I want to take you back to May 1999, and the first-ever elections to the then Welsh Assembly.
Almost 600 years after the first Welsh Parliament was established in June 1404, the people of Wales once again had its own national democratic institution.
Wales was entering a new dawn - an opportunity to meaningfully hand power to people, to communities, away from the corridors of power.
We have enjoyed fantastic links with our European neighbours for decades.
Our school children have benefitted from easy language exchanges and visa-free school trips. Young people have been able to live, study, and work across 27 different countries. Students have enhanced their education via the Erasmus scheme. Artists and musicians have been able to travel freely between us and the continent.
Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western (Constituency) and Leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats delivered an emotional speech to conference today.
We've gathered the highlights for you to explore, or you can read or watch his full speech here:
Conference, it is a tremendous honour for me to address you for the first time as the leader of our Scottish party.
I'm conscious that today I am addressing some of my political heroes.
I cannot overstate the sense of responsibility I feel to the great Scottish Liberals on whose shoulders I stand, and whose legacy I inherit, among them friends and mentors like Jim Wallace, Jo Swinson and Charles Kennedy.
During the awful violence in May, Britain was absent from the world stage - despite our historic responsibilities to the region.
That's why today we have set out a route map for the UK Government to follow in its engagement with the region. It is vital that long-term underlying tensions are to be addressed if we hope to achieve a lasting peace rather than a short term truce.
