In 2017, the Welsh Government set out a strategy; Cymraeg 2050.
The ambition is to see the number of people able to enjoy speaking and using Welsh reach a million by 2050.
In their own words, this is certainly a challenge! But a worthwhile challenge to secure the vitality of the language for future generations.
As part of this work, the Welsh Language Commissioners office has developed an accreditation programme that encourages organisations to increase the opportunities for anyone to use the Welsh language; Cynnig Cymraeg. All kinds of organisations can develop their own Cynnig Cymraeg; Charities, Businesses, National Governing Bodies.
We like being part of a challenge at The Outdoor Partnership, so we are keen to work alongside the Welsh Language Commissioners office to develop our own Cynnig Cymraeg.
Having created a Welsh Language Scheme in 2013, we were keen to take this a step further and develop our Cynnig Cymraeg which will further strengthen our pride in our Welsh services. Mapping out and creating our own plan allows us to do this in a bespoke way that aligns with our values of equal treatment and status, alongside a long-standing ambition of The Outdoor Partnership to promote and increase participation of Welsh speakers in outdoor activities.
Research by The Outdoor Partnership has shown that the number of Welsh speakers employed by the outdoor sector in Wales is low. Hence the delivery of services in Welsh is under represented in the sector. Working towards the Cynnig Cymraeg, alongside various other programmes of work we engage in, such as Bant a Ni, supporting Welsh medium coaching and leading qualifications and various other sessions, will hopefully start addressing this issue, leading to an improving picture we can continue to work on.
With great support from the Hybu team we are working towards official recognition status. Having completed the initial questionnaire and received feedback, we have set ourselves targets of where and how we can improve our Welsh offering.
This includes things such as developing our quarterly newsletter, so that is is fully bi-lingual, ensuring we have a robust communication system within the team so that correspondence can be replied to in Welsh at all times, and supporting and encouraging further learning opportunities for staff to learn and engage with their work though Welsh.
When we have achieved our targets, we can then share these, both internally and externally, and promote and celebrate them! That way, everyone will know all the ways they can use their Welsh through our services – helping with the overall aim of giving more people more ways to use Welsh and get closer to that 1 milllion users!
Promoting and supporting the use of the Welsh language is important to us. Having been established and working in North East Wales for nearly 20 years, we have strong ties to Welsh communities where the majority of the population, including many of our team use Welsh as their day to day language. We believe passionately that we can play a role in the protection of the use of Welsh place names and traditions in outdoor environments, such as ensuring native names for mountains