Celebrating Best Practice in Community Regeneration with the SURF Awards
A blog by Emma Scott, Information, Communications and Events Officer at SURF.
The prestigious 2018 ‘20th Anniversary’ SURF Awards are open for entries until 5pm on Monday 17 September, so there is still time to share your examples of best practice in community regeneration!
The SURF Awards are delivered each year by SURF, a regeneration forum with 280 cross-sector member organisations across Scotland, in partnership with the Scottish Government. The purpose is to highlight, celebrate and share the achievements of initiatives that address physical, social and economic challenges in communities across Scotland.
This year’s five thematic categories include:
- Creative Regeneration sponsored by Creative Scotland;
- Youth Employability: Overcoming Barriers sponsored by Skills Development Scotland;
- Community Led Regeneration sponsored by Highlands and Island Enterprise;
- Scotland’s Most Improved Place sponsored by Scotland’s Towns Partnership and Architecture & Design Scotland; and
- Housing which celebrates successful links between housing development and wider regeneration outcomes.
To celebrate the 20th Anniversary of the SURF Award process, we have commissioned Plantation Productions to create a short film looking back at 20 years of the SURF Awards. The completed film will be showcased at the SURF Awards Presentation Dinner on 6 December in Glasgow.
Plantation Productions are an arts and media charity based at The Portal in Govan, who use creative participation to improve wellbeing and address inequality. The Portal previously won SURF’s Award for Creative Regeneration in 2013.
Another exciting feature of this year’s awards is our Caption Competition for the main Awards Image, featuring the frog sheltering from the rain. The best and funniest caption will win a free place at the SURF Awards Celebratory Dinner in the Grand Central Hotel, Glasgow, on the evening of Thursday 6th December 2018.
The SURF Awards are more than just awards. For 20 years they have helped us all learn how successful regeneration can happen, even in the most challenging places and circumstances. They show Scotland's communities at their best; but also how they could do so much more with the right support and resources.
We hope that SFHA members will get involved, and look forward to reviewing your entries!
For further information on the SURF Awards and to download application materials please visit https://www.surf.scot/surf-awards/ or contact Emma Scott on emma@surf.scot.