A national building company has entered into a commercial sponsorship partnership with The Highland Council to support the Highland Culture Programme.

Building and maintenance firm, Rok, is backing the programme, which was created as a long term legacy of Highland 2007 to support events and projects showcasing Highland culture.

Rok will work with the Council to highlight project proposals coming through the Highland Culture Programme that could benefit from the support and assistance of Rok offices across the region.

Councillor Sandy Park, Convener of The Highland Council, said: "I am delighted that Rok wishes to add its support to the Highland Culture Programme and I look forward to working with the company to identify opportunities to develop cultural facilities within communities across the Highlands.

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"Rok's support is greatly appreciated and I am certain that our partnership will add significant scope to the range of projects that we can support through the Highland Culture Programme."

Rok's Area Leader, Scott Alexander added: "This is a fantastic opportunity for us to partner with The Highland Council and offer our support to the Highland Culture Programme.

"We are committed to giving something back to the local communities in which we operate and this partnership provides us with a platform to do just that. We are looking forward to working in partnership with The Highland Council and contributing to the success that the programme has achieved to date."

He said Rok takes an active role in community engagement across the UK, which includes its Rok Community Challenges through which employees work with volunteers to improve local amenities. The new sponsorship partnership with The Highland Council in support of the Council’s Highland Culture Programme fitted well with the company's aims, he added.

Now in its third round of funding, the Highland Culture Programme is supporting events, festivals and other cultural activities organised by community organisations, promoters, artists, performers, youth groups and schools across the Highlands.

Proposals are currently being invited from applicants to apply for Highland Culture Programme funding and these will be assessed jointly by representatives of The Highland Council and Rok. The deadline for applications is 7 August 2009.

(GK/JM)