup:look atwww.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk (Shortleadopportunitieswillappearonbothsitesinthelead uptothegames,sokeepyoureyespeeledforopportunities).• CheckouttheVisitScotlandwebsitebyclickinghere –thereisahostofinformationandausefultoolkitto helpyourbusinessmakethemostof2014.

March 2014 Page 02Get into 2014 - Newsletter

Scotland Welcomes the World 2014 www.hie.co.uk

HIE is supporting a campaign to get Scotland’s workforce more active by making physical activity a part of their everyday lives. By encouraging staff to make even small and simple steps you can improve their health and wellbeing. Organisations of all sizes across Scotland are being encouraged to get involved in the Fit in 14 campaign.

Fit in 14 was launched last month by Commonwealth Games and Sport minister Shona Robison as part of the Scottish Government’s

commitment to ensuring the Games will deliver a positive and lasting legacy for Scotland. Funding grants ranging from £300 to £1,000,000 are also available for a wide range of community-led projects, whether it is a grass roots project or helping communities realise their ambition of owning and running their own sports facilities. A total of £10,000,000 is on offer until 2015.

For more information about ‘Fit in 14’ funding log on to www.legacy2014.co.uk/be-part-of-it/funding

WANT TO GET ‘FIT IN 14’?

2014 is the chance for Scotland to showcase everything we do best. A special month for whisky will be held in May for Homecoming Scotland, with lots going on across the Highlands and Islands, including: the Speyside Whisky Festival (1-5 May), Orkney Whisky’s Wild Side (10-18 May) and World Whisky Day (17 May). Caroline Packman, Director of Homecoming Scotland, said: “Homecoming is a great opportunity to place the spotlight on our greatest assets, so it’s only fitting that whisky is at the heart

of a fantastic month-long series of events.” The Inverness Whisky Festival takes place on 4-5 April as a precursor to Whisky Month in May.

If you are running an event during 2014, make sure it’s added to the Homecoming programme. www.eventscotland.org/partner_programme

We would also love to hear from you 2014events@hient.co.uk

RAISE A GLASS TO 2014

Volunteers from across Scotland will head for Glasgow this summer to become part of the 18,000 strong workforce who will become known during the Games as Clydesiders. Claire Munro, a development officer for HIE’s Community Assets team in Auchtertyre has been selected as a volunteer for the scores, times and results team, based at Scotstoun Stadium. Claire said: “I was interested in getting involved in the games and thought volunteering would be a great opportunity. I’m really looking forward to my experience and I’m sure I’ll learn a lot and meet a great bunch of people.”

Are you or a colleague going to become a Clydesider for two weeks? Are you running with the baton? If so, we want to hear about it. Just email your story to the 2014 events team.

2014: YOUR STORY

Food and drink businesses from the Highlands and Islands were among 230 delegates at the Going Places food and drink conference in Perth earlier this month. Fiona Richmond, Project Manager for 2014 Events at Scotland Food and Drink said, “The event was a great success and it is good to see so many events taking place across Scotland this year. I

would advise that companies visit www.2014foodanddrink.org to find out about opportunities arising from this year’s major events.”

The Perth event is the first in a series of conferences that the Scottish Cities Alliance is promoting during 2014 to showcase the global excellence of each of the growth

sectors and Scotland’s cities. The next event is Bio-Dundee on 20/21 May for the Life Sciences sector.

For more information about forthcoming conferences for 2014 including Life Sciences and Renewable Energy, log onto: www.scottishcities.wordpress.com

CITIES ALLIANCE CONFERENCES

FOR MORE INFOMATIONS VISIT www.hie.co.uk/2014E 2014events@hient.co.uk

The 2014 Events Team would love to hear any news, information or questions that you have relating to 2014. Please do not hesitate to get in touch.

YOUR 2014 EVENTS TEAM