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Tomorrow will mark the passage of exactly 187 years since a boy was born in a coastal town in the north-east of Scotland—Fraserburgh, which is fondly known as the Broch. On 6 June 1838, that boy, who was the son of the town’s harbour master, was born on Commerce Street. His name was Thomas Blake Glover.

I doubt that anyone at that time could have imagined just how far that Fraserburgh boy would go—that, one day, he would be honoured by the Emperor of Japan, his work would transform entire industries and economies, and his legacy would still live on today, not just in history books but in the shared culture, education and innovation that continue to link Scotland and Japan.

I extend a warm welcome to the distinguished guests who join us in the gallery: the consul general of Japan and the cultural consul to the consulate-general of Japan in Edinburgh. It has been an honour to welcome our guests to the Parliament and to nurture the international friendships that mean so much to Scotland. Just last week, I had the pleasure of meeting the consul general at a meeting of the cross-party group on Japan, where I also met His Excellency the Japanese ambassador to the United Kingdom. It has been a week of making Scottish-Japanese connections.

The scale of Glover’s global impact is truly extraordinary. He supported five young Japanese students to travel to Britain to study. Known as the Choshu five, they went on to help to build modern Japan, and included one who became a Prime Minister who shaped the country’s constitution, and others who made advancements in railway systems, modern engineering and infrastructure, and reform of currency and finance. One made his mark on the education system in several ways, including introducing education for deaf people.

That connection brings this story very close to home for me. As many members will know, my father is deaf, but they might not know that he is also a deaf historian. About this time last year, he introduced me to Dr Manako Yabe, a deaf Japanese academic and postdoctoral research associate at Heriot-Watt University, whose work focuses on deaf studies and communications technology. I am delighted to welcome Dr Yabe to the gallery today. My father and Dr Yabe had connected at a deaf history event in Edinburgh and began exploring historical links between Scotland and Japan. During those conversations they discovered that Thomas Blake Glover had supported the very group of scholars who helped to introduce deaf education in Japan.

Knowing the significance of Fraserburgh to me, my father invited me to meet him and Dr Yabe in the town, to visit the Glover garden on Commerce Street, which is the very site of Glover’s birthplace. The garden has been lovingly created and is maintained by the owner, Michael Mennie, who warmly welcomed us. He also shared with us stories of his own visit to the Glover garden in Nagasaki, where Glover’s former home is now preserved and visited by millions. In Japan, Glover is remembered, respected and celebrated.

After that visit, and our conversations with Michael, I thought, “Why not do something here, in Fraserburgh?” I began speaking to local community leaders and, before long, a festival committee was formed as a branch of the Rotary Club of Fraserburgh. The committee consists of passionate volunteers who have given their time, energy and hearts to creating something truly special for the town that they love, and in an extraordinarily short space of time. Although she is far too modest to take credit herself, I want to recognise Councillor Ann Bell, who, as chair of the committee, has played a central role in co-ordinating the work of all who have been involved.

This Sunday, 8 June, we will come together for the inaugural Thomas Blake Glover festival. The festival is not just about looking back but about bringing people together to celebrate Fraserburgh’s connections with the wider world and everything that we have to be proud of. There is so much talent and creativity in the town. The festival’s afternoon programme will feature performances by incredible local talent.

Sunday will also be a day to celebrate our international friendships. We will be joined by several distinguished guests, including the consul general; the Mitsubishi Corporation’s deputy chief regional officer for Europe, Middle East and Africa; Ronnie Watt OBE, who is a recipient of the order of the rising sun; and Lady Saltoun. I fear listing every person and group in case I inadvertently leave someone out, but I note that the full programme and list of distinguished guests will be available online for those who wish to follow the celebrations.

On the day, we will plant a cherry blossom tree in Glover’s memory, right there on the site of his birth. It will be a living symbol of connection and growth, with roots in the Broch, just like Glover, but looking upwards to the rising sun, and blossoming each year on the lead-up to his birthday, so reminding us of our connections with Japan. That connection continues in ways that feel almost poetic. Anyone who stands at Fraserburgh harbour—where Glover’s father once worked as harbour master—and looks out to sea will see wind turbines that form part of the Ocean Winds Moray east offshore wind project. Those turbines have links with Mitsubishi—the very company that Glover helped bring into being.

Fraserburgh is a town where people simply get on with it, and they work very hard. It is a place with global reach and a thriving fishing industry. The people there continually recognise and act on their potential. There are plans to expand the harbour, a master plan for future growth, and a strong and growing campaign to bring back rail to connect Fraserburgh to Aberdeen.

I believe that those are the kinds of forward-looking projects that would have resonated with Glover. He introduced Japan’s first steam locomotive, he modernised shipbuilding and he supported education and reform. He was a connector of people and ideas and a true visionary. I believe that he would be proud of what is happening in Fraserburgh, not just because we are remembering him, but because we are building something worthy of the legacy that he left behind. It is about making sure that a boy who was born on Commerce Street 187 years ago is not just remembered but celebrated, and that, through him, we remember what Fraserburgh has contributed to the world and what it can still contribute.

I thank everyone who has helped to make this happen, including the festival committee, the Rotary Club of Fraserburgh, Michael Mennie, Councillor Ann Bell, Dr Manako Yabe and, of course, my father, who introduced me to the legacy of Thomas Blake Glover—a wee boy from the Broch.

Thank you. That is helpful. We will certainly take note of that.

I again thank everyone for their evidence today. We will now have a brief suspension to allow for a changeover of witnesses.

Thank you.

Thank you. As you say that, I am aware that if there was a classroom assistant who could use BSL to talk to a deaf child in a mainstream school, that child would still only be talking to an adult in the classroom. What difference would it make to a deaf child if other pupils in the class—their peers—could communicate with them in BSL?

Thank you for that.

Hannah, what do you see as the positives and the challenges of the BSL legislation?

I welcome our second panel of witnesses today: Professor Jemina Napier, who is chair of intercultural communication, Heriot-Watt University; Lucy Clark, who is a deaf domestic abuse researcher, advocate and trainer; and Rachel O’Neill, who is from the Moray house school of education and sport, University of Edinburgh. You are all welcome. As with the first panel, we have not scheduled a break, but please indicate to me or the clerks if you would like a short break.

I say in BSL, good morning and welcome to the Scottish Parliament and the equalities committee. It is good to see you.

I will start off by asking questions. We heard from the first panel about a lot the positives of the British Sign Language (Scotland) Act 2015 but also some of the challenges with it. I will come to you first, Lucy Clark. What is your opinion on the positives of the BSL act and what challenges have you seen?

That is great. What are the challenges with implementing some of the actions related to the BSL act?

That is okay, thank you. Alana Harper, what are the positive impacts of the act, and what are the main challenges?

Thank you. Alana Harper, could you tell the committee a bit more about interpreters, how the different levels work and why that is important?

Thank you and welcome back. We move to questions from Tess White.