Our commitment on heritage, history and race

As an organisation we believe in  heritage for all and we know that we need to do more to tackle inequality.

Many people still feel apprehensive about how to explore Scotland’s global histories, and how best to build relationships with our diverse communities in a manner that acknowledges our shared history, that tells all sides of the story candidly, and that builds trust.

Research by academics, heritage professionals, and local communities is increasingly uncovering the legacies of Scotland’s involvement in empire, colonialism, and slavery. Scots of all backgrounds played a role in these activities. Scottish people had a profound impact on societies and indigenous communities across the globe. 

These legacies were not just felt abroad. They shaped the way that Scotland developed as a nation: from the way people thought and felt, to the built environment and landscapes they lived in.

Many of these aspects continue to shape Scotland’s story today. We acknowledge this history, and its implications for our historic environment. 

We also recognise that there are differing views about our history and the impact of empire and colonialism on our society. But history has nevertheless left us with institutional and systemic barriers that have shaped – and continue to reinforce - modern inequalities, including racism.

We have a rich opportunity to address this aspect of our heritage, to reflect our multicultural population, and to create new ways in which to bring our diverse communities together.

The principles behind this statement are outlined in our equality outcomes and our Mainstreaming and Equality Outcomes Report 2025-29.

We acknowledge that colonisation, empire, and slavery had a human cost, and generated legacies that remain with us to the present day through racism and prejudice. We believe that having a truer insight into our country’s complex history will help with our commitment to create a more inclusive understanding of the past and help to shed light on under-represented or marginalised people, and events that have shaped our modern nation. 

We also acknowledge that the heritage workforce is not as ethnically and culturally diverse and does not represent the demographic make-up of modern Scotland. We commit to taking steps to address this lack of diversity in the workforce. Heritage is for all and there should be opportunities for individuals of all backgrounds to learn skills and have a rewarding and progressive career in the historic environment sector. We will identify and strive to dismantle the barriers to entry and progression to ensure that anyone, regardless of their background, can have a role to play in preserving and showcasing heritage. Where necessary, we will take positive action to overcome the barriers to employment specifically facing marginalised communities. 

The principles of justice, fairness, and equality lie at the heart our vision of heritage for all. To the best of our ability, we commit to providing a clear and honest picture of Scotland’s history being conscious of issues around bias and misrepresentation. This will not always be easy, as the historical record is partial and gives us a glimpse of only certain people and places across time. But by involving communities in our work, and by making greater effort to listen to and learn from what they are telling us, we can still improve the inclusivity of the stories we tell, and the decisions we make. To support this, we will create both physical and digital spaces that are inclusive for all the people of Scotland. We will make sure that we co-create and co-design with our communities with meaningful engagements. 

Facing some parts of our past and their influence on the present day might be challenging for some of us. Our aim is to learn from our past, to connect better with our present, and to make our future a more desirable place for all. 

The detail of the action we take will feature as part of our annual Equalities Action Plan, published in pursuance of achieving our overarching equalities outcomes. Programmes, projects, and other activity connected to delivery of this statement and wider equality outcomes will be highlighted as set out in our annual Equalities communications plan – comprising a mix of online and social media publication, seminars and events, and reports.

We've already taken various actions in relation to our Heritage, History and Race statement.

• We re-launched our mandatory equality, diversity, and inclusion training and review this annually. We have also partnered with Diversity Scotland to develop and deliver an inclusion learning plan for all colleagues.
  

• We promote equality initiatives, projects, and events through our communications channels, including social media and blog. We actively promote Black History and South Asian History Months inviting people to contribute blogs, and have dedicated tags for heritage blog posts by underrepresented groups.
  

• We've established a Global Diversity Network, sponsored by a member of our Executive Leadership Team and with budget to deliver activity. 
  

• We've partnered with West of Scotland Regional Equality Council to create an inclusive recruitment and retention experience for all colleagues which. Our processes include a new recruitment toolkit, refreshed recruitment training and promotion of the importance of providing and using equality data

• We achieved the LGBT Chartermark in 2023, in partnership with LGBT Youth Scotland.

Managing Imperial Legacies 

This two-year project was funded by the Royal Society of Edinburgh and involved the University of Edinburgh, Historic Environment Scotland (HES) and the Coalition for Racial Equality and Rights (CRER). The two day Conference hosted by HES in June 2022 was a great success and concluded the main phase of the project. 

Rediscovering the Antonine Wall

This National Lottery Funded project involved a series of community led engagement projects, including a partnership with 'Cycling Without' to help the less mobile to visit Antonine Wall sites using a trishaw, contributed to the creation of five Roman-themed playparks, and engagement with refugee-led community groups to celebrate diverse forms of storytelling and the discover global connections of local areas in the past and present. 

Find out more about the Antonine Wall

Eternal Connections

Fragments of Islamic glass found at Caerlaverock Castle inspired an AHRC (Arts and Humanities Research Council) funded collaborative community project to recreate the original object. We engaged with two community groups, AMINA Muslim Women's Resource Centre and the Muslim Scouts of Edinburgh to stimulate discussion around the heritage of Scotland's Muslim communities, and to undertake a range of creative practice in response both to these stories, and the 3D replicas of the medieval Islamic glass beaker. The project ran from February to August 2022. 

Read more about the project on our blog

Properties in Care and the British Empire

This research project aims to investigate and understand the imperial connections of our PICs (Properties in Care) by situating their historical owners within the activities of the British Empire, including the transatlantic slave economy and other colonial activities. 

• Legacies of Slavery and Empire from Glasgow Life
• Empire, Slavery and Scotland's Museums from Museums Galleries Scotland
• Facing our Past from the National Trust for Scotland