UHI hosts world’s first academic conference on community landownership

The first ever academic conference on community landownership was held at UHI Perth from the 16th -17th of June 2026. The CLAN Gathering was organised by the Community Landownership Academic Network (CLAN), hosted by the Centre for Mountain Studies at UHI Perth.

Over the course of the two days, 80 delegates engaged in presentations, panel discussions, conversations and workshops relating to the conference theme of “What we know, and what we need to learn: History, policy and practice of community land”.

The conference commenced with a panel discussing the history of community land in Scotland in order to set the context for further study and discussion. Chaired by UHI Centre for History researcher, Dr Juliette Desportes, the session engaged eminent scholars in the historical development of the concept and types of community land, predominantly in Scotland. Following this, a session of presentations built upon this historical foundation by outlining the contemporary picture of community ownership of land, housing and energy, as well as the enduring challenges and inequalities faced by some groups.

After lunch, the conference turned to policy and practice. First, a panel consisting of policymakers and policy-focused researchers discussed the process and challenges for research to inform ongoing community land policy. As well as the explicit discussion of ‘what we need to learn’, this forum served to establish some common ground, shared understanding and a collaborative foundation between researchers and policymakers upon which to build. Following this, a second round of presentations focused on research related to policy and practice, covering such concepts as sustainability, resilience, stewardship and governance. The day finished with a hearty conference dinner in Perth.

Day two began with an international perspective provided by a panel outlining the findings and learnings of the Reversing the Gaze project. This project sought to build connections and collaborations between land reform scholars and activists in Scotland and Sub-Saharan Africa, with representatives from South Africa and Tanzania in attendance. This powerful panel illustrated both the similarities and differences between the land-related issues facing communities on opposite sides of the world. The final session of presentations then focused on concepts and methods in community land research, bouncing between Schumpeter, citizen science and artistic explorations of the commons.

The lunch break provided the final opportunity to engage with the poster presentations which were present throughout the conference, covering a wide range of topics in a concise and visually appealing way. Delegates were encouraged to vote for their favourite oral and poster presentation during this break.

The final afternoon commenced with a facilitated conversation between two of the most significant authors of community land research, Andy Wightman and Professor James Hunter. Jim is the author of the most comprehensive overview of community landownership in Scotland, “From the Low Tide of the Sea to the Highest Mountain Tops”, as well as having been instrumental in driving forward the cause of land reform through his work with the Isle of Eigg Heritage Trust, Highlands and Islands Enterprise, the Scottish Crofters Union and the Land Reform Review Group, among other endeavours. Andy’s research into ‘Who Owns Scotland’, as well as his powerful historical explication of Scotland’s current landownership pattern, “The Poor Had No Lawyers”, preceded his time serving as a Member of the Scottish Parliament. The two men discussed the historical developments which have led us here, the current state of land reform and community land, and their relative levels of hope for the future.

The conference concluded with a workshop to inform the next steps of CLAN. Discussions focused on the activities, functions, governance, funding and communications, as well as future CLAN Gatherings. Delegates provided comments, critiques and questions for the future of the network as it nears five years of existence. Finally, prizes were given for the best presentations. Fittingly, the prizes consisted of two copies of “From the Low Tide of the Sea to the Highest Mountain Tops”, signed and presented by the author himself, to Carey Doyle (SRUC; Poster presentation) and Catriona Mallows (UHI; Oral presentation).

CLAN would like to thank all attendees, presenters, panel members and exhibitors for their contributions. In addition, many thanks to the Conference Planning Committee, all of those who helped with logistics and planning prior to and during the conference and all of those who have contributed to the development of CLAN over the past five years. The conference was sponsored and supported by Highlands and Islands Enterprise, UHI Land and Communities, the Scottish Historical Review Trust and UHI Perth.

Quotes

Bobby Macaulay, CLAN Coordinator and Research Fellow at UHI Perth Centre for Mountain Studies- “This was an incredible event, outlining the vast breadth of research activity in the area of community land. CLAN seeks to facilitate and coordinate mutually-beneficial engagement between researchers, communities and other stakeholders in order to address gaps in our knowledge and state confidently when those gaps have been filled. It is greatly heartening to see so many people present their work, engage with others and help to build this area of research”.

Jim Hunter, Professor Emeritus at UHI Centre for History- “Just the opportunity to be amongst so many people who are engaging so productively with issues to do with community landownership, something I’ve been involved with for a long, long time. But really good to so many folk, especially so many young folk, getting really to grips with the topic.”

Denis Mpagaze, St. Augustine University of Tanzania- “This is a kind of network which links the researchers and the community, something which you don’t have in Tanzania. Now, for sure, I’m going to establish such kind of network. We have a lot of research findings, they are nowhere to be seen in the community. So, I’m going to establish this.”

Julia Rolim, Development Trusts Association Scotland (DTAS)- “My favourite thing about attending the CLAN network conference has been the opportunity to compare the Scottish land reform movement to other international movements, specifically from a post-colonial lens, and that’s given me a lot to reflect on.”

Isla McCulloch, Development Trusts Association Scotland (DTAS)- “It has been really valuable to attend this conference and zoom out on a lot of the issues we face day to day working with groups, and meet people who are taking a really different lens and a different view to the work we’re doing. Really hoping we can follow up with some of the people we’ve met during the conference. And I really appreciated some of the presentations that reflected on how researchers work with some of the groups, not just what their findings have been, not just as social anthropologists but as members of communities themselves and that kind of human side to it.”

Frank Ademba, We Effect, Tanzania “The housing system in Scotland is very interesting. In Tanzania we are also looking at adequate rural housing, so I saw that there are complementarities between Tanzania and Scotland in the way we work together”

Lilian Looloitai, CORDS (Community Research and Development Services), Tanzania- “I have enjoyed a lot knowing about community movements or struggle in Scotland, which is very similar to what we have back in Tanzania”

Julie Rostam, Scottish Land Commission- “I think it was a really inspiring two days. The key takeaway for me is that we have a really great group of people here, that are not afraid to ask the difficult questions to themselves and to each other, and to try to answer them in a constructive, productive way. I’m really looking forward to the future- the future of research, the future of policy and doing good things for the people of Scotland in general”

Sam Poskitt, James Hutton Institute- “My favourite thing about the conference has been the discussion around the politics and justice elements associated with community landownership, which is sometimes unspoken but is actually quite critical to what we’re all trying to do here.”