Category Archives: Education

IEUAN WYN JONES’S COMMENTS CONFIRM THE NEED FOR AN

Reply

Following Ieuan Wyn Jones’s comments in his book on his political career, Dyfodol i’r Iaith calls again for the establishment of an arms’-length Body to plan the future of the Welsh language.

According to Dyfodol i’r Iaith, extensive areas require urgent attention. The Government seems to be increasingly aware of the need for action on housing and the economy, the need to develop local communities, but implementation is lacking

Heini Gruffudd, Chair of Dyfodol i’r Iaith, said, “The lack of holistic planning is clear. The Welsh-medium education targets are becoming increasingly inadequate, there is a clear lack of funding to develop Welsh language learning for adults and in the workplace. The programme to teach Welsh to teachers is insufficient, with talk of introducing 60-hour courses, where 600-hour ones are needed.

“The establishment of an arm’s length body, with permanent specialist staff, who will be able to create a complete ongoing programme, to be accepted by various Government departments, is long overdue. Such a body would be able to give creative direction to language planning in Wales, with an emphasis on families and the community. It will be able to promote effectively and freely, and create plans over a long term. With intelligent regulation, and working with the Government’s Welsh Department, it will be possible to create robust conditions for the prosperity of the Welsh language.

“We look forward to discussing this with the Government, which, in all good faith, is slow in driving things forward.”

https://nation.cymru/culture/wales-needs-a-new-body-to-promote-welsh-says-ex-deputy-first-minister/

DISCUSSION PROVIDES AN OPPORTUNITY TO RESET THE AGENDA FOR THE WELSH LANGUAGE.

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Dyfodol i’r Iaith welcomes the discussions currently taking place between Labour and Plaid Cymru and hopes that this will provide an opportunity to reset the agenda in terms of policies to support the Welsh language.

Heini Gruffudd, the organisation’s Chair said:

“We will be encouraging both parties to regard these discussions as an opportunity to consider the true needs of the Welsh language in order to meet the target of creating a million Welsh speakers.”

Among their priorities, the organisation calls upon both parties to:

  • Elevate the status of the Welsh Language Division within Government
  • Extend Welsh language medium education and introduce an ambitious Welsh language training programme for education workers
  • Draw up a Planning policy which protects the language and addresses the housing crisis
  • Act urgently to implement the recommendations of Dr Simon Brooks’s report on
  • Develop the Arfor scheme which aims to promote Welsh and develop the economy of the language’s heartlands
  • Extend the use of the Welsh language within the workplace
  • Strengthen the language’s status within the private sector

And finally, and with no cost implications at all –

  • Increase the use of the Welsh language within the Senedd, including leaders and ministers.

Equalities and the Welsh Language

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A recent report by the Welsh Anti-Racist Union concludes that the procedures and policies of the Arts Council for Wales and National Museums Wales are fundamentally racist and place barriers to the participation of black people and people of colour in the arts and cultural activities in Wales. Such a report is timely and important and seeks to address inequality within two areas that can only flourish through encouraging a diversity of perspectives and experiences.

It is galling to note however that these conclusions have been presented and reported in way that confirms the fallacy that no black person or person of colour can or would want to speak the Welsh language. Even worse is the implication that the interests of two minority groups (black people and Welsh speakers) must be pitted against each other, without acknowledging that this is a false dichotomy, The Welsh language is a skill which can be learnt: black people and people of colour across Wales already speak it and more importantly, there should be acessible and inclusive opportunities for all to learn it.

The irony of this necessary report is that it has led to the media focusing solely on the Welsh language as being a barrier to equality, while ignoring the centuries of unjust ideology which is totally unrelated to the efforts to win civil rights for the Welsh language and its speakers.

This suggests an urgent need to initiate a far-reaching discussion on how to balance and integrate race equality (and all other equality strands) with the needs of the Welsh language in public life. It is frankly heart-breaking that it is currently easier to scapegoat other minorities than to challenge the status quo.