Yearly Archives: 2018

ARFOR – CULTURE IS THE KEY: ADAM PRICE’S PRESENTATION 26/05/18

Reply

Thank you to everyone who attended our meeting at Galeri in Caernarfon on May 26th to hear Adam Price discuss the concept of Arfor. The principle behind the scheme is the foundation of a partnership body for the north and west (Môn, Gwynedd, Ceredigion, and Caerfyrddin); those areas where the Welsh language is at its strongest. Since these areas face the same challenges and opportunities regarding language, culture and economic development, a body such as Arfor would allow for strategic planning and development; an approach that would acknowledge culture as a key element.

Adam outlined the urgent problem of out-migration from these areas; that 117,000 young people have left these counties over the past decade. One of the first steps to challenging this trend, Adam argued, is to recognise the Welsh language as a valuable resource, which can potentially contribute to economic growth. Indeed, he emphasised that a strong local identity provides a strong and viable foundation for regeneration.

With £2 million available to develop these ideas, the initial challenge is to plan an appropriate and sustainable structure for the long term. A structure which, as Adam puts it, makes the most of the “high level opportunity to re-draw the map.” Following the agreement of a Strategic Plan and management structure, the possibilities can be fully explored and developed – innovative ideas such as Enterprise Towns and Community Banks, infrastructure projects (such as transport), as well as making the most of, and co-ordinating the good practice which already exists across the various organisations and sectors.

There was an opportunity for further discussion following the presentation. Support for the Welsh language beyond its heartlands was discussed, and it was agreed that Arfor had to provide inspiration beyond its boundaries, and encourage wider ownership of its principles.

Since reversing the tendency for younger people to leave the north and west is one of the scheme’s main aims, it was agreed that colleges and Universities have a key role to play, and that incentives should be made available to students to study locally, with a view to contributing to the area’s future economic prosperity.

Among the other matters raised was the importance of positive action – extending Welsh language administration within the public sector, for instance. It was also stressed that we need to celebrate all that has been achieved already, and establish these successes as a foundation for further development.

 

 

THE FUTURE OF THE WELSH LANGUAGE IN ITS HEARTLANDS; IS ‘ARFOR’ THE ANSWER?

Reply

With successive Census returns revealing the decline of the Welsh language within its heartlands, out and in-migration changing the demographics of rural areas, and the insecurity of Brexit facing us, what is the future of the Welsh language within the traditional Welsh-speaking areas of north and west Wales? This is the question to be addressed at Dyfodol i’r Iaith’s Public Meeting at Galeri in Caernarfon next Saturday morning at 11 o’clock.

Very often, complex questions call for radical answers, and one answer that had been suggested already is ‘Arfor’, a new regional Authority for the north and west (Anglesey, Gwynedd, Ceredigion, and Carmarthen). This Authority would represent counties which face the same challenges regarding the Welsh language, the economy and culture; and could work strategically for the good of the region and the Welsh language.

With government restructuring again on the agenda, it is timely for us to welcome Adam Price AM to join us and discuss his vision for the Arfor scheme.

Is Arfor the solution? Come along to Galeri next Saturday to hear more, discuss and come to your own conclusion. A very warm welcome awaits you.

 

5th UK REPORT ON THE APPLICATION OF THE EU CHARTER FOR REGIONAL OR MINORITY LANGUAGES

Reply

Dyfodol i’r Iaith was recently invited to contribute comments on the UK’s 5th report on the application of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages to a meeting of Experts of the ECRM. Here is our written submission

 Policy Context

Dyfodol i’r Iaith believes that if the Welsh language is to thrive within Wales, more emphasis should be given to its promotion, and to creating opportunities for its increased usage in the home, the community and the workplace. We believe that it is time to expand the scope of Welsh language policy beyond a regulation-based approach, and to embrace a more ambitious and holistic vision that actively seeks growth in terms of the number of Welsh speakers and the opportunities available to speak it.  In this context, the new legislative provisions which the National Assembly has passed, requiring matters relating to the Welsh language to be considered in the context of town and country planning are welcome, but the Welsh Government’s Technical Advice Note on the matter appears to steer away from the clear language of the legislation.

