Activity
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In 1977 steps were taken to establish, under the general sponsorship of the Scottish Council for Social Service, a Scottish Local History Council, the objects of which would be to encourage the study and discussion of local history in Scotland and to bring together representatives of interested organisations. The original intention was to provide something of the same service to Scotland that the Standing Conference had provided for England and Wales. These moves followed the holding of the first Scottish Local History Congress at Edinburgh University in 1969 and after the second Congress, held at Dundee in 1970, a Constitution for the proposed Scottish Local History Council was prepared.
A third Congress was held at Stirling University in January 1972 which it had been hoped might be a starting point for the new Council. For a variety of reasons, however, this did not happen.
In 1976 it became apparent that there was a body of opinion among those interested in the study of local history in Scotland which supported the renewed formation of a Scottish Local History Council. Representatives of interested organisations were contacted and a meeting to discuss the aims and objects of a new council was held on the 28th October.
In September 1981, a committee of volunteers held a conference at Newbattle Abbey College to set up an organisation which would promote and co-ordinate local history activities in Scotland. This society was named The Scottish Local History Conference and was run by representatives of various branches of adult education, teacher training and museum work. In order to obtain more information about the scope and nature of existing local history activities in Scotland, it was agreed that a survey should be carried out and a simple questionnaire was sent out to all those societies which could be identified. The interest aroused by the survey resulted in a great many inquiries, and in December 1982 the Committee approved the compilation of a report entitled, 'Scottish Local History', which contained details of the interests and activities, work in progress and publications of groups all over Scotland.
At the September 1983 conference the Committee recommended that a more formal organisation be established which would be called the Scottish Local History Forum. The bank account held by the Scottish Local History Conference was subsequently transferred to the new treasurer, and the Scottish Local History Conference ceased to exist.
The Forum approached the Carnegie (UK) Trust who subsequently made a grant which enabled the Forum, in turn, to offer small training grants of up to £100 to societies who wished to include an instruction element in their lecture programmes.
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