UNESCO RIELA Arts Trail

UNESCO RIELA Arts Trail banner featuring map of Scotland with UNESCO sites marked and a cartoon woman stood on a ladder looking through binoculars across a forest

This project looks at the 15 place-based UNESCO designations in Scotland and tries to form creative responses to them, in an effort to increase understanding of these places (and other UNESCO sites around the world) and of their significance in both past and present, through artistic means, place-based learning and discussions with those who live and work on and near those sites.

These responses sit alongside and complements the world’s first UNESCO Trail, developed through a unique partnership between VisitScotland, the Scottish Government, the UK National Commission for UNESCO, Historic Environment Scotland, NatureScot, the National Trust for Scotland and Scotland’s then 13 place-based UNESCO designations, launched in October 2021.

The initiative also informs the Sites Unseen project, led by UNESCO RIELA, which works to create 14 digital learning packs for use in schools and community education settings and which explore Scotland’s cultural and linguistic diversity, as well as help learners develop a more nuanced and reflective understanding of the place they live in.

The work on the UNESCO RIELA Arts Trail is led by Tawona Ganyamatope Sitholé and Bella Hoogeveen.

UNESCO Trail in Scotland

Sites Unseen

Antonine Wall: Frontiers of the Roman Empire

Wooden fingerpost reading, from top to bottom, 'Rome 413 leagues', 'Old Kilpatrick Fort 0.75 leagues', 'Castlehill Fort 0.6 leagues'
Fingerpost on the Antonine Wall walk

Blogs

  • Action to Protect Rural Scotland (APRS) Green Belt walk/UNESCO RIELA blog - Walking the Antonine Wall by Kat Jones (28/03/2024)

Find out more about the Antonine Wall on the Visit Scotland website.

Edinburgh: Creative City of Literature

Photo of Armchair Books bookshop in Edinburgh
Armchair Books bookshop, Edinburgh

Articles

Find out more about Edinburgh's UNESCO Creative City designation on the Edinburgh City of Literature website.

Glasgow: Creative City of Music

SSE Hydro concert venue in Glasgow lit in multicoloured lights
SSE Hydro concert venue, Glasgow

Articles

Find out more about Glasgow's UNESCO Creative City designation on the Glasgow Life website.

Heart of Neolithic Orkney

Ring of Brodgar Neolithic henge and stone circle in Orkney. 6 grey standing stones on green grass field.
Ring of Brodgar, Heart of Neolithic Orkney

Articles

Find out more about the Heart of Neolithic Orkney on the Visit Scotland website.

New Lanark World Heritage Site

Aerial photo of New Lanark World Heritage Site
New Lanark from above

Blogs

Creative writing

Podcast episodes

Find out more about the New Lanark World Heritage Site on their website.

North West Highlands Geopark

Two people standing on a rocky hill under a white cloudy sky
Suilven, Sutherland (part of the North West Highlands Geopark)

Podcast episodes

  • UNESCO RIELA: The Sounds of the UNESCO Trail - E56 - Visiting Mi'kma'ki with Sadie Ryan and Brittnee Leysen (23/08/2023)

Find out more about the North West Highlands Geopark on their website.

Perth: City of Craft & Folk Art

Nerea Bello sitting at a table covered with pelts rolling up a tiny strip of paper. There are tools for making jewellery on the table.
Nerea Bello at Rise and Shine 2024, the Scottish Crannog Centre, Perth and Kinross

Articles

Blogs

Podcast episodes

Find out more about Perth's UNESCO Creative City designation on the Visit Scotland website.

St Kilda World Heritage Site

Aerial photo of a grassy slope with many small stone buildings
Cleitean (stone storage huts or bothies) on Hirta, St Kilda

Articles

Find out more about the St Kilda World Heritage Site on the Visit Scotland website.