[Music] come with me as I explore Scotland's powerful and inspiring we European neighbors how are they able to do things differently and what vision do they offer of a brighter future for Scotland the Faroe Islands 200 miles north of Scotland with a population just 1 percent of ours on a cluster of 18 islands but it's connected in all kinds of ways through language technology politics and infrastructure tunnels this this comes up on you very suddenly on the Pharos when you're driving and it's a little unnerving but it's the reason that these 18 islands are actually one nation there's about 20 tunnels I can count there's two subsea tunnels one of them is about five or six kilometers long it provides a quality because if you can all access the high paid jobs and tours happen then it means that the wealth is spread equally around all the islands and that's one of the main reasons that they actually embarked on this is fairness so fairness and a connected nation one of the first things that strikes you when you come to the Pharaohs it's what you hear it's not English but it's not Danish it's Faroese spoken by just 66,000 people across the world it's about the same size as garlic far smaller than Scots but when google ignored their language they prompted a feisty Faroese response the Faroes translated crew tulare means sheep testicles and Faroese the problem is that Google Translate does not work with fair wings one of the people behind the Faroes Translate campaign is Torvill and Johansen chief executive of some seared communications it's a fact that every 14 days a language dies or go silence in the world it's very special that small country like the Faroe Islands have their own language it is what's what makes us fairies basically differently as a NASA and the salmon companions from this production we are so small that big companies like for example Google they almost neglect us because Google have this translation service they call Google Translate but it doesn't feature fairies so instead of just saying oh we want it we want it which set well we'll make it ourselves we will help them with Faroe Islands Translate powered by Faroese volunteers this time we'll make it with live people real people ferries people translating from every language in the whole world and press translate and seconds later they gotta live translations on ferries or simply learn how to say Astin we are ready to translate for you at Faroe Islands we are now working together to officially add ferries to Google Translate we went up against Google once again we didn't have street view here on the Faroe Islands so we made up the story about this young woman she put camera and sheeps with solar panels so they could run for several hours and then the sheep walked around and they filmed these wonderful Islands it works pretty good and the Sheep doesn't really notice it and this story went viral so suddenly they had this young girl asking Google to come and help her making Street you on the Faroe Islands and so they did look Google is coming so now we are all covered with Google Street you so it was a fantastic campaign for both the Faroe Islands and yeah for everybody actually also for Google we are using technology like Skype FaceTime whatever so it feels like that we are here technology we really use it as as a people to always be connected the reason people in the back of beyond could make videos in seconds is the Pharos broadband you're one of the smallest countries and you've actually got a massive achievement when it comes to broadband what is that we like to think that we have the world's fastest mobile broadband and there's no other operator that can deliver the speech that we can we have a mobile broadband coverage all over the islands even the sea up to 80 miles from the shore how did this happen how are you set up we our government owns even though we are in competition so so it's the support from the government that we are allowed to use all this investment do all these investments to get this full network we have this very good partner partnership agreement with Huawei also who's our hardware supplier and we have always tried to give the same experience the same services to all population even on the furthest island the prices are the same and the services are the same everywhere on the islands our next step is 5g obviously 5g is almost equal to Internet of Things you can set up device off on a mountaintop or wherever you are in a tunnel and you don't have to do maintenance on it for maybe 10 or 15 years because the battery time is very low so those are the technologies that the way we are implementing at the moment did you don't doubt yourselves no not at all I mean you had you have to try at least you you can't just sit back and we want to connect everyone [Music] so the Pharos has the world's fastest mobile broadband doesn't the help of the Faroes lifeboat we're heading out into the fjords to find out if that's really true well we left the capital Taurus out and now the lads are stepping on the pyro are we're heading out into the open sea well there's a mountain between us and towards however now we're an island out it's quite bumpy but Magni who is the captain here has got FaceTime to his daughter in Copenhagen because we have 100 megabits where we're sitting right now it's a smart daughter she's pregnant so on the 16th of June I'll be a grandfather again other aspects of their media are pretty remarkable too well that was a kind of bumpy ride back at hotel now just trying to chill a wee bit and discovering what's available and there are three newspapers produced here in the Pharos there are six radio stations including one public radio station and even one TV channel that includes international reporting dedicated to the Pharaohs that's pretty impressive for 50,000 people the common factor in all these success stories is the Faroes Parliament the