Shetland Partnership summit to ‘pool ideas’

The eighth annual summit of the Shetland Partnership takes place on Wednesday at Islesburgh Community Centre.

This year’s theme is about how to use available resources effectively for the benefit of Shetland. The group will also be launching its “community plan”, describing the partnership’s aims and key priorities for the year ahead.

Senior representatives from public bodies including the SIC, NHS, police, fire transport, charitable trust, colleges and community councils will be present along with the isles’ two youth MSPs and business representatives from Lerwick Port Authority and Living Lerwick.

The day will provide opportunity for discussion, debate and feedback and will include presentations from key speakers about the challenges facing various sectors in Shetland. An afternoon workshop will provide a “hands-on” opportunity to explore that in more detail.

Shetland Partnership chairman Ian Kinniburgh said: “Shetland is entering a critical stage in meeting the challenges brought about by a shrinking public sector and continuing pressure on public sector resources.

“If we are to continue to enjoy the benefits we have become accustomed to from living and working in Shetland we need to make sure we extract the most value from every resource available to us.

“This is not just about money; resources include the people working in Shetland, the buildings and technology we currently use, the knowledge and skills available and the environment we enjoy.

“The challenge is not only to the public sector. We need the voluntary sector and the commercial and industrial sectors to fully engage in making the most of what we have and identifying the gaps we need to seek to fill by doing things differently.

“I hope that this summit brings people from across all the sectors to pool ideas and begin to make a difference towards sustaining and building a prosperous and vibrant Shetland for everybody living here.”