Culture Vannin’s passport launch provides the opportunity to use Manx and win prizes!

Culture Vannin’s passport launch provides the opportunity to use Manx and win prizes!

Meaning ‘Hurray for the Isle of Man’, the Mannin Aboo Passport scheme is open to everyone to join in with and has been created as part of the celebrations for Year of the Manx Language. 

Colourful, locally-printed passports have been distributed to families via primary schools and are available for the general public to pick up, for free, in a variety of locations Island wide from Saturday 2 May onwards.

The passports challenge their holders to visit participating destinations such as shops, cafes, cultural events and heritage sites throughout the summer and early autumn and use a simple Manx word or greeting while they are there.  If they do, they will be rewarded with a ‘stamp’ for their passport from the staff member serving them. 

There are 18 stamps to collect across three types of destination:

Shapp / Shop

Cultoor / Culture

Bee as Jough / Food & Drink

A list of participating destinations can be found by using the QR code printed on the passport.  Once filled with stickers, you fill in your details, stick down the edges of the passport and post it back to Culture Vannin to be included in a prize draw that will take place after the autumn half term holiday.

Tiffany Kerruish, Year of the Manx Language Coordinator is excited that the passports will encourage more Manx to be heard on the Island’s streets and in daily life,

“It will be fantastic to hear Manx greetings such as Moghrey mie (Good morning) or Gura mie ayd (Thank you) spoken in real settings.  Whilst it is all for fun, the hope is that the passports will help us all feel more comfortable using occasional Manx words when we are out and about!  We don’t have to be fluent speakers or even be learning Manx to keep the language alive and part of our daily lives and it all adds to what makes our Island special and unique for ourselves and visitors to enjoy.

Some Manx greetings are printed on the passports along with their pronunciations to make it easier to remember – but having a go, or getting it a bit wrong is all part of the process – the local businesses and organisations who have kindly signed up to be passport destinations are in exactly the same boat – so definitely don’t feel shy!”

Anyone who completes their passport and sends it back to Culture Vannin can look forward to being part of an exciting prize draw in the autumn.  Prizes include an IOM Steam Packet Voucher, family tickets for heritage experiences, Manx word jewellery from Element Isle and a whole host of delicious free cakes, coffees and other food and drink incentives put forward by many of the participating destinations themselves.

Breesha Madrell, Director at Culture Vannin is grateful for all the support the Mannin Aboo Passport Scheme has received,

“We are incredibly grateful to the Domestic Event Fund and Island Escapes for funding, and to our wonderful colleagues at IOM Post Office for their generous support in providing freepost for the prize draw. The Year of the Manx Language is all about partnerships, and we are always happy to chat through ideas with businesses.”

It is not too late for further local businesses or organisation to get involved and become a passport destination themselves – the scheme is free to be part of and sign up is available here: https://yearofmanx.im/become-destination/