Pharaohs is a Danish territory but has had home rule for 70 years I'm here in the log King which is the Parliament in the Pharaohs it's a dinky but lovely traditional old building and it's got 33 and Hayes plus a set of ministers more importantly it has got a wean of Paris I'd say this is the world's most powerfully devolved Parliament and have come to speak to the Republican MP bhur Samuelson about just what clout it wields Yost and the powers that this Ferries parliament has are really quite extraordinary can you list what you're able to control here well we are almost in charge of everything we are in charge fully of taxing of health care of education everything Keable thing and so there are some small things that are still on the Danish power but actually we are a very self-governing country so this Parliament has a very huge role in making laws every day and of course thinking of the well-being of the people in Faroe Islands you didn't actually even mention energy and broadband but you control them - yes and of course we are quite out of that and we are trying to cooperate with other countries and areas where they can use our expertise and we have made a goal that we in 2030 will be hundred percent on renewable energy sure and that's one of our biggest issues for the coming years but let's talk money you are given some money from the Copenhagen government do they effectively subsidize these islands I would set clearly no the amount we get from Denmark every year is not it's lesser than these and football players both for today you see a Faroe Islands might be tiny when they come to population but we are actually one of those large ocean nations we were a big country if you take our city or territory and we're a very rich country if you take our resources so we don't need the money from Denmark is my point of view and hopefully we all very soon get economical independence but the deal seems to be that when you take on more responsibility and power from Copenhagen obviously you have to finance that yourselves is that the way it works yes that's the way it works and that's what we want we want to say that when we are paying for ourselves of course we are also deciding for ourselves and that's why it has been so important to take responsibility for every thinkable area if you want to decide you have to pay so the way evolution works here is that if you want to take a power to the Pharaohs you basically have to pay for it I could put it another way if you take healthcare for example we decide how much to tax in this country so we also decide how to use the money we use a lot of money to buy services from the Danes or or with some patient to Iceland for example but we have the freedom to decide from whom we buy those services and I think that's very important for us to have those possibilities to decide on our own now the other huge thing is that you have the right to sign into or treaties and that's the reason that you are out of the EU whilst Denmark is in now how nervous does that work actually when Denmark went into EU Faroe Islands decided not to follow and we can design international treaties for example on fishery and issues that's a very long historical tradition that we do that so we are always done that the fairest people are owning the Faroe Islands but because we are still a part of another nation we don't fix into any box and let's make it often possible I mean we try to get member after and and we try to remember of the Nordic Council and we try to get member of WTO and they say yes but what kind of country are you actually so that's why we are saying we are already so self-governing why shouldn't we take the final step and the reason that you have that incredible power to be able to decide big things like whether you join the EU and fishing treaties is because of a vote way back in 1946 can you tell us about that in 1946 the people of the Faroe Island voted for independence and there was a majority of the people who said yes to independence and this was of course connected to the Second World War where we had been totally cut the connection with Denmark big part because we were occupied by the British and the Danes were occupied by the Germans so we did very well on their own so at the people said ok we will do just like IIST and we will go out of the coalition but then mark and we will be a sovereign state but it didn't go that way so we got this Home Rule law instead in 1948 and this Home Rule law gave us a lot of competence compared to what we had before 1948 it will still strike people as quite extraordinary that 50,000 people think they can be alone in the world on their own not even in the EU do you get a sense of that from everyone else how astonished they are you're almost braver and I think that some people maybe think that we are a bit naive but I think quite the opposite it's because we are thinking about the whole world is connected today there's no such country as being one alone country we just want the right to decide for ourselves with whom we make agreements and and so we say when we are govern country we have the same possibilities as other countries and we don't fall between two tiers as we often do today so I think it's quite logical actually if you know the story of this country I don't think anyone in Faroe Islands or even in Denmark think that Denmark and Faroe Islands it's the same country I mean we never were so so I've to me it's it's quite natural and logical of course some folk are more cautious about the future and think younger generations forget the Faroes economy is essentially dependent on just one thing we have fish fish fish and fish that is very very very important to to have fish to eat fish for forty years ago I think it was 2030 Philip their Factory on the island here now we have three or four 10,000 fishermen now we have 1500 we are using the machine to do to produce the fish they