God broke something in the spirit. People have just been saying, oh, she's just hollered too much. And she just sweat too much. And she got all that holiness stuff and all that righteousness stuff. And so people were doing things quicker and it looked like they were getting ahead. But what God did, what he gave me that, is that it pays to be righteous.  With the intention, if you'll follow him, of blessing you so big, of performing such an astounding miracle, that your outburst of gratitude will look more like just a silent implosion. I got back to my room and I'm just like, whoa! Lauren, honestly, I'm gonna do, I'm gonna do, are you afraid you're gonna break me? And I had the strangest sense. And the reason why I believed it was God is because this could not have been further from my mind. And it sounds just like something he would say. God didn't call me to the world. I've been sent on assignment to do things in the world. But I'm called to the church. Jesus, let every, let every, let every, let every, We know that Biblically, women are not allowed to be pastors. Women are not allowed to hold certain roles in the church leadership. But does it also mean that Paul in his writings forbade men to listen to women when they preach or when they teach? Welcome back, smart Christians. I wanted to address something that has been brought up many times as something that people want me to address. It's talked about a lot. It's covered on different channels and different churches and so forth. And so I wanna address it mainly because it was also brought up during a recent live stream where the women took over. There was all women on the broadcast and they were speaking about their issues inside the home, outside the home as it pertains to their ministry and so forth. And some of the chats during the live stream required, a response.  So the question that is asked, are men forbidden from listening to women when they teach or when they preach? Now, before we go forward, it needs to be clear. And we'll look at the passages that men are the only ones that have been given permission through the scriptures to hold the position of an elder or a pastor. Now, because we have those restrictions, that doesn't mean that every male that any old man or any old male can actually hold these positions. There are requirements. There are criteria that have to be met. Now, I understand how the world is today. And simply because we don't like something or agree with something, irrespective of our own personal feelings, we do not have the right to usurp what God's commandments are. Our job is simply to obey. That matter if we like it or not. He's God, we're not. For the proponents who believe that women can be pastors and that there should be no blurring of the lines, they tend to go to this particular passage. That is Galatians 3.28, where Paul says there is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus. But does that passage get rid of the fact that there are literally men and women? Well, no, there are still men and women. There are still, at this time, slaves and free, servants and non-servants, Jew and non-Jew, Jew and Greek. So Paul was not trying to eliminate any distinctions. No, obviously there still are. What he was trying to say is that as far as salvation's concerned, all can be saved, Jew and Gentile, free and slave, men and women. Now is there a hierarchy? Is there an order to leadership? Well, Paul, as a matter of fact, goes on after he writes this letter to the church in Galatia, he furthers, gives more instructions as it relates to the differences between men and women. And so I want to be crystal clear from my position that women cannot hold the position of pastors nor can they hold the position of an elder in the church. Now, does that mean that a woman cannot also hold the position of a deacon? Well, no, a woman can be a deacon. Remember, Phoebe in Roman was a deacon and all the term deacon means is to serve or to be a servant, to minister. And there's different capacities that women can serve just like different capacities that men can serve in. And so that's not necessarily a position of leadership, although many churches have made that into a position of leadership. But what it really is a position of serving, which is what we're all supposed to do, but there are those who are particularly in the position of serving certain needs for the body. Phoebe was one. Now, remember, as we look in 1 Timothy 3 and also Titus, that when it talks about the requirements of a deacon, as well as the requirements of a presbyterian elder or pastor, there's one particular requirement that's missing when we look at the requirements of a deacon. And that is that the deacon is not required to be able to teach. So there is no requirement in that regard. So that necessarily means that deacons aren't called to teach. That's not their role. Does it mean that they can't teach? Well, we all can teach, whether we be male or female or we're children, old, young, we all can teach. We all can preach. We can give the gospel. We'll talk more about that in a second, but just note that there are no requirements for deacons to have the ability to teach. Now, I'm gonna eventually get to the passages that we go to when we talk about the limitations of women in certain roles, about being silent and so forth and about their ability to teach or to preach. But before that, I wanna look at some issues or some instances where we see women speaking on behalf of the Lord, preaching, if you will. We won't look at the Old Testament. Now, that being said, people will bring up Deborah from the Old Testament. And what she did was not because Israel was in proper standing or things were going well, no, her judging was assigned or a rebuke to the men. It was to stand as judgment over the men because they weren't doing their job. And so there is no call from God to say women, if you don't think that men are doing their job then you stand up and do it. God will always have men there. And he had a man there who just at this moment just was not willing to, he was afraid, he was weak. And so as a sign of judgment upon him and Israel as well, Deborah judged. That's not the norm and that's not what God calls for. But when we look in John 4, we're gonna see something that I guess could be applied to today. In John 4, verse 39, says many Samaritans from the town believed in him because of the woman's testimony. He told me all that I ever did. And then drop down to 42, it says, they said to the woman, it is no longer because of what you said that we believe for we have heard for ourselves and we know that this is indeed the savior of the world. So what happens here? Here's a woman, the Samaritan woman, at that. She goes and she speaks to the men, actually the entire village, the entire place where she is. And they go to her. They go to her because of what she said, what she preached, the revelation that Jesus gave to her, she in turn gave that exact same revelation to them. You need to understand what preaching is. To preach that there's a foretelling and a forth telling. All it really means is just to give a revelation of what God has stated. For some, the Old Testament prophets, for example, they gave a future telling of what God has stated is gonna happen. They also referred to some statements that God has made in the past that have current relevance. And in this case, she's speaking with Jesus and what does she do? She goes and she preaches to them about this man that she met, who happens to be Jesus. Was there any review of her necessary? Was she in violation? Were they in violation for listening? Now, I asked the question, I formed it a certain way, are men precluded or forbidden from listening to a woman who preaches or teaches? There's a reason why I formulated that question that way. I'll come to it in just a little bit, but here we see that she's speaking about Jesus. She's preaching to them and what do they do? They come running to her. Doesn't that sound like today's preaching?  That's not what I'm saying. I'm just trying to get us to see what's happening here in the scriptures and to notice that what she did, she was not rebuked for by the men, nor by Jesus, nor by the writer, in this case, John. So now also recall what we see in Acts chapter two. The writer tells us that in the last days, it shall be God declares that I will pour out my spirit on all flesh and your sons and daughters, daughters are women, on all flesh and your sons and daughters shall prophesy and your young men shall see visions and your old men dream dreams, even on my male and female servants, in those days I will pour out my spirit and they shall prophesy. So the question, prophesy to preach, will women, according to this text, preach? Sure, will they prophesy? Sure, according to this text. Now, what are gonna be the context and how to do so? That's really the issue and also really the intent behind the people going to listen to them, but more than that, the intent behind the person who's actually preaching. Remember we see in Acts 18, we see Priscilla Nequilla, Priscilla's a woman, she is preaching, she is teaching. The gospel's being spread and she's being used to do so and again, there is no rebuke. Now, it's interesting to note that who is she with? She's with her husband, who is also there. Now, what is her husband to her?  And so there's this authority that has to be in place in many cases, especially in a formal church setting. Well, as a matter of fact, let's go ahead and look at why. In 1 Corinthians 11, Paul is talking about this whole issue. Matter of fact, let's start in verse two. Now, I commend you because you remember me and everything and maintain the traditions even as I deliver them to you. Verse three, but I want you to understand that the head of every man is Christ. The head of a wife is her husband and the head of Christ is God. Now, notice the head of a wife. Now, this work could also be translated as woman, but it's not because the head of a wife is her husband. It's not the head of a woman is her man. Well, even if you translated that way, it would still indicate that he's talking about a wife and a husband. It is not to be taken that the head of a woman is every man, every other man, that is not true. It's not true that I'm the head of every woman out there. Now, in terms of ministerial rank, if I have that position in the church, well then that hierarchy needs to be observed and respected, but it's not that I can go up and tell any woman what she can and cannot do. I don't have that authority nor was it ever given to us by Paul, by Peter, by God. So that needs to be clear. So let's go back to the passage.   