Who we are
The Ulster-Scots Agency (Tha Boord o Ulster-Scotch) is an agency of the North South Language Body, established under the British/Irish Agreement Act 1999 and the North/South Co-operation (Implementation Bodies) (NI) Order 1999.
The Agency's statutory remit is the "promotion of greater awareness and use of Ullans and Ulster-Scots cultural issues, both within Northern Ireland and throughout the island".
In fulfilling our statutory remit, we are required to give effect to a number of important human rights instruments, including the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages, which protects the Ulster-Scots language in the UK; the Framework Convention for National Minorities, under which the Ulster-Scots community is recognised as a national minority of the United Kingdom; and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Our work is also impacted by equality and good relations duties set out in the Northern Ireland Act 1998, which have recently been supplemented by an additional duty in relation to cultural identity: and provisions in respect of Ulster-Scots in the education system and the establishment of a Commissioner for the Ulster-Scots and the Ulster British tradition, all as a result of the Identity and Language (Northern Ireland) Act 2022.
The Agency is jointly funded by the Department for Communities in Northern Ireland and the Department of Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht in the Republic of Ireland and is responsible to the North/South Ministerial Council.
With its main office in Belfast, the Agency also has a regional office in Raphoe, Co. Donegal, an Ulster-Scots heartland area.
More about the Agency's work can be viewed in this short video.
What do we do?
The Ulster-Scots Agency aims to:
- Promote the study, conservation, development and use of Ulster-Scots as a living language
- Encourage and develop the full range of its attendant culture; and
- Promote an understanding of the history of the Ulster-Scots.
In carrying out its functions, in relation to Ulster-Scots language and cultural issues, the Agency may:
- Provide advice for both administrations, public bodies and other groups in the private and voluntary sector;
- Undertake research and promotional campaigns; and
- Support projects and grant aid bodies and groups.
How do we help?
The Agency's work covers areas including, but not limited to, Schools, Community Groups, Heritage Groups, and Youth Organisations (e.g. Girls' Brigade). The Agency is also responsible for:
- Supporting a range of projects which safeguard or promote Ulster-Scots heritage, e.g. Monaghan Peace Campus and Bailieborough Plantation Museum;
- Providing capacity building support to the Ulster-Scots community through core funding to the Ulster-Scots Community Network, as well as annual funding to other Ulster-Scots Community Partners in West Tyrone, Mourne, and North/West Belfast; and
- Delivering our regular annual grant programmes which support community-based music and dance tuition, summer schools, and community festivals.