are going out of the country to produce in Denmark and Germany we are not producing that in the Pharos if we have problem problem with a bad year of mackerel salma it has been the biggest problem interference so we can think about because we have not anything to do to fill it up it we have to go back to the old days where we are efficient ation and we have to live of the fish who were grown up around the island here their new fashion people are not thinking the same as my because I am too old-fashioned island life is traditional and includes the controversial practice of whaling it's socially conservative - until now I spoke to some young students to find out what's changed actually most of the young people when they decide to study most of them go to Copenhagen to study any kind they becomes like then it's actually a bit more exotic to stay here in a way so I love the Faroe Islands so it is like my home so when I leave I feel like I was belong here it isn't hard to get into a place in the Faroe Islands where you have a voice and you can make a change the question is should I try to stay and make a change or should I just take the easy way out and leave being close to their Parliament has helped these young women feel able to influence the shape of the future and that's helped reverse population decline in stark contrast to islands around Scotland moving back to Faroe Islands is a bit hot or in at the moment it's because of primarily because we have a good economy at the moment but it also I think because we have made some mind changes during the last years we have for example put in place legislation on same-sex marriage and we have also put emphasis on education and other issues that is important that's why the the bill made such a huge difference because it opened us towards ourselves to accepting ourselves no we're also talking about like the abortion law we don't have free abortion in the Faroe Islands we keep fighting to have a society that we want I think also as I mean I feel as a woman I feel like it's also my my duty in a way to fight for to making Faroe Islands account I want to live in and where my friends want to live and also the people who study abroad like we want to make this a society where we want to stay and I guess also being small gives you good opportunity to do this to do these things because get your voice heard when you're just fifty thousand oh that's that's the one of the best thing about studying in the Faroe Islands and even here as a young people young person is that we can make the society better and make make people want to be here Erica Hayfield is a Scott who's married and made her life in the Pharaohs and she is an interesting insight and to how things have changed a few years ago and we kind of hit rock bottom because we were seeing depopulation for a number of years and I think that we had a huge public debate which really made us question indeed why are we doing on these at rocks in the middle of the North Atlantic the government started certain initiatives and one thing was investment in our university cultural investment presenting young people who young Faroese who are abroad with the opportunities that we have and it seemed to be very much a collective effort in the Faroe Islands we were determined that we were going to change things around over the past three years 21% of on average of the population growth stems actually from immigration from outside the Nordic countries so that's contributing as well and that is actually making the theorists more diverse from having been unpopular or uncool or a place with no opportunities it seems to be a hip and trendy place it's small places like the Faroe Islands where people are highly interconnected highly interdependent and very intimate Society means it's very unfair kacal and that's a good thing in many cases sometimes not such a good thing but it does mean that it's change comes quicker compared to a large more bureaucratic [Music] new trade routes have also made the Pharaohs the hub of the Arctic a confident international player able to host the massive Arctic Circle Conference the mission was to create an international platform of dialogue and cooperation which was in principle open democratic forward where anybody could participate whether you were representing governments of major powers or you were ministers or you were a global business leader or nature scientist or whether you were a young student or an activist or an environmentalist where we had the democratic platform which was international in nature but in principle open because most of the big international conferences are closed entities to see passages it's changing quite rapidly so in this case the very violence we have a huge possibility were strategically placed in the Arctic Circle and we want to be a part of it and we want to contribute in a positive way and this nation of just 50,000 people also has it's very own airline and it's government-owned Atlantic Airways is a national carrier it's owned by the government and but we are not subsidized we are flying to different destinations and and and I'm a commercial based and last year we had almost three hundred thousand passengers to from the Faroe Islands and we are looking forward to receive even more passenger this year and we are also looking forward to see more tourists in the Faroe Islands but what is good about having a national carrier and a national airline is that we always consider first the wishes of our own people and we are seeing that people are traveling more and more fares people are traveling a lot and it's very important for our country that people are travelling in order to get new inspirations and to get a good B Network and we also see that people can live in the Faroe Islands and that is only possible because you have a good infrastructure as a nation I think it's very very important that you have a vision