Since it is the same as if her head were shaving, where if a wife will not cover her head, then she should cut her hair short.  So now what's the point here? The point is that, and you saw that happening in the Church of Corinth, that women were usurping authority. Women were acting out of order and women were taking over roles that were assigned for and reserved for men. Well, the point here is that to make sure that one, you don't stop women from doing what God has called them to do or have them or give it them to do, to do so in an orderly fashion, there has to be some sort of observation of headship. She needs to recognize that there has to be some sort of spiritual authority over her. And that she also in turn cannot take spiritual authority over a man, that's key. She cannot have spiritual authority over a man. And so by having her head over position covered, she indicates that I'm not trying to usurp that authority. Now, obviously we're talking about some customs from that church and we're trying to read them into our modern culture. And so women with short hair and so forth, it's not the same today as it was then. Women have cancer or have other issues that might preclude them from having long hair, who knows? And so it's not to say that a woman with short hair is a sin. That is not the point. Now in that culture, a woman who would shave her head voluntarily or do certain things would do so one to be a, to show that she's a prostitute, that she's for sale or that she's just bucking authority, which brings us back to the main point. She recognizes who is an authority and that she is not to take authority over a man. Now what some are gonna say and lean to is this, and it's a faulty reading. And that is to say that a woman, if she has a spiritual head, if her husband, let's say is the pastor of the church, could she then co-pastor or could she be the, the number two in charge or number three in charge as long as there is some man, her husband, her brother, her father, some male over her? No, this is not a loophole for a woman to go to the say that this particular man has given me authority to preach or to lead men. No, that is not the case here. She cannot receive some sort of command from the pastor or from her husband to say, you know what, I give you permission and since I'm your head, you can go and take 20 or 30 or 40 men and go lead them and teach them. No, you cannot use her authority in that regard. It's not a loophole, okay? So she can't do that. She is not allowed to have headship over a man. The point here is when she's speaking, when she's, when something comes out of her mouth. Well, in doing so, she has to recognize that there is authority over her. That's all, that's the main point of this passage. Now, let's see if we oftentimes apply this properly. I received an email from someone who was explaining to me that a particular woman who's kind of been in the news lately, I'm gonna say her name, but she is possibly a chaplain at a prison. Well, I know a thing or two about chaplains in prison. A lot of times in prison, you don't have a lot of volunteers to come in. You don't have positions filled in various prisons, especially one is in the religious service department. And so you might find that that department is lacking in chaplains. And so what will you have? At a prison, you might have a Catholic chaplain. You may have a Protestant chaplain. You may have three or four chaplains. You may only have one chaplain. Sometimes they're in such need for a chaplain that they'll hire a Muslim chaplain. Remember, the federal government or state governments aren't looking to promote a particular religion, a particular faith. And so they may say, you know what? We just want a chaplain here. Someone's gonna organize and keep things in order, make sure the doors are open, make sure these services happen. And so if this Muslim person wants to fulfill this role as a chaplain, he has to honor all the different faith groups.  They also hire female chaplains. Well, what happens if you're in prison and the chaplain, the head of the chaplain services or religious department is a woman? Does that mean the men don't show up, the Protestant men don't show up to the chapel for their church service? No, not at all. Now there are some chaplains where the women are out there teaching and oftentimes the men don't show up or it's sparsely attended. Typically what happens is, she'll probably bring in someone who is a male to come in to preach to the men. If she's a chaplain at a women's prison, well, no problem. But if she happens to be a chaplain at a men's prison, well, two things. One, she certainly has authority by the nature of her position because she is an officer or staff member of that prison and the men are there in prison. And typically what happens is I say, as though she will understand, especially if she understands the scriptures, that her role is going to be to just order things, to make things, make sure things run right for what it's supposed to and that books are ordered, that positions in the chapel office are fulfilled and she wouldn't teach. But it does happen. That's where the men have to use their discernment, their understanding. Because we're gonna get to this issue of whether she is forbidden to teach and whether the men are forbidden to listen. But then something else comes up as well. A lot of times we don't think about the other sort of preaching that we listen to, that we listen to from women.  Whether it's a choir, whether it's a hymn, whether it's praise and worship, whether it's an individual woman singing. We listen to her preach the gospel in song with instruments behind us. Is that any different? Does she have to keep silent when it comes to singing? Well no, and we don't take it that far. And so what happens is sometimes we stretch out the verses that we read and give them a meaning that was never intended. Can a woman praise God before men? Sure they can, they absolutely can. Can a woman join in with men praising God? Sure they can. Can a woman lead a song and then we listen to her and what she said was exactly what someone, what some sound teacher would preach. And we say, man too, we clap too, we rejoice with her with it. Yeah, that happens and it's okay. So I just wanted to kind of let you just, have you think about some things that we do sometimes and we don't call it preaching or teaching but it absolutely is. Now I also wanna be clear here. I wanna look at the motives of some men before we get back into the text. There are men who simply think that a woman should never be heard of or seen. There are some men who think that what's the old saying she should be seen and not heard from. In many cases because her understanding of scripture is better than his. And there is that factor that comes in where some men are just opposed to hearing anything from a woman because they don't know the scriptures as well as this woman.   The world should have to suffer because we don't have enough equipped men to teach. So what's the solution?  No, men step up. You do your job, fulfill your role in the home and outside of the home. Now, so let's go ahead and go to the passages, the two main passages that people turn to that deal with this subject even more so. In 1 Corinthians chapter 14, 34, Paul says, Matter of fact, let's start from the middle of 13, 33. As in all churches of the saints, the women should keep silent in the churches for they are not permitted to speak but should be in submission as the law also says. If there is anything they desire to learn, let them ask their husbands at home for it is shameful for a woman to speak in church. So question, do you guys think that he was saying, I don't wanna hear people out of you ladies in the church.  You can't even pray. If you pray out loud, we got a problem. Is Paul saying that? Because if you're praying out loud, that's speaking. That's not what Paul is saying. Paul's point again is to deal with what's happening in Corinth and in this case, there's this disorder and this disunity in the body. Men versus men and then also women versus men. People trying to be something that they're not more than what they are or different than what they are called to be. Same thing here.  That's not Paul's point. Again, we've got examples of women who out of their mouth, they're praising God. Is that me? The moment that we hear a woman say anything good. Can't listen. No matter fact, let's go to the next passage. In 1 Timothy 2, 11 Paul is telling Timothy, let a woman learn quietly with all submission. Here it is with all submissiveness. I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man. Rather, she is to remain quiet. For Adam was formed first, then Eve and Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor. Before I go further into the text, remember guys, if you want to treat her as the weaker vessel as the scripture say, then you ought to be protecting her. You cannot ask a woman to be submissive, but you don't protect her. You cannot ask her to do that and you don't guard her and you don't help her to grow. A woman as far as I've seen is willing to follow a man or men who are protective and who are guiding and who are wise. Well, so let's just not apply the scriptures to them, but let's also apply the scriptures to us.  So now I'm back to the passages.  