A Different Kind of Love
One of the great joys of working on a project like the Spirit of the Highlands and Islands is to be able to hear directly what the Highlands and Islands mean to you. This Valentine’s Day, we are celebrating a different kind of love - the love between people and place - with the formal launch of a new series of audio interviews on our Spirit: Stories archive.
Last year, we teamed up with the brilliant team at Smartify who, prepped with a microphone and a camera, ventured the length and breadth of the Highlands and Islands to conduct a series of unique audio interviews all of which explore just what the ‘Spirit of the Highlands and Islands’ means to people across the region.
The collection, which amounts to over 100 audio bites, provides a unique snapshot into modern life in the Highlands and Islands. From cherished memories to a favourite place, historical events to new traditions, and from heart-touching experiences to amusing anecdotes - both the Spirit of the Highlands and Islands and Smartify teams have had the pleasure to listen to hear a wide array of personal stories and experiences directly from local communities.
In each interview, an unparalleled community love for storytelling truly shines through. Hear the beauty and emotion forever attached to places across the Highlands and Islands come alive through the voices of the people who live, work and visit here. Listen to stories of chance encounters, shared memories, new arrivals, moments of self-reflection and everyday acts of kindness. Learn more, with our ‘In Focus’ series, about the events which have shaped the Highlands and Islands, pioneering community initiatives and gain a behind the scenes look at some of the most iconic events and local industries in the region.
It truly brings us great joy to be able to provide a permanent platform for these community voices here on our archive Spirit: Stories. Our thanks go to Peter Knowles, Renato Camilo and the entire Smartify team for all their incredible work and collaboration on this. We asked Peter Knowles, Content and Partnerships Manager at Smartify, for his thoughts:
I’m thrilled that our recordings are being released into the world! Travelling around the Highlands and Islands to speak with people from all walks of life and hear their stories has been an utter joy and a genuine privilege. I can’t thank those who spent time with us enough for being so warm, welcoming, and generous with their time. I hope that listening to their tales helps people fall in love with the region as much as collecting them did for me.
That brings us to the end of another Spirit: Spotlight. We hope you enjoy listening to audio stories and become inspired to find out more about the Highlands and Islands. Stay tuned for future updates on the project!
DISCOVER THE AUDIO COLLECTION HERE
Image provided by Smartify