Table of Contents
Foreword Val McDermid xi
Introduction 1
1 My Pledge Today Is Simple But Heartfelt 9
Holyrood, Edinburgh, 19th November 2014
2 Bridge to a Better Future 14
The Royal Society of Edinburgh, 25th February 2015
3 Connectivity and Integration 26
Kirkwall, Orkney, 1st June 2015
4 The Importance of Equality 31
Washington DC, 10th June 2015
5 We Need Men to Show Leadership 36
Napier University, Edinburgh 25th June 2015
6 Women Hold Up Half the Sky 41
Beijing, 27th July 2015
7 60,000 Excited Little Minds 48
Wester Hailes Education Centre, 18th September 2015
8 Our Response Will Be Judged By History 59
St Andrews House, Edinburgh, 4th September 2015
9 Human Rights Are Not Always Convenient But … 64
Pearce Institute, Govan, 23rd September 2015
10 Scotland and Alcohol 74
Edinburgh International Conference Centre 7th October 2015
11 A Vision for the Highlands and Islands 79
Isle of Skye, 21st October 2015
12 Food Banks and the Health of the Nation 88
Edinburgh 30th October 2015
13 Responding to the Paris Attacks 93
Holyrood, Edinburgh, 17th November 2015i
14 The Importance of Natural Capital 97
Edinburgh International Conference Centre, 23rd November 2015
15 Workers' Rights are Human Rights 103
Glasgow University, 24th November 2015
16 The Importance of the European Union 114
St John's Smith Square, Westminster 29th February 2016
17 Step It Up for Gender Equality 123
Holyrood, Edinburgh, 5th March 2016
18 Reflections on the EU Referendum 130
Edinburgh, 25th July 2016
19 The Defining Challenge of Our Time 142
Reykjavik, Iceland 7th October 2016
20 A Special and Unbreakable Bond 149
Leinster House, Dublin, 29th November 2016
21 The Underpinning Principle of the State 157
Stanford University, California, 4th April 2017
22 Women in Conflict Resolution 169
United Nations Building, New York, 5th April 2017
23 The Importance of Truth 174
University of Strathclyde, Glasgow 12th April 2017
24 Diversity in the Media 181
Edinburgh International Conference Centre 17th August 2017
25 The Role of Income Tax 190
Edinburgh, 2nd November 2017
26 Historical Sexual Offences, an Apology 195
Holyrood, Edinburgh 7th November 2017
27 The Best Possible Place to Be 199
Verity House, Edinburgh, 16th January 2018
28 A Hundred Years of Women's Suffrage 205
Holyrood, Edinburgh, 6th February 2018
29 On Child Poverty and Children's Rights 210
Beijing, 10th April 2018
30 The Importance of International Collaboration 217
Shanghai, 11th April 2018
31 Catholic Education in Scotland 225
Glasgow University, 4th June 2018
32 Outward-Looking and Open for Business 235
Mansion House, London, 29th January 2019
33 Honouring the Edinburgh Seven 240
Surgeons' Hall, Edinburgh, 30th January 2019
34 The Marine Ecology 246
University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, 20th February 2019
35 A Call to Service 252
Assembly Hall on the Mound, Edinburgh, 22nd May 2019
36 Twenty Years of Devolution 259
Edinburgh, 18th June 2019
37 The Countries Most Affected 267
Glasgow Caledonian University, 28th June 2019
38 Growth is Not an End in Itself 272
Edinburgh, 29th July 2019
39 The Importance of Literature 276
Edinburgh International Conference Centre, 25th August 2019
40 A Cup of Kindness 281
Brussels, 10 February 2020
A note on the transcriptions 291
Acknowledgements 295
Index 297
