It has been another successful year for the Scotland Malawi Partnership as well as our sister network in Malawi, the Malawi Scotland Partnership. I am indebted to the staff, trustees, partners and members who have contributed to this success, with a tireless enthusiasm for civic activism and dignified, two-way people-to-people partnerships.

I am keen to also thank the Scottish Government, who continue to underpin the work of the Partnership through their continuing core funding: this is something specifically praised by the President of Malawi this year.

Like all organisations, 2021-22 has been a transition year for the SMP, as we begin the journey out of the Covid-era and back to in-person activities. I think we’ve all missed the energy and camaraderie that comes from meeting together in-person but we are committed to ensuring we do not allow the return to the in-person experience to reduce the inclusivity, transparency and accessibility of our work.

Perhaps the one great silver-lining of this pandemic has been the levelling impact of digital-working. Moving meetings to Zoom has allowed at times a fifty-fold increase in the number of Malawians able to take part in SMP meetings. We have had SMP AGMs in which the President of Malawi has been able to join live from State House, alongside hundreds of other Malawians from all walks of life.

Looking forward to the year ahead, perhaps one of our most significant priorities is perfecting the technology to allow us to excel in hybrid meetings, as we have with purely in-person and purely digital events.

If I were to pick one thing that I most look forward to in the coming year, it would be the unveiling of Prof Samson Kambalu’s statue of John Chilembwe and John Chorley on the fourth plinth of Trafalgar Square. In the era of statues being pulled down, with understandable outrage, what could be more uplifting than arguably the world’s most prestigious art commission going to an inspiring Malawian artist, to produce and inspiring artwork remembering a Malawian freedom fighter. John Chilembwe and John Chorley will, together, stand for two years from September 2022 on the fourth plinth, with Chilembwe literally towering over the other monuments and projects of imperial power at the heart of London.

This is a Malawian story and a Malawian success, which Scotland is proud to have supported. We must remember, and be honest about, our past as we look to build a better future.

The SMP is not a corporate entity, it is a community; a community of like-minded people who choose to come together in the belief that we can make a better world by working through dignified, equal, two-way partnerships with our friends in Malawi.

We continue to be challenged, inspired and led by Malawi, and we look forward to continuing on this journey together: two nations, two friends, one partnership.

David Hope-Jones, Chief Executive.