We welcome the principles of the Welsh Government’s document, Cymraeg 2050, as a first step towards striking an appropriate balance between regulation and promotion. Central to the success of this strategy, we believe, is the creation of an arms’-length body to promote, advise and coordinate policy and practice in relation to Welsh language, based upon the acknowledged principles of language planning. This body would be fully compatible with the provision made within the Charter (Article 7 para. 4), that; (Parties) ‘are encouraged to establish bodies, if necessary, for the purpose of advising the authorities on all matters pertaining to regional or minority languages.’ (our italics).

Education

We recognise the seriousness of purpose with which the Welsh Government is addressing the areas of Welsh-medium education at all levels as reported in the UK’s latest periodical report.  In the case of education, however, we consider that there remains a need for a statutory right to Welsh medium education at primary and secondary level, since the increasing demand continues not to be met, and certain local education authorities are dragging their feet.  Given the high level of ratification which the UK has chosen for Welsh medium education under the Charter, this is not an unreasonable request, in order to ensure compliance with the Article 8 undertakings.

Health and Social Care

In respect of health and social services, while there appears to have been a welcome increase in awareness of the significance of language as an element of treatment and service delivery, we remain concerned at the shortage of front-line staff able to deal with patients and clients in Welsh in some areas, including in some of the traditional heartlands of the language.

Media

In relation to media, we welcome the creation of a second Welsh-language BBC radio station, but have concerns about the severe cut in government funding for S4C.  While we acknowledge that the new Royal Charter arrangements for the BBC mean that S4C is likely to superficially be reasonably well-funded, it will nevertheless face substantial challenges in meeting the diverse needs of the Welsh-speaking population in a media environment which is changing daily, on what will, at the end of the day, be a reduced budget.

Additional Comments

The Report makes no reference to a disturbing post-Brexit tendency towards increased attacks on minority languages (be they Welsh, Scots Gaelic or Irish). These attacks have been observed within the context of social interaction and social media, and alarmingly, within the mainstream and national media. The task of challenging such threats is all too often left to individuals, or organisations, such as ours.

While, in the case of Welsh, the complaints procedures of the Welsh Language Commissioner are available in relation to attempts to prevent people from exercising their freedom to use the language, they have proved to be cumbersome and lengthy, and simply inappropriate in relation to many of these instances. What is needed to challenge such attacks on minority languages is an unequivocal message of equality and respect.

Provision for this is, of course, outlined in Article 7 para. 3 of the Charter; that ‘The Parties undertake to promote, by appropriate measures, mutual understanding between all linguistic groups of the country, and in particular the inclusion of respect, understanding and tolerance in relation to regional or minority languages among the objectives of education and training provided within their countries and encouragement of the mass media to pursue the same objectives.’

We would therefore reiterate our call for an arms’-length body, with an all-encompassing remit to promote the Welsh language, and for it to be tasked, in the first instance, with formulating a wide-reaching national language awareness campaign.

The problem of attacking and stigmatising minority languages is not however one that can be dealt with on a Wales-only basis.  The encouragement of tolerance and respect is one that needs to permeate UK society.  It is regrettable that the latest UK periodical report appears (other than the section on Cornish) to contain very little if any content which derives from the UK Government.  It appears to consist only of presentations from the devolved administrations of Wales and Scotland and the Manx Government about the position of the regional and minority languages associated with those territories.  We understand Article 7.3 to be directed towards promoting mutual understanding among all linguistic groups throughout the State Party, not merely within the territories where regional and minority languages are traditionally used, and that the undertaking to include ‘respect, understanding and tolerance in relation to regional or minority languages among the objectives of education and training provided within their countries and encouragement of the mass media to pursue the same objectives’ also apply on a State Party-wide basis.  We would respectfully ask the Committee of Experts’ working party to ask the UK authorities what steps they are taking to fulfil their undertakings under Article 7(3), whether they are aware of this problem we have described, and what they are intending to do about it.