Minister for Europe, External Affairs and Culture Linda Fabiani will meet migrant workers involved in a range of different projects when she visits Fort William today (Monday July 7).

Funded through the Cultural Bridges Fund, the projects encourage greater understanding of immigrant cultures and social integration in Highland communities.

The Minister will visit the Lime Tree Gallery where a multi-cultural group will present a newsletter and outline their aims. Artwork by Polish children will be on display and Ms Fabiani will be able to see a DVD on the work of the project.

The Cultural Bridges Fund is a partnership between Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE), Highland Council, and the Highland Wellbeing Alliance.

Students from the English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) class funded by the Scottish Government through the Highland Adult Literacies Partnership will provide an overview of their experiences in the area.

The stop at Fort William follows Ms Fabiani's visit to Inverness in January when she met officials and migrant workers involved in integrated projects.

Outwith Inverness and the Inner Moray Firth area, Lochaber has the next largest Eastern European population of 500-600, the majority working in hospitality, food processing and the service sectors. The migrant population in Lochaber is stable with many workers choosing to settle there with their families.

Ms Fabiani said: "I am delighted to have the opportunity to visit Fort William today and meet the people working on these worthwhile projects. It is great to see first hand the interesting and innovative cross-agency work being undertaken in Fort William to support migrant workers and their families.

"Migrant workers make an important contribution to the Highland economy. It's vital to ensure these workers receive the right kind of support to integrate into local communities, and achieve their full potential."

Ruth Sime, senior development manager at HIE said: "Since 2004 there has been a significant in-migration of Eastern European workers to the Highlands. These workers are making an important contribution to the economy and helping to ensure that the population in the Highlands continues to increase."