That's the whole point of her learning. You do so quietly. It's not the quiet part. That's the most important part is with the submissiveness. And here it is verse 12. I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man. There it is. Notice what he says. I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man. Notice that this is what's called the infinitive to teach or to exercise authority. And so the word to teach over here, the das kane is in the infinitive, which means it is an infinitive, same as it is in English. And so I'm not allowing her to fulfill that role to teach a man. I do not permit her to teach a man or to exercise authority over a man. That's not your job, lady. Now, notice what he didn't do. He forbade women from teaching men, but he did not forbade men. He did not forbid men from listening to a woman who happens to be teaching or preaching. For example, let's just some practical states, some practical instances. There's a women's conference. There's all women there. What if the men are back there on the soundboard? Are there men in the choir or playing the drums with a guitar during their praise and worship time? Are there men running the lights or what have you? Can they be there? Do they have to plug their ears up or once she opens her mouth, leave? No. If she's teaching about something, if she's telling about something. See, it can't be that we can listen to a woman talk about everything in the world, but we cannot listen to her talk about Jesus. Well, again, in John 4, we see a woman going and talking about Jesus and they come to her. They didn't elect her to be the pastor of the church, a local pastor or one of the elders. They just heard what she said. It was truth. And so anyone can declare the truth. A child can preach the gospel. We are all called to preach the gospel. Priscilla and Aquila did the exact same thing, preaching the gospel. And men and women came to Christ as a result of that, okay? So the truth is this, a man is not forbidden from listening to a woman when she is teaching or preaching. Now, she cannot intentionally go to men and teach and preach because that's the understanding of this passage. I do not forbid. I forbid a woman to teach. So you can't go as a lady to teach. But if in the course of your teaching, men show up, you don't have to all of a sudden pipe down. You don't have, you know what guys, I'm sorry, a man just came in, gotta be quiet. I'm sorry, ladies. A few men just walked in the room. I cannot teach anymore. I cannot give my testimony anymore. I cannot pray anymore. That is not the point. Do you see how silly that would be if we take that passage and apply it to men listening voluntarily? Now, there are some women out there.  Because again, this is what God said would happen at the fall when he's got the serpent, Adam and Eve lined up. And he says that her desire will always be after that man. And that's what it's been. But God is not going to change everything simply because it's the 21st century. And women have become more empowered in the workplace and so forth. And now men can declare themselves to be women and women can declare themselves to be men. Well, God has not listened to that falsehood, nor is he gonna change his word. And Paul has given the word and the word is coming from God. And all the other apostles agree that this is from God. And they declare, especially Peter, that Paul's words are scriptural or equated to scriptural. And so these are from God. And so Paul is making a statement that women, you are not permitted to exercise authority over men and you can't do so with teaching and preaching. If you happen to be teaching or preaching, fine. But you're not trying to do so with the intent of exercising authority. And it doesn't mean that a man can't walk into the room and if he does, you have to stop. So guys, the whole point of this is to get you to see one what the roles of women are because there are women that are gonna teach some males. Her sons, her grandsons, her nephews, her cousins. Now, is there a certain age that men need to transition or boys need to transition from listening to her to him?  Mama is not gonna stop preaching and teaching to you. That's not gonna happen. As old as I got before my mother passed away, she, I was always her baby. I was always her son. I happen to be her youngest son. And so she's gonna still talk to me as though I was four years old. I'm gonna still listen to her. Yes, mom, and I wouldn't get smart back with her. And if she ever wanted to backhand me or slap them on my head, that's mom, right? So her authority is still there. I'm gonna always respect her as mama, as grandma, what have you, or my aunts and so forth. However, there comes a time where boys have to transition to seeing men and therein lies the problem because we don't have enough men who are stepping up, who are training themselves, who are submitting themselves under God. Cause what we want to have happen is we say, women submit to men, but we're not saying men submit to God. We're not saying that there's our problem. And so yes, women are not to intentionally go out and to seek to teach men or to preach over men. They cannot exercise authority. But if a woman happens to be teaching or preaching, that's why I phrase the question that way that men are not forbidden from listening to her. If he didn't, how would he even know if she was in error? I'm sure this is gonna generate a lot of comment and so forth. If anyone disagrees, no problem. We'll talk about it later, but we'll do so in a godly fashion. Amen.


Hi and welcome to the session. Let us discuss the following question. Question says show that of all the rectangles inscribed in a given fixed circle, the square has the maximum area. First of all, let us understand that if function f is defined at interval i and c belongs to interval i, first of all, let m and rc exist, then dash c is equal to 0 and rc is less than 0. Then point c is called a point of truth. Let us assume A, B, C, D is a rectangle whose length is 2x and red is 2y which is inscribed in a circle. Circle is having its center o and radius r. So, we can write let A, B, C, D be a rectangle in a given circle of radius r with center o. Now, let length of the rectangle is equal to 2x, breadth of the rectangle is equal to 2y. Now, A represents the area of the rectangle which is given by length into breadth. Now, A is equal to 2x multiplied by 2y. Now, 2x multiplied by 2y is equal to 4x5. Now, let us consider right triangle ABC. In right triangle ABC, AC square is equal to BC square plus AB square by Pythagoras theorem. We know AC is the diameter of the circle and radius of the circle is r. So, we can write AC is equal to 2y. We know diameter is the double of radius. So, we can write 2r square is equal to 2x square plus 2y square. We know AC is equal to 2r. AB is equal to 2x. AC is equal to 2y. So, here we have substituted their corresponding values in this expression. Now, simplifying we get 4r square is equal to 4x square plus 4y square. This implies r square is equal to x square plus y square. Dividing both sides by 4 we get r square is equal to x square plus y square. Now, subtracting x square from both sides we get r square minus x square is equal to y square. Or we can write y square is equal to r square minus x square. Now, this implies y is equal to under root of r square minus x square. We know area is equal to 4x5. Let us name this expression as 1. And y is equal to square root of r square minus x square. Let us name this expression as 2. Now, substituting the value of y from 2 in 1 we get A is equal to 4x multiplied by square root of r square minus x square. Now, differentiating both sides with respect to x we get dA upon dx is equal to 4x multiplied by 1 upon 2 multiplied by under root r square minus x square multiplied by minus 2x plus square root of r square minus x square multiplied by 4. Here we have applied the product rule to find the derivative of this term. Now, simplifying further we get dA upon dx is equal to 4r square minus 8x square upon square root of r square minus x square. Now, let us find out the points at which dA upon dx is equal to 0. dA upon dx is equal to 0 implies 4r square minus 8x square upon square root of r square minus x square is equal to 0. Now, multiplying both sides by square root of r square minus x square we get 4r square minus 8x square is equal to 0. Now, adding 8x square on both sides we get 4r square is equal to 8x square. Now, dividing both sides by 4 we get a r square is equal to 2x square. Now, taking square root on both sides we get r is equal to root 2 multiplied by x. Here we have neglected r equal to minus root 2x. As we know radius can never be negative. Now, we know dA upon dx is equal to 4r square minus 8x square upon square root of r square minus x square. Now, differentiating both sides with respect to x again we get d square a upon dx square is equal to square root of r square minus x square multiplied by minus 16x minus 4r square minus 8x square multiplied by 1 upon twice under root r square minus x square multiplied by minus 2x upon square root of r square minus x square whole square. Here we have applied the quotient rule to find the derivative of this term.  Here in the numerator we have subtracted these two terms by taking their LCM and we know square of square root of r square minus x square is equal to r square minus x square only.  Now, we know d a upon dx is equal to 0 at r equal to root 2x. Let us now find out the value of d square upon dx square at r equal to root 2x. This is equal to x multiplied by 8x square minus 12 multiplied by root 2x square upon root 2x square minus x square whole raised to the power 3 upon 2. Now, this is equal to x multiplied by 8x square minus 12 multiplied by 2x square upon 2x square minus x square raised to the power 3 upon 2. We know square of root 2x is equal to 2x square. Now, simplifying we get x multiplied by minus 16x square upon x square raised to the power 3 upon 2. Now, this is equal to minus 16x cube upon x square multiplied by 3 upon 2. 2 and 2 will cancel each other and we will get x cube in that denominator. This is equal to minus 16x cube upon x cube. x cube and x cube will cancel each other and we get minus 16. So, d square raised upon dx square at r equal to root 2x is equal to minus 16 which is less than 0. Now, we get at r equal to root 2x dv upon dx is equal to 0 and d square v upon dx square is less than 0. This implies r is equal to root 2x is a point of local maxima. So, we can say area of rectangle is maximum at r is equal to root 2x. Now, substituting this value of r in expression 2 we get y is equal to root 2x square minus x square. Now, this implies y is equal to 2x square minus x square. This implies y is equal to square root of we know 2x square minus x square is equal to x square. So, we get y is equal to square root of x square. Now, this implies y is equal to x. Now, if we multiply both sides by 2 we get 2y is equal to 2x. Now, 2y is equal to 2x implies all the sides of the rectangle abcd are equal. This implies abcd is of square. Now, we get out of all the rectangles inscribed in a given fifth circle the square has the maximum area. So, this is our required answer hence proved this completes the session hope you understood the session. Take care and have a nice day.


