Established in 1988, The Fletcher of Saltoun Awards recognise and celebrate the innovators and entrepreneurs who shape the cultural landscape of Scotland in the fields of Science, Arts and Humanities and Public Life. Taking nominations from the Saltire Society membership to ensure a broad spectrum of nominee, the Fletcher of Saltoun Awards have acknowledged over fifty individuals in its thirty-year history, advocating the brilliance, significance and impact of Scottish Culture.

Andrew Fletcher of Saltoun (1655 –1716) was an accomplished patriotic Scots writer, politician, soldier and Commissioner of the Old Parliament of Scotland. An innovative thinker and intellectual visionary, Fletcher’s contributions to Scotland’s heritage are celebrated annually by The Saltire Society through a commemorative lecture held in the Scottish Parliament.

Karine Polwart, Folk Singer Songwriter

Arts & Humanities

Karine Polwart, established and popular contemporary Scottish folk singer and songwriter, is also a theatre-maker, storyteller, spoken word performer and published essayist. Her intimate stories, often centred on women and families, provide sharp social and political observations on topics as diverse as Donald Trump and ancient bird lore, and parental grief and sex trafficking. Her songs are infused with a sense of human resilience, and steeped in memory and history. A multi award winning artist, Polwart is four times winner at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards, twice for Best Original Song, she was the inaugural winner of Scots Singer of the Year at the Scots Trad Music Awards. Her most recent album ‘Traces’ was shortlisted for Scottish Album of the Year. A former member of Malinky, The Battlefield Band, MacAlias and The Burns Unit, her musical career as touring and recording artist has encompassed community song, university teaching, animation soundtracks and thematic collaborative projects. During 2015 she wrote with Greek Cypriot songwriter and composer Alkinoos Ioannidis and for award winning theatre company Puppetstate. Her career highlights include an invitation to sing at the opening session of the Scottish Parliament in 2011.

Polwart has been outspoken in support of numerous political causes, including anti-nuclear campaigns and mental health issues. She is also an advocate of Scottish Women’s Aid and was vocal in encouraging participation and discussion around the Scottish Independence referendum. Polwart has an MPhil in Philosophical Inquiry and serves as a university and community-based philosophy tutor. She lives in Pathhead, Midlothian, with her two young children. For more information on Polwart’s upcoming tours and new releases, visit her website- www.karinepolwart.com.

 

Fiona Duncan, CEO Corra Foundation

Public Life

Fiona Duncan has over twenty years’ experience working in the Scottish, and overseas, voluntary sector. CEO of the Corra Foundation, she steered the philanthropic organisation through a difficult and litigious split from Lloyds Bank, leading the development of the foundation from grant giving charity (providing grants of £3000 to £40,000 to small charities) to proactive charity working with other organisations on targeted social programmes. In addition, Duncan runs the Kilfinan Group, which provides over thirty mentors to the heads of charitable groups across Scotland, who are often under pressure from trustees and beneficiaries.

At the personal request of the Scottish Government, Fiona also headed up the Care Review – an in-depth review of childcare in Scotland- the recommendations of which were published in February 2020. The review involved seeking the participation and views of over sixty children in care across the country, as well as those of carers, social workers and government departments.

Duncan served as Head of Development at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama and prior to that spent six years with WaterAid establishing their office for Scotland and Northern Ireland. From 1999 until 2006, Duncan was Director of External Affairs at Capability Scotland and before joining the Corra Foundation, she spent seven years at THINK Consulting Solutions, a leading international consultancy dedicated to not-for profit organisations. A regular speaker at conferences and contributor to sector journals, Duncan has also served as a judge of NESTA’s New Radicals for The Observer.

An exceptional and inspiring individual who has contributed greatly to Scotland’s public life, Fiona Duncan’s entrepreneurial skillset, passion and determination to improve life for struggling communities has had a significant impact on the futures of the next generations of Scots. You can read more about the momentous Care Review here- https://www.carereview.scot/about/

 

Professor Graham Watt, CBE FRSE

Science

Graham Watt established a distinguished career in both public health and general practice, including the role of Professor of General Practice at the University of Glasgow. In 2003 he led the re-drafting of the medical school Graduation Declaration, introducing the first substantial changes in the manifesto in 300 years. Watt has been a valued member of multiple professional boards including The Royal Society of Edinburgh. In 2016, he received the PULSE General Practice Lifetime Achievement Award. He was awarded Commander of the British Empire (CBE) in 2017 as recognition for his distinguished career in public health and general practice. With many academic publications to his name, Watt has recently written and edited his latest book, The Exceptional Potential of General Practice, published by CRC Press November 2018.

An important academic in the tradition of the democratic intellect, and a major influencer in Scottish, UK and international medicine, the distinguishing feature of Watt’s work is a concern for social justice, especially for the most socio-economically deprived people of Scotland. In 2009, Watt founded the Deep End movement in an endeavour to examine and explain the challenges faced by GPs and their teams whilst serving disadvantaged communities, with the purpose to develop professional support and better resourcing for assisting community medical teams in caring for deprived populations. This pioneering Scottish initiative has been emulated in other deprived areas UK wide, including Liverpool and Dublin. You can read more about the Deep End movement here-
https://www.gla.ac.uk/researchinstitutes/healthwellbeing/staff/grahamwatt/#/biography,g
rants.

 

Chris van der Kuyl, Entrepreneur

Science

Chris van der Kuyl is a highly experienced Chief Executive and Non-Executive Director whose expertise combines the start-up, development and market listed business arena in the technology, media and entertainment sectors. He grew his first business, VIS entertainment plc ("VIS"), out of a bedroom in Dundee to become a global player in the creation of leading-edge entertainment property for computer, television and video games platforms worldwide. Through the development of VIS, as CEO and President, he took the business through substantive growth.

van der Kuyl is currently Chief Executive Officer of Brightsolid Limited (formerly Scotland On Line), one of the country's Internet pioneers. He is also Chairman of the Tayforth group which has interests in Video Games development, Technology and Intellectual Property. van der Kuyl is Chairman of 4J Studios, a next generation video game development company responsible for one of the UK’s most successful videogame developers and responsible for the global phenomenon Minecraft which is currently on track to become the most successful videogame of all time. van der Kuyl is a member of the Global Leaders of Tomorrow Programme at the World Economic Forum. He is widely recognised as one of the UK's leading entrepreneurs.

Fully committed to building the next generation of business people by encouraging enterprise education in Schools, Colleges and Universities, van der Kuyl sits on various educational, scientific and creative boards. He is Chairman of Young Enterprise Scotland and a member of the Smith Group advising the Scottish Executive on educational matters. As one of the youngest Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, he sits on the Scottish Scientific Advisory committee advising the Scottish government on all areas of science and technology. van der Kuyl also Chairs the Creative board of the Education Wing at Kelvingrove Art Gallery in Glasgow and is a Director of Dundee Science Centre. Follow the link to find out more about van der Kuyl’s entrepreneurial endeavours- https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/chris-van-der-kuyl-interview-game-on-minecraft-sunday-times-rich-list-lvkkr3k3x.