Why Scotland/Traquair

Beyond Borders aims to promote Scotland as a place for intercultural dialogue and learning – a small nation promoting peace, equality and its own identity.

As Executive Director Mark Muller Stuart KC outlines, “our experience in the Borders has taught us that when human beings are allowed to meet in an unthreatening environment with a unique history of its own and in the spirit of peace, enlightened curiosity and cooperation then magical things can and do happen to the way people think and act.”

Important historical sites in Edinburgh are used throughout project activities, allowing open and dynamic space for discussion but also for participants to be immersed in the history of Scotland.

In the Scottish Borders, the unique setting of Traquair House builds upon its over 900 years of history. For centuries it has been a sanctuary at the heart of cross-border conflict and remains a symbol of freedom, democracy and freedom. Beyond Borders Scotland uses Traquair and Scotland as a safe space for discussion and debate that facilitates cross cultural exchange, dialogue and reconciliation.

Traquair House is now the perfect retreat venue for project work and also for the Beyond Borders International Festival. With a past of hosting many debates on important issues, it provides the relaxing environment needed for people to spend time with their fellow thinkers and a cross-fertilisation of ideas to take place. During these times, Traquair House becomes a meeting place for world cultures to try and resolve conflicts, just as it was once used as a refuge for victims of such conflicts. It has moved from a shelter to a bridge in the world of clashing cultures, bringing these conflicts out into the open and not out of sight.

Borderlands are important places as they where different cultures and civilisations both past and present meet, collide and confront with each other, but they are also where different cultures reconcile, combine and learn to cooperate. The existence and potential utility of these spaces as platforms for wider international dialogue has great relevance for conflict resolution and the search for peace and understanding.