Our Glenkens is a Glenkens Community and Arts Trust (GCAT) project which builds on its Glenkens Gazette and Glenkens Hub projects. Instead of accepting depopulation as a given, we are trying to change the narrative and show that for many young people, the Glenkens is a great place to make a home and a life. These videos and interviews showcase just some of the young people that have made the Glenkens their home.

Our Glenkens was inspired by another community-led project, Uist Beò. Developed in the Outer Hebrides by young islanders and managed by CoDeL, Uist Beò connects people, amplifies place-based narratives, and drives positive change. By spotlighting the successes and everyday realities of our young people, Uist Beò and Our Glenkens have begun to rewrite the story of what it means to live, work, and thrive in ‘remote’ rural places. 

Many thanks to the Uist Beò and CoDeL teams for all their support in the delivery of this project. Many thanks as well to Anne Halliday for the content creation, and to Georgiana Grimwood for her design of the social media roll-out. 

GCAT leads on delivery of the Glenkens Community Action Plan. Underpinning this ambitious articulation of the Glenkens communities' priorities is the need to keep our communities sustainable. It is critical to this that younger people see the Glenkens as a vibrant, thriving places where they will be welcomed and supported. In the current uncertain times, rural living in human-scale communities and the close networks of support that it brings with it are more relevant and needed than ever.

This project was supported by South of Scotland Enterprise (SOSE), as a pilot project that will share its findings on ways to support rural repopulation across the south of Scotland. Many thanks to SOSE for the funding that has allowed us to bring these stories to life.