The final item of business is a member's business debate on motion 16134 in the name of Colin Beattie on international museum day. This debate will be concluded without any question being put. Can I ask those members who wish to speak in the debate to press their question to speak buttons now? I call on Colin Beattie to open the debate. Mr Beattie, please. Presiding Officer, international museum day has been an important date on our calendar since its inception in 1977. It presents us with an opportunity to consider the extraordinary privilege that we have in Scotland to be able to enjoy such a vast wealth of museums, a vast breadth of galleries and a plethora of museums of all kind across our mainland and its islands. I know that the Presiding Officer herself would have wished to take part in this debate, particularly I have no doubt mentioning the national mining museum of Scotland and Newton Grange in her constituency. However, she is otherwise employed. I have always been passionate about museums and galleries, but not just in Scotland. Like too many people of my generation, the opportunities for a career were very limited without leaving my home country, so I began what became a global journey, living in many countries with vastly different cultures for very many years. During that time, I quickly learned that one of the best ways to rapidly get to know a country was to visit the museums and galleries, which laid out the ideas of the people of my new host nation and its history and amazing arts and crafts. Each time I returned to Scotland on her home leave, I would spend much of my time in museums and galleries in Edinburgh and Dundee. I did not pause then to consider how much education and understanding was being offered to me in those visits. They were just enormously enjoyable sources of knowledge of heritage and past relationships with other nations, but it was impossible to ignore the splendor of our collections here in Scotland, compared with so many other countries that had suffered losses from war and extreme weather, not to mention poverty. Since those days, I still seek out opportunities to visit our museums and galleries, like so many of those of us who are fortunate enough to live in Scotland, as well as the ever-increasing number of tourists from elsewhere. I was struck recently with the realisation that, though our museums tell us about our past, the buildings that house them are sometimes very much of our present and our future. In June 2011, the truly extraordinary Riverside Museum of Glasgow was completed. It currently houses Glasgow Museum of Transport, and the building was designed by Zaha Hadid. The museum has all kinds of transport designed by the world that claims architect. That is what she had to say about this remarkable contribution to her heritage and to our city of Glasgow. Through architecture, we can investigate future possibilities, yet also explore the cultural foundations that have defined the city. The Riverside Museum is a fantastic and truly unique project where the exhibits and buildings come together at this prominent and historic location on the Clyde to infuse and inspire all visitors. The design, combining geometric complexity with structural ingenuity and material authenticity, continues in Glasgow's rich engineering traditions and will be a part of the city's future as a centre of innovation. It is home to 3,000 objects and has attracted one and a half million visitors, which is hardly surprising. However, it is not just now growing cities that we find some of the most splendid and fascinating museums. Highland Council now hosts the Highland Folk Museum in Newtonmore, but that has developed a long way from the early years when it was recognised as Britain's first mainland open-air museum when it opened in Cengiwsi in 1944. It is a living history museum where Scottish Highland ancestors' way of life can be experienced. We can see how they lived, how they built their homes, how they dressed and even how they grew their food. It is now set on an 80-acre site with restored buildings and actors who help visitors to travel in time. It is to Dr Isabel Francis Grant that we owe a debt of gratitude for the early beginnings of this exciting museum. It was in 1930 that she organised and curated the Highland exhibition with 2,100 artefacts in Inverness. By 1935, she had founded the Highland Folk Museum in the island of Iona and 800 visitors were recorded in the first year of opening and more the following year. There is much to say about this remarkable museum, but there are others that I would like to comment on and, as you know, at times limited. However, it would be remiss of me not to make reference to the thoughtful outreach work at the Highland Museum. Through the use of the Shinti collection and many photographs, stories and the songs of the enthusiastic team at this museum used to meet sufferers of dementia, sharing light in the dimming memories when Shinti was a regular part of life in the Highlands. Through the storytelling and informal gathering, the social outreach programme has made a substantial contribution to the wellbeing of many local residents affected by this debilitating condition. There are other museums with similar programmes at the National Library of Scotland, National Galleries of Scotland, National Museum of Scotland and other organisations that have sessions offered for those suffering dementia. Tea and cake, with a range of activities that are inspired by the collections, help those visitors to have some fun and social activity whilst being stimulated by the experience. Social programmes are only one of the additional benefits that our nation's museums and galleries contribute. I previously alluded to the inspiring architectural contribution of the design by Zaha Hadid in Glasgow. However, I am sure that you are all well aware of our recent splendid edition in Dundee. The V&A has received well-deserved international acclaim, having attracted architects from around the world to compete for the opportunity to design it. It has just been shortlisted as one of the five finalists for art fund museum of the year 2019. In my constituency of Midlothian North and Musselborough, we are proud to have two museums serving our communities. One is in the historic county town of Dalkeith and the other in the honest town of Musselborough. Each of those is staffed exclusively by volunteers who are passionate about their communities and the extraordinary part that they have played in history. If you have not yet had the pleasure of visiting Musselborough, I won't spoil your fun by telling you too much, but these dedicated museum volunteers are presented to local residents with themed exhibitions in the historic town hall in addition to hosting permanent exhibits for younger and older visitors alike, which illustrate the colourful history and culture of the fishing community. The role of the women as the fish wives of Musselborough is well recorded and photographs of a lifestyle now long gone is vividly presented to generations of young people who are now the community members of Musselborough, as well as visitors who come from Australia, Canada and USA to discover their heritage. Hosted by a local housing association, Dalkeith museum is located in the magnificently restored corn exchange. Dalkeith railways station like so many in Scotland closed long ago, but thanks to a remarkable piece of good luck, the 19th century bronze station bell that would have once sounded the departure of trains, has now been restored and is currently on display at the Dalkeith museum after being lost from Midlothian for more than 50 years. It sits among many artefacts that reflect and inform the local community. Visits from school groups and local residents as well as tourists are recorded. All this is a testament to the dedicated commitment of the many curators and conservation professionals who care for this heritage, who ensure that the buildings that are home to these collections are bright, comfortable and well maintained spaces. The thoughtful and creative display of these images and artefacts change our perception of ourselves. It expands our knowledge and our understanding of our nation's heritage. Its historical importance, our relationship with the rest of the world. It means more than looking at museums and galleries, it informs our future and we thank you who make this possible for your remarkable enterprise and diligence. I know that international museums day will be celebrated for many years to come and I hope that my motion in this member's debate will be the beginning of a tradition of the Parliament recognising this special day. Thank you. Thank you very much Mr Beasie. I call Kenneth Gibson, who will be followed by Rachel Hamilton. I congratulate my colleague Colin Beattie for securing today's debate and giving us the opportunity to mark international museum day, which took place on Saturday, 18 May. Before museums were in Asons Europe, had their ancestors cabinets of curiosity. Those cabinets filled with rare eclectic and esoteric were the preserve of wealthy European aristocrats and, usually housed in private palace rooms. As early as 1587, an adviser to Christian I of Saxony set out a wish list of sculptures, paintings, curious items from Homer Abroad and antlers, horns, claws, feathers and other things belonging to strange or curious animals. Those cabinets not only served as a collection to reflect the interests and explorations of their curators but also largely social devices to establish a person's rank in society. Most people would have little opportunity to view those wonders or, indeed, participate in their curation. Now museums have become spaces that invite everyone to engage with the past and the objects or