Working together on Social Justice and Cymraeg.
“Cymraeg and Dydd Gŵyl Dewi belong to us all, and I really do mean that. It belongs to each and every one of us and each and every community across Wales. Let us all celebrate St David's Day, Dydd Gŵyl Dewi, in all of our own unique ways, and let us continue to make Wales a community of communities.”
That’s how the Minister for Social Justice, Jane Hutt, AM closed her Oral Statement to the Senedd on the eve of St David's Day this year. The Minister mentioned the work that Prosiect 2050, the Community Cohesion division, and the Anti-racist Wales Action Plan team are doing together to ensure that our strategies and action plans are aligned and strengthened.
This cooperation works towards three goals of the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act:
- A more equal Wales
- A Wales of cohesive communities
- A Wales of vibrant culture and thriving Welsh language
We’ve also been working together recently to make sure Welsh language policy is included in our Anti-racist Wales Action Plan and our LGBTQ+ Action Plan for Wales.
One of the first outputs of this teamwork is a project that has led to announcing a list of Welsh language race and ethnicity terminology which are being added to online term bases. The terms were standardised and announced in partnership with numerous partners including Bangor University, linguists and representatives from different Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic communities. And there’s more work on the way.
Wales is also a Nation of Sanctuary, over the last year many of us have been hosting refugees from Ukraine into our communities. Language is a people thing – we can use it to welcome people, and many Ukrainian children are learning Welsh through our late immersion centres. Projects like Dydd Miwsig Cymru (Welsh Language Music Day) and the Croeso i Bawb courses at the National Centre for Learning Welsh also extend the Welsh language to new communities and audiences.
We will continue our collaboration to strengthen Cymraeg 2050 across the Welsh Government and we’ll keep working in the field of social justice. Our goal is to create a more equal and prosperous Wales for all - a Wales where everyone feels ownership of our language and culture.