We’re celebrating our 2nd birthday with incredible results and fantastic ‘firsts’ for 'Our Stories, Your City' project:
- Fife day trip
- Storytelling workshop
- Schools
- Storytelling over supper
All thanks to visitors’ donations and their belief in storytelling!
Read the full report here for more details or click the impressive results, below....
Let’s take time to look back.
Our story was borne in three chapters;
- 2012; Mercat Tours and Grassmarket Community partnership established.
- 2017; Mercat Tours team refreshed our 'WHY', what bonds our work and our team - 'to make meaningful connections through storytelling'
- 2020; the profound experience forced on us all by the COVID 19 pandemic gave a far deeper understanding of 'exclusion' - from life, choices, opportunities and connections.
This led to an innovative idea! That Mercat Storytellers can reconnect vulnerable communities with their city through storytelling tours to beat exclusion, paid for by visitors' donations and supporting local Living Wage jobs at the same time.
With the hard work of our exceptional team and Scottish Government funding our project launched in April 22.
Emerging from the pandemic into war in Europe and a cost of living crisis made it very difficult to know what to expect.
2 years on...
The incredible results show that our project inspires visitors to reconnect the disconnected in a dignified, human way where all receive a 5 star experience equally. As the donations continue to grow so does the strength of our promise to use storytelling to benefit those who need it most, those disconnected from their stories and their city.
Perry O’Bray, GCP Manager says: 'Our partnership with Mercat has continued to grow and has been amazing to be a part of this highly valued initiative. What is most exciting is that all the opportunities offered to our community are tailored to the specific needs of our members, with opportunities for feedback throughout, which absolutely aligns with our person-centred and strengths-based approach. Our members have jumped at the opportunity to learn more about storytelling and their own city, often it is the first time they have experienced this type of event.'
Neil Christison, Regional Director at VisitScotland who covers Edinburgh and the Lothians commented: 'Our Stories, Your City is an amazing initiative and fantastic example of the wider benefits that tourism can bring. Visitors are increasingly seeking meaningful travel experiences and Mercat Tours’ dedication to engaging and supporting the local community is why it was chosen for Scotland’s Meaningful Travel Map, in our partnership with Tourism Cares.
Our national responsible tourism strategy is focused on ensuring that tourism and events contribute to thriving communities, and initiatives like Our Stories, Your City go towards helping us achieve our goal.'