ideas that diverse communities throughout the history of humanity have held dear. As Colin Beattie's motion reminds us, museums have developed into vital cultural hubs that can foster peace and understanding. Scotland's museum collections are immensely diverse and the full extent of museum activities across the country is not yet known, making it difficult to put a financial value on the impact of Scotland's museums on tourism and the cultural economy. A report by the Moffitt Centre for Travel and Tourism Business Development at Glasgow Caledonian University found that 52 per cent of museum visitors are local, making museums a vital local cultural facility that draws on tourists and enriches local life. One such museum in my constituency is West Kilbride, which invites residents and visitors alike to explore life in the parish over the past 400 years. Since its inception in 1988, a dedicated team of local volunteers has sustained an enviable collection of relics from all sections of the town and its surrounding areas, and its hard work does not end there. At Scotland's craft town, West Kilbride is home to a wonderful array of local artists working across varied mediums and their works are frequently on display in West Kilbride Museum, tying in four centuries of history with the modern world. Its exhibits embody the town's colourful story and its local events, such as the centenary year of West Kilbride Boys Club, currently being celebrated with an exhibition of memorabilia. It invites people to discover the history, traditions and development of West Kilbride, it shows how it increases people's pride in their community and inspires them to help shape its story going forward. Today in North Ayrshire, we are lucky enough to enjoy a variety of museums from the traditional exhibition to the immersive experience. Its skirmily secret bunker visitors get a chilling insight into the reality of the Cold War. The monitoring post, 15 feet underground, was designed to detect a nuclear attack. My constituent Frank Alexander took over the lease of the building in 2004 when it was just a shell and with dedication and determination, has kitted it out with authentic equipment to recreate the mood of an era when the nuclear threat was at its greatest. Climbing deep into the earth, you are overwhelmed with a real sense of taking a step within the past and a future that never transpired on a threat that thankfully was never realised. That is what the best museums do, make us feel something. Whether they help us feel proud of where we have come from, inspire us, challenge us or stimulate us, museums of all sizes have an enormous impact on our wellbeing. That is especially true today when more and more museums are developing their role as socially purposeful organisations to deliver positive social impact. Gone in the days when museums were quiet, cold and foreboding places, they are now more welcoming, more accessible and serve as a host for an incredible variety of cultural and social events. There is an increased sense today that museums belong to the people who visit them. Scottish writer Andrew Hagan helped to put that feeling into words when he spoke of his connection with Kelvin Grove Art Gallery Museum in Glasgow, which is a child that I was very familiar with. On his first step through the museum's doors, he was struck by a thought. This was ours, all ours, the paintings, the light, the stonework, it belonged to the people of Glasgow and to me. Everyone in Scotland is able to feel that level of connection to a museum or gallery, I believe, where it is indeed somewhere local or somewhere that simply captures their imagination. I thank Colin Beattie for once again facilitating this opportunity to reflect upon International Museum Day 2019 and upon the unique value of each and every one of Scotland's museums. I thank you very much, Mr Gibson. I call Rachel Hamilton, followed by Jenny Marra, Ms Hamilton. As shadow culture and tourism spokesperson for the Scottish Conservatives, I am delighted to speak in Colin Beattie's debate on International Museum Day. Museums are an integral part of showing off the very best of Scotland, whether it is our rich history, varied geography or diverse culture. We have a plethora of fantastic museums right on our doorsteps, which offer a wonderful window of our colourful past. I was honoured recently to visit the New Moat Bray in Dumfriesen. It was a sneak peek, because I was actually at a function there. It is not yet open. It opens in June. It is the childhood home of J.M. Barry, and most people in this chamber would have read the book Peter Pan. I would thoroughly recommend a visit if you were ever down in Joan McAlpine in Oliver Mundell's way. Oh, and Finlay Carson. In my constituency of Ettrick Rocks and Berwickshire, we have a wonderful Jim Clark Museum in Duns. That is near completion. As you may be aware, Jim Clark was an exceptional Formula One driver, becoming the Formula One world champion in 1963 and 1965, achieving 72 Grand Prix starts, 25 wins and 33 pole positions across his career. He was a true inspiration to a generation of sports fans, and he is remembered fondly in the Scottish boarders. It is fitting that we will see this year the opening of that new Jim Clark Museum, and the famous rally, of course, returned to the country roads at Berwickshire. Building Work got underway last year, and the opening of the new museum will coincide with the 50th anniversary of the original memorial room being opened by Jim Clark's parents. The aim of the new museum is to inspire the next generation and generations to come with a modern and vibrant celebration of Jim Clark's incredible career and the impact that he had on motorsport around the world with his trophies that have been collected in pictures and film footage, and some of the cars that he raced. Exhibiting the cars in which Jim Clark raced will be the highlight of the new museum, with the existing trophy collection at its heart. I want to take this opportunity to thank the hard work of the many volunteers and the Scottish Borders Council heritage lottery fund, and those who have given up their time and so generously have been instrumental in bringing this project to fruition. I really cannot wait for this museum to open, and again, as well as the new Moat Brea, I would encourage everyone to take a trip down to the borders to enjoy this excellent museum when it opens. Museums have amazing power not only to display great historical artefacts, paintings and objects but also to be inspirational, informative and enlightening, and educational. They draw in tourists from everywhere, and Scotland has its fair share of fascinating museums. Last year, Scotland was pleased to see that the National Museum of Scotland drew in more than 2 million visits, first for any Scottish attraction. They do a wonderful job of course in accommodating our tourists from across the world with multi-lingual audio headsets and tours. I would ask the Scottish Government to think too of the importance of the smaller museums in exhibiting local culture and history. The Jim Clark Museum is just a small example of that. It has taken an awful lot of work to get to this point, but it is important that we do not forget about those smaller museums that do need necessarily support to invest in this provision. I would also, in the small time that I have got, ask that the cabinet secretary and the Scottish Government consider supporting more public museums and galleries to establish themselves as dementia-friendly. I know that Colin Beattie has just mentioned that. There is no definition of dementia-friendly, and it is not just about putting a sticker to say this. This is about all sorts of easy changes and simple things that people can make to make a carer's experience much easier and someone experiencing the dementia condition. I want to encourage everyone of all ages to visit a museum on or around International Museum Day. Every day is a school day, and you will never know what you might learn next. I am delighted and proud to speak in this debate this evening. I thank Colin Beattie very much for bringing the debate to the chamber. I am proud because it was in 2001 that a Labour Government four years into office made all museums across the UK free entry. Now, somewhere before and some were still charging, but with Gordon Brown's VAT arrangements, we managed to make entry and accessibility to every museum across the country completely free, and that underpinned our commitment to public accessibility, to artwork and to our history. I think that it is an achievement. We can all agree that it was very worthwhile and we can all be very proud of it. For me, museums are a celebration of life and are also commemorations and historical lessons of humanity's catastrophes and serve such important purposes for both. As I prepared for the debate today about the impact of museums on my life, one of the earliest recollections that I have of being in a museum is in the Barrick Street Museum in Dundee, which is now used as a storage facility for our other museums in the city, where the great skeletal carcass of the Tay Whale that was removed from the longest river in Scotland used to hang above my head. I used to be in permanent fear that it would fall onto my head, but I remember visiting that very regularly as a child. It now hangs in the refurbished McManus galleries in Dundee, which Dundee City Council very beautifully restored just a few years ago and it has become a real hub in the city. Another early memory was queuing in Market Street just down the road from here to see Tooton Camwn's Mask in the 1980s. I cannot put an exact year on it. I think that it was roughly 1985—perhaps the cabinet secretary will remember—and I remember there