Scottish links with Malawi ,
Patrick Grady, High Commissioner
Thomas John Bisika,
Christine Jardine and Lord
Jack McConnell. Links between Scotland and Malawi began with
David Livingstone's journeys up the
Zambezi and
Shire Rivers to
Lake Malawi in 1859, long before the borders of the nation of Malawi were established. Both the
Church of Scotland and the
Free Church of Scotland had established missions in Malawi by the mid-1870s. These missionaries persuaded the
UK government to declare the area a
British Protectorate. This colonial arrangement lasted until independence was declared on 6 July 1964, when Malawi becoming a member of the
Commonwealth.
Origins The Scotland Malawi Partnership developed from the 'Malawi Millennium Project' of the
University of Strathclyde and
Bell College, in response to the belief that there was a need to bring together under a single umbrella the many organizations and individuals throughout Scotland engaged in fostering and developing links between Scotland and Malawi. The partnership was launched in the
Glasgow City Chambers on 22 April 2004 by the
Lord Provosts of
Glasgow and
Edinburgh, with the support of Ibrahim Milazi, the High Commissioner of Malawi, and representatives from the Universities of
Glasgow and
Strathclyde, the
Church of Scotland, and the
Scottish Catholic International Aid Fund (SCIAF). The Lord Provost of Glasgow and Dr Peter West (Secretary of the University of Strathclyde) thereafter travelled to Malawi, and, with the support of Norman Ling, the (then) British
High Commissioner, and numerous prominent Malawians, established the Malawi Committee of the Scotland Malawi Partnership which held its first meeting on 28 September 2004. In 2005 the Scottish First Minister
Jack McConnell's head of communications
Susan Dalgety visited Malawi to organise the first official visit by the Scottish government.
Developments since formation On 29 April 2005 the Scotland Malawi Partnership held a 'Shaping the Partnership' consultative conference at the University of Strathclyde, attended by approximately 100 people – representatives of NGOs, universities, small charities, hospitals and individuals with an interest in Malawi. Guests heard speeches from Ms
Patricia Ferguson MSP, Minister for Tourism, Culture and Sport; The Lord Provost of Glasgow; Professor
David Rubadiri, Vice Chancellor of the
University of Malawi; Dr Peter West and the Rev
Howard Matiya Nkhoma, General Secretary of the
Livingstonia Synod of the Church of Central Africa Presbyterian (CCAP). The proposed structure and remit of the partnership were decided upon. The Interim Board had Rev Prof
Ken Ross as the chair and Dr Peter West as the Vice Chair. The three founding members of the Scotland Malawi Partnership were the Malawi Millennium Project, Malawi Tomorrow and Child Survival in Malawi. The partnership organised a
Scottish Executive-funded 'Malawi Health Workshop' in 2005, attended by over 65 Scottish health professionals. November 2005 was a significant month for the Scotland Malawi Partnership. The partnership's conference, 'Malawi After Gleneagles: A Commission for Africa Case-Study', was held at the
Scottish Parliament, involving over 250 delegates from Malawi and Scotland engaged in debates about international development. The
First Minister,
Jack McConnell MSP, and the late
President of Malawi,
Dr Bingu wa Mutharika, were keynote speakers. During Mutharika's visit, a Cooperation Agreement between Scotland and Malawi was signed. Other important developments in November 2005 were the first applications for membership of the Scotland Malawi Partnership and confirmation of secure funding from the Scottish Executive (now
Scottish Government) for two and a half years. The partnership became a legal entity on 12 December 2005 as a Scottish Charity (SC037048) and a
Company Limited by Guarantee (SC294378). In the process, the partnership's Memorandum and
Articles of Association were also ratified. From May 2006 a full-time coordinator, Leo Williams, was appointed, working from the
University of Strathclyde. Assisted by seed funding from the Interim Board, the Malawi Committee held its launch at the Capital Hotel in
Lilongwe, attended by
Patricia Ferguson (then
Minister for Tourism, Culture and Sport) and a delegation from the Scottish Executive, as well as numerous prominent Malawians. The Scotland Malawi Partnership was registered as a Company Limited by Guarantee in Malawi (7852) on 4 May 2006. June 2006 saw the Lord Provosts of Edinburgh and Glasgow become Honorary Presidents of the Scotland Malawi Partnership. In collaboration with the Committee of Malawians in Scotland, the partnership staged a 'Malawi Independence Celebration' on 1 July to introduce the partnership to Malawians. Guests of honour included His Excellency Dr
Francis Moto (Malawi High Commissioner to the UK), His Honour Colin Cameron (Malawi Honorary Consul to Scotland), Patricia Ferguson MSP and the Moyenda Band. In August 2006 the Scotland Malawi Partnership relocated from an office in the University of Strathclyde to
Edinburgh City Chambers. With the transition to a
Scottish National Party (SNP) Government in May 2007, the SNP launched a pledge which successfully persuaded the new administration to continue supporting Malawi – soon after, the government announced that at least £3 million per year from the International Development Fund would be reserved ("ring fenced") for Malawi projects. ==Activities and impacts==