People who traditionally find it difficult to enjoy and participate in Scotland's cultural and creative life can do so if activities are better planned and co-ordinated at local level.

That's the finding from an evaluation of the Cultural Pathfinder Programme, which supported 13 pilot projects throughout Scotland over two years, exploring practical ways to get people involved in cultural activities. The projects reached out to groups who had previously faced barriers to participation, such as older people, vulnerable and rural communities, children and young people, and minority ethnic communities, ensuring an additional 50,000 people across Scotland were able to explore and enjoy creative opportunities.

Less formal approaches adopted by the projects allowed communities to determine their own cultural interests, shaping what happened in their area. Taking culture out of traditional venues and into local communities meant that activities could be enjoyed in familiar surroundings. Measures such as these were key to sustaining involvement and commitment from local people.

Examples included:

• The creation of a community arts facility from disused buildings, bringing enterprise into a regeneration priority site in Clackmannanshire.
• The Highland Promise: a pledge scheme for school children in the Highlands during 2007 that enabled them to take part in activities to which they might not otherwise have access. Pupils themselves had a voice in shaping the options for their schools. In one primary school, every one of its 300 plus pupils performed in a professionally-produced, spectacular outdoor performance, attended by huge numbers from their local community.
• Bring your Baby project which gave families and carers of young children in areas of multiple deprivation across Renfrewshire and Inverclyde access to a range of cultural activities in local libraries. This promoted learning, literacy and life skills in a non-threatening environment.