being a huge buzz in my primary school and in the community about this worldwide historical artifact coming to Scotland and Scottish school children being able to see it. From huge events like that that had a real national significance to the smaller, more intimate museums that colleagues have talked about, such as the Lewis grass at Gibbon Exhibition up in the Mearns, which is beautifully accessible to everyone who has read that book and is visiting the stunning landscape of that part of the northeast. Museums are such an integral and important cultural and emotional part of our lives. I remember, as a student then, the whole world of the London museums and exhibitions opening up the Imperial War museum. I took great delight in visiting most summers we went to London, the British Museum, and the stunningly beautiful reading room and taking great delight in sitting in Carl Marx's regular seat in the reading room in the British Museum. I was lucky enough also on a scholarship to the US to then visit museums like the Metropolitan in New York. The learning experience you can have in those places goes on for days, if not months and years. I was struck just a few weeks ago by the video that was released on social media of all living UK prime ministers announcing the new Holocaust memorial and museum that is to be in London. I think that it is very fitting and perhaps long overdue development. I thought that it was a very good initiative that all living UK prime ministers had taken the time to lend their support to this very important initiative. We all know that any visitors to Berlin have seen the power that the German nation has managed to create from their national memorials, exhibitions and museums to the horrific events that happened in the 30s and 40s in Germany with the lesson that humanity must never repeat those tragedies. I went on a visit recently to Srebrenica and to Sarajevo as part of the remembering Srebrenica trust here in Scotland. I know that there is another visit going at the moment. The museums at Potikari of this terrible genocide were clean to see. I realise that I have gone slightly over my time but I hope that you will allow me to talk a little bit about the V&A in Dundee. Obviously, for our community, the addition of the V&A has been such a significant addition to our city, to the cultural life of our city and a pay tribute to the Scottish Government and to Fiona Hyslop in her role on that. It has exceeded expectations in terms of visitors' numbers, the impact on tourism in Dundee. There were some new figures released yesterday and the confidence of our city. I hope that our new museum will have some of the impact in years to come that I have described in some of our other museums in Scotland and across the United Kingdom. Thank you very much. I call Liam McArthur to follow by Alexander Stewart. Mr Stewart will be the last speaker in the open debate. Mr McArthur, please. Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. I start by echoing Jenny Marra's comments in relation to the V&A that I have still to visit, but it is very much at top of the list. I also thank Colin Beattie for allowing this debate on an issue that is clearly a real passion of his. I also thank him for the highly successful reception last week in Parliament. I was delighted that Strumnus Museum was able to be in attendance there. All the other stands that evening were extremely busy through the course of the evening. Strumnus Museum was showcasing the innovative work that it has been doing alongside the Dundee University. In 3D modelling, the wrecks of Scapa Flow, bringing that home to a wider audience than was perhaps possible before. Museums and galleries help to make Orkney the community that it is. It is a microcosm of what Colin Beattie was describing in relation to Scotland as a whole. We are blessed with a vibrant cultural scene. That stems from the value that we attach to heritage. Not only have we the Strumnus Museum, the Orkney Museum, Linus, Corrigal Farm, Fossil Centre, the Wireless Museum, the Long Hope Lifeboat Museum and a community of 21,000 museums and galleries demonstrate the extent to which Orkney is punching above its weight and attaching a value to that heritage and a pay tribute to the staff and volunteers, as well as those who support it within the council and elsewhere for the work that they do. I was intrigued by a recent survey that was undertaken by the International Council of Museums about what museums are. That is a subject of lively debate. The respondents to that came up with many weird, wonderful and imaginative responses. There was one from Greece suggesting that museums are the factory of our dreams. From Germany came the suggestion that the museum is a walk-in library of our collective memory. For another, a museum is a place that attempts to elaborate human dignity and life quality through appreciation of love, peace, equality and nature. That comes, perhaps surprisingly, from a respondent in Iran. Rather than a presaicly, somebody from Slovakia suggested that a museum is no longer just a place of collecting old stuff. A wide variety of views that encapsulate that museums and galleries probably mean very different things to different people. Perhaps a more interesting question might have been about what museums and galleries can be. The digital engagement is something that we are seeing across the board. It is reflected in Strumford's Museum's innovation around the wrecks of scapa-flow, but the co-curation that we are seeing, the decolonisation that we are seeing happening as well. However, in order to remain relevant, we need to continue to focus on the issues that affect people's lives. We are seeing more museums venturing into describing issues around poverty, racism, climate change and a multitude of other issues. That is absolutely right and proper. Again, from the same report in the museum's journal, there was a suggestion that a respondent to ICOM's survey from Spain made the point that a museum is reborn as many times as it takes, and that is something that all good museums strive to do. In order to be able to do that, funding is not just for the exhibitions or the outreach, but as one constituent made the point to me for the under-the-bonnet stuff as well, the cataloging that is absolutely critical to the work that it does. We would push our museums to look at new models of funding, whether that is through donors, through sponsorship, through the merchandising that many engage in. It was said rather powerfully that those models can only be sustainable with strong government backing in the form of public policies and a clear commitment to fund museums daily operations. I hope that this debate will help to reinforce that point, that the value that we attach has to be underscored by the funding that allows museums and galleries to do the work that they do. I know that the cabinet secretary is a strong supporter of that sector, and I very much hope that the Scottish Government would continue in that vein. Again, I thank Colin Beattie for bringing this debate and I look forward to the cabinet secretary's closing remarks. I am very pleased to take part in this evening's debate, and I commend Colin Beattie for bringing and securing this debate this evening. As we have already heard, International Museum Day is a global celebration. It takes place around 18 May and is co-ordinated by international museums, and every year it highlights a different theme. International Museum Day also gives the chance for museum professionals themselves to meet people and inform them about the many varied challenges that modern museums face in today's society. The definition of a museum is a permanent installation that is there to ensure that society is informed and has got some individual development. The participation of museums has shown that they are there to communicate, research, conserve, acquire and also have the ability to have exhibitions of human tangible and untangible heritage, as well as the environment to enjoy, to study and to process and to educate. All those services are the platform for public awareness, and it is very important that museums have the ability to organise and be part of our society and that becomes the whole level of internationalism. This year's theme is all about museums of a cultural hub and the future of tradition, and that highlights the roles that museums in society and the changing roles that they have seen over the years. As we have already heard, museums are there to be relevant within their area to show advice and audience focus, the flexibility and the adaptability of ensuring that they can be relevant in today's society. With an increasing popularity in computer-generated virtual worlds and virtual places taking place across, I believe that it is even more important than ever that museums can become cultural hubs and function and focus as a platform to contribute to create the knowledge within our society. We need to places where visitors can also create, they can share, they can interact and they get a real flavour of what is happening within that sector and they view the history and the historic achievements that are taking place and, in turn, they help to increase their knowledge, their awareness and the tolerance of others around the world. Whilst that primary mission is to ensure that there is that communication, that collecting, that collaboration, that research or that exhibition, museums have transformed their places and remain very much held within communities today. They have an involvement, they have a capacity to ensure that they are. We have heard today about different types of museums, whether it is a tartan museum or a toy museum or a transport museum, and hundreds of them across Scotland are