and if you think about our planting air voice our mission is to connect the Faroe Islands to the world also presenting at the Arctic forum is Faro salmon producer hidden fjord who've discovered the enduring value of quality something Scotland may have to learn all over again if brexit brings floods of cheap chlorinated imports very many our customers around the world are telling us they think our Fellman is the best we have the times back to where the summer prices were rallying very much and we knew that the Scots were able to get better prices but after as the times run by the government and the Faroes farmers found out that we needed to be only one farmer if you're the key advance was letting the fjords recover after each generation of fish you could call it salmon set aside the emphasis is quality not quantity so we followed the field we may put in place a regulation in 2003 so after that you were not allowed to put fish and see if there was fish there before so you must have a period yeah and then you go back to will journey virginity you can say many costs will increase but the reward when you do that is that a biological motor will work much better naturally enough folk at the Arctic forum had some views about their biggest neighbor to the north is definitely a territory for Scotland Scotland is definitely a part of the north some extent it is right that the one of your leaders at a few years ago maybe you have been too preoccupied with looking at London on discussing your relationship with Ronda we and the Faroes have demonstrated how small communities in rather isolated territories can in fact enjoy a life of excellence in the 21st century economy that the remoteness does not have to be a hindrance whether it's in information technology or economic prosperity or many other areas and that's important with Scotland because a big part of the Scottish population lives in those kinds of conditions and if you are mapping out an economic future for Scotland you also have to give the people in the small communities and the remote parts of course on the same opportunities as if you are in the center of edible and here in the Faroe Islands they have established on their own an internet telecommunication excellence that is twice the standard of Singapore which is better than Korea but the pair Islands 50,000 people spread over these islands far out in the North Atlantic have been able to surpass both Singapore and Korea by participating in this article north and cooperation whatever you call it Scotland can be inspired by seeing there are solutions to some of the challenges of Scotland spaces and if there are some you can make inferences than you just deal with those economic political interests and you go back 15 20 years most people would have said communities like Iceland and the Faroe Islands would be at a disadvantage in the technological economic evolution of the 21st century the fact of the matter is we are now demonstrations of excellence in many of these many of these areas and I believe myself and in many parts this is within the control of of the Scottish people the Scottish people are very strong people and they have a lot of opportunity and and I think also that I see some similarities between Scotland and the Faroe Islands if you for example take renewable energy green energy I mean you are very you have a lot of possibilities there and you have a lot of competence so I think that's one area of many where we could work much more together than we do today and of course also when they come to sustainable fishery we should talk good together because we are both living off the sea so I think we have a lot of common interests so I hope I hope that we can get a closer connection to score even closer connection to Scotland I see Scotland as to England as what we are to Denmark potentially we should be independent that's my opinion and economically it should be a giant player in Europe in terms of you know all the export and all the natural resources you have so it could be you know it's it's a country as every other country and why not be totally and fully independent also economically in the Faroe Islands we think that for example Scotland has much more to offer than we have I mean you have so fantastic whiskey a fantastic nature you have fantastic people you're famous and all of the over the world you are friendly people and so on and so on you have so much to build on so when we think of you we think of what's the problem the strength of any country it's people obviously because if if natural resources will fade away you know people will find other solutions so it's always the strength of the people the most important thing I think for Scottish people is to get the right to decide for themselves so there's a lot to think about for the future of both our nation's the mighty Pharaohs and our changing Scotland well have been here for four days now and what really strikes you on the Pharaohs as the incredible confidence of these people if either confidence is a tiny island to take on the might of Google and they won they've had the confidence to take on the salmon industries of far far bigger countries and seem to do better than them but they even seem to forget that they've got things like the world's fastest mobile broadband because they've had it for so long it's just in with the bricks you have to remind them that they've actually got such powers that it makes them virtually a self rule Parliament so they've got all of this here and it makes it slightly difficult to see as a Scot because it makes you realise that powers and confidence go together and because we haven't had them were doubtful I think what this also shows you is that where there's powers there's confidence and is a way for a far better future [Music] if you'd like to see more films about our successful we neighbors please support our crowdfunding you [Music]