viewed and visited on a daily basis. I would like to pay tribute to one or two around the country. Can I first of all say about the Scottish Submarine Centre at Helensborough, which recently was awarded a run-up award in a national campaign? I would also like to talk about my home town of Perth, which has many traditional museums and art galleries, which are world-renowned, and our old city hall is about to become a new virtual and vibrant new museum, which is going to create £20 million worth of money, which has come from the Tay cities deal, and we look forward to seeing that develop and move forward. In my own region of Mid Scotland and Fife, there are many. Stirling's castle and its living museums are the fantastic Carnegie library and galleries in the firm, which once again has just recently won awards. We have already heard today from a number of speakers about the impressive V&A-based in Dundee, which has revolutionised the sector and continues to shine a beacon and shine a light on where we are. By acting locally, museums can also individually advocate the global problems that are taking place and challenge the societies that we have. In conclusion, as institutions at the heart of society, museums have a real power to establish dialogue between cultures and build bridges and break down bridges as they define the suitability for going forward. I commend and congratulate all who are involved. I am delighted to have the opportunity to speak in this afternoon's motion on international museums today. First of all, thank you to Colin Beattie for bringing this motion forward and for his excellent speech and commitment to the museum sector. To all the very interesting contributions from the colleagues who have spoken and those who have supported the debate as well, and it is quite clear from the centuries to the motion and the contribution, there is cross-party support for the sector. Last week's International Museums Day event in the Scottish Parliament was hosted by Museum Gallery Scotland and kindly sponsored again by Colin Beattie, and it saw representatives from over 50 museums come together to celebrate the museum sector's hard work in keeping our heritage alive. I was very pleased to see at that exhibition further examples of the innovation taking place within Scotland's museum sector. Liam McArthur referred to Stromnes' museum's living wrecks, the marine life of Skappa Flow exhibition. It was a highlight of the exhibition and it was an interactive exhibition utilising 3D imagery, dive video footage of virtual reality to help visitors explore the maritime heritage of Skappa Flow with added sea turtles, great white sharks and blue whales. The museum's partners have created those 3D scans of the museum artifacts, vastly increasing the accessibility of Skappa Flow's heritage. They are also securely recorded, meaning that future generations will be able to see exactly what we do now. I noted it in my speech last week at the Museum Gallery's event that museums allow us to communicate across time and culture. To further ensure sustainability, museums have, by necessity, become local cultural hubs, an opportunity that has inspired new ways for museums to present their collections and engage with their communities and visitors. Museums have always held a place in our hearts presenting us with seemingly endless objects and stories to light up our imagination. I can only imagine the excitement of the children seeing the towering form of Dippy the Diplodocus during his recent visit to the Calvin Grove Museum, his first trip outside London since 1905. As much as Dippy's visit was to inspire learning, numerous events were organised, expanding Dippy's role beyond a larger-than-life copy of dinosaur bones. Draw Dippy like Leonardo. Link Dippy's stay to the temporary Leonardo da Vinci exhibition being held at the Calvin Grove at the same time, an explanation of natural history through art, and it is an example of how museums are changing the way they engage with their visitors and how they present the stories of the history and their care. Museums are also on the lookout for ways to tackle contemporary issues as well as will be seen in the National Museum of Scotland's body beautiful diversity on the Catwalk exhibition, and body beautiful will explain how the fashion industry is challenging modern perceptions of beauty and encouraging diversity, including examples from designers such as Vivienne Westwood and Jean-Paul Gaultier. Scotland's national museums obviously play a vital role in setting the larger picture of Scotland's historical, scientific and cultural histories, and they do a fantastic job. They also host international exhibitions, and I was smiling at Jenny Marra's reference to seeing the Tutankhamun mask. I think that I saw it in 1970 at the British Museum when I was a tiny child and I had to spend five hours queuing to see the mask, but I remember that it lasted an impression on me. Jenny Marra also referred to, in her speech about her personal reflections, to the Manus museum and galleries, which I think is quite outstanding refurbishment and exhibition space. In my constituency, I've got museums that are changing too. The new Llanethgo museum, with its three new galleries and bespoke community space, aims to bring the history of Llanethgo to the fore in a fresh interpretation of the Royal Bar's history. It's the result of the Llanethgo Heritage Trust's and new museum for Royal Llanethgo project. It's successfully applied to the National Lottery Heritage Fund for a grant of £240,000 to enable community involvement in the development, delivery and interpretation of the Bar's heritage. Of the various exhibition highlights, I draw your attention to the Adopt an Object scheme, which invites patrons of the museum to sponsor an object for a year. That creates a steady stream of income that can be used for improvements to the building conservation of exhibition items and publicity. In addition, I understand that there are plans to host art workshops and a community archaeology dig, increasing that connectivity with the local community. I'm excited about what's happening in my own area. Of course, other members have spoken about museums in their area and galleries in their area. Kenny Gibson talked about West Kilbride's contribution and his constituency. I visited the gallery earlier this year, and I purchased one of the artworks from a fantastic exhibition that I saw there. Rachel Hamilton referred to Jim Clark's museum, a new museum, and I think that that's a reflection that there are new things happening in the museum area. It's not just about existing museums, and we've heard about the V&A as well. In terms of the vibrancy of the ambition for local places to have museums and also to take on the national role that the V&A has, there really is something to be said about that dynamism in the museum sector. However, it's also impossible to understand the role of museums without taking into account the connections that they make. They are inherent in part of our local communities. They act as a platform for placing local history in a global context. Museums Gallery Scotland administers the museum's recognition scheme. It celebrates, promotes and invests in nationally significant collections beyond our national museums and galleries. Scotland currently has 49 such collections, many in often small rural museums that are immensely varied but equally as important in the array of objects that they contain, reflecting centuries of effort. Those collections, as with the accredited museums, allow Scotland to be part of that global exchange of history ideas and learning. Alexander Stewart talked about the role of museums in society, and one of the groups that are most possibly affected by the growth of museums is the older generation. There are many older citizens who suffer from dementia, referred to by Rachel Hamilton, who are living in poverty or are socially isolated to benefit from the idea of museums as cultural hubs. I was fortunate last week to hear about some of the great work that was carried out in Glasgow and Edinburgh with older people. Diana Morton, outreach manager at Edinburgh and Glasgow councils noted some of the fantastic work that was done by council museums. That includes the Contact the Elderly scheme, where socially isolated older people are picked up by drivers and brought to a museum once a month on a Sunday for activity at a cup of tea. I would also like to offer a special mention to Stop Hill hospital in Springburn. Within the secure units of the Islay and Dura adult mental health and dementia awards, objects from Glasgow museums have been placed into display areas and cases in the walls to encourage conversation between the staff, the residents and visitors. The objects in question range from model ships to sewing machines, and we are all selected by hospital staff. The walls stimulate memory and make the environment a much nicer place to be and have been well received by those who are aimed to help. That is the example of the wellbeing that museums can provide for all of us, whatever our age. To conclude, we heard from Liam McArthur about definitions of museums and a factory of dreams. I took a walk in a library of our collective memory, but I always remember the wee boy who said to me when I asked him why he thought that museums were important and he answered that they keep the memories of our people. Yes, they are places, museums are places, but they are imbued with the spirit and the stories of people and that sense of where we have been and where we are going in the future. I am happy to take part in this debate and commend Colin Beattie for bringing it to Parliament. Thank you. That concludes this debate, and I close this meeting of Parliament.


Hey guys, this is hydro from x trades and in this video. I'm going to be going over The major indices and basically Yeah, we're gonna see what could happen in the coming weeks to the couple months and just yeah, just brief market analysis So let's start off with a spine QQQ. So Let's take a look at the S&P So this is the weekly chart So right now In the last couple weeks, we made a pretty big move right and then we were consolidating for two weeks in a row And that was healthy action, right? We made a big move. We were consolidating and then this week we we had a pretty clear breakdown and That's pretty there. That's not that's not a good look for both, right? So first This is clear resistance. I rejected here. We rejected here and we tried to break out and rejected once again So this four and nine level is definitely a very key level And there's also a short-term uptrend forming over here. So as long as this Uptrend holds holds are fine as long as they can bounce off this trend line But if we lose this trend line One time then there's a very good chance that we could flush a lot more So this is very this trend line is very key right now and this is the longer-term trend line, right? This one we broke a while ago and we made a big move off it when we broke it We had two two up weeks And they were pretty good moves as well And then yeah, like I said before we consolidated and now we're breaking back down But as long as this lower uptrend holds and I think we are still fine So that's what this by looks like on the weekly timeframe And yeah, the key is to bounce off this trend line and we claim this 409 level And then if that happens, there's a good chance that we could start a new uptrend and actually have like an actual rally, you know Yeah, this rally was very short. You had two good weeks and then consolidated for two weeks and then then popped back down And let me take a look at the daily chart Yeah, so like I said before this trend line is a very key. You want to make sure that we can hold on to it And yeah Here was a trend line that was forming and if we do bounce and I would also be in another Resistance level so if we bounce off this trend line, then we have to watch out for this trend line as well as this would be another resistance For the boss, so that's yeah, that's pretty much what I'm looking for on this by All right, next up. We'll take a look at QQQ So QQQQ same thing but much much deeper Much much deeper pullback initially But we broke that about five weeks ago now and when we broke it We made a very good we made a very nice rally. We had a very nice rally It's all dated for two weeks now. We're breaking down again, but we'll see what happens, right? So there is some support This is major support right 268 every time we touch that level we bounce We undercut it here and we bounced we We touched the here and then we formed hammers and then bounced so this 268 level is a key support goal for QQQ and currently we're forming Forming a little bull flag here Right Let me go down to the deal. It will be easier to look at So, yeah, this was the short-term uptrend that the QQQ was forming and It was holding that for a couple weeks and then last couple weeks. We broke it finally And now we're forming a bull flag here, right? So very strong uptrend consolidated consolidated tried to break out at the bull flag but failed But we're still in the bull flag and now we're testing the lower Lower trend line of the bull flag if we break down, there's a good chance that we could flush all the way back this 268 but before that there's also some support at this 280 level So if we break this trend line, there's a good chance we can flush very quickly to 280 And if that fails to hold and there's a good chance that we can drop all the way back down to 268 so what bulls want to see is We want to start testing this trend line right the upper trend line Start testing it and then finally break out and there's a good chance that we could power higher but yeah, so bulls want to make sure that They they hold on to this lower trend line bounce off bounce off in next week And then test this upper trend line and then break out. That'd be the ideal stereo for your bulls There is also some support on this 292 level 293 So we want to make sure that we can we we want to make sure that bulls can reclaim this as quickly as possible The longer we're under this line then the more bearish that we get And also, there's a good chance that we could just chop around for a couple of weeks to months, right? So we've already been consolidating all the way from like last April Right, so there's a good chance. We could just keep chopping around for quite some time After all we had a very big run right from 2020 to 2020 And the 2022 basically we had a two years we had two years of a very good run So there's a good chance that we could consolidate for a very long time as well So always be open to that scenario and know that it doesn't there's Just because the market is open doesn't mean you have to trade right We want to be trading when the probabilities are in your favor And that's usually when there's a bull market or when there's a clear direction, right? and right now we just don't have that so It would be very smart to be patient and just wait for this to play out Okay, now we'll go into some individual tickers. I will start off with Tesla So Tesla has been holding up extremely well for the last couple of weeks Really nice volume right look at the volume before look at the volume now very clear capitulation while you and Yeah, the most are holding up this one up really really well So while QQQ was going down this week Tesla managed to go sideways and that's a very bullish sign, right? this is a clear example of relative strength and If QQQ or if the market reverses and if tech If tech gets a rally again, then there's a very good chance that Tesla can Break out and make another leg up higher and if that happens first target would be 233 around this 230 231 level and then final target would be 313 and Yeah, so you just want to wait for this upper trend line to break that could happen as soon as early as early as next week and Yeah, we can take out this 205 level and that'd be pretty good that'd be That would be clear confirmation that it has so it's breaking out and Yeah, I think there's a good chance that Tesla can run a lot higher a lot higher here But yeah overall Tesla looks pretty good next week Now we'll take a look at and video and video had a very nice earnings report last Thursday and On Friday put in a consolidation bar Which is also bullish because the market was stepping down, but Nvidia was managed to Just put in an inside bar and hold on to this to 29 support level, which is very key so and India could break out as early as a Monday, so we're forming a little flag here another day of consolidation would be nice and then if we break out or if we break the highs of Thursday so 238 239 level and that'd be a good That'd be a good Name to go long on so yeah and video has a lot of room to the upside as well Has no resistance to a 267 so this would be a good risk reward play and you can play with the tight stop loss So this 229 level is very key if we lose that then there's a good chance that we could gap fill so Not very good risk reward play another stock that's been acting really well is Monday so this doc also had a very nice earnings report last week and Yeah, we pretty much just consolidated you pulled back here, but now we're consolidating and We're holding on to this upper trend line, and if we can break this 158 level I think there's a very good chance that we could see the next level for this stuff, but yeah right now the stock Acting very well. It's in a stage one base So it's been forming a base for almost a year now And I think this one's finally ready to go has all the Characteristics of the big one. It has the big volume has to get earnings. Oh, yeah, this one looks really good to me We'll also take a look at AI so AI is Stopped that you definitely want to be paying attention to right look at the volume, right? Look at the volume before and look at the volume the last couple weeks This one has this one has a very clear search in volume, and it's a sign that Institutions are loading up into this stuff and AI is also definitely a very clear or very clear popular theme right now So there's many eyes on this and if this one goes, there's a good chance that it could be a very very big one So definitely want to keep your eyes on this one But yeah for AI use right now. It's consolidating It's been consolidating for like two weeks now, and if we can break this upper trend line there's a good chance that it can break out and Yeah, like I said before this one has massive massive volume. So if this one breaks out, it could make a very big move Next up we'll take a look at Netflix This Netflix is Finally breaking down. It's been acting very strong the last couple months Yeah, it's always testing the upper trend line, but this week it really really flushed or it really flushed heard We first broke this lower trend line and Yeah, we basically lost support and then we gap filled and now it's been now it's around Friday just put in a consolidation bar, but If it loses this three three thirteen three fourteen level, there's a good chance that we could go a lot lower Okay, um, let's do one more stock. This is another stock. That's been on my radar That's been acting very well huge volume search from earnings report Yeah, this is nerd wallet, but it has very good Very good earnings report very nice volume. Now this one's starting to shape up here Forming a little flag It can use more consolidation Ideally it ends up it's in more consolidation than around this area we break out, but this one has been true Has been showing tremendous relative strength, right? We were forming a base and finally broke that base On that on the big earnings report and now it's been acting very well And I was just consolidating and there's a good chance that this one can get all the way back up to like 26 and yeah potentially higher but this one's been acting very well and One that you definitely want to keep your eye on But yeah, that's pretty much all I got for you guys for this week Thank you guys for tuning in and yeah, hope you guys have a great trading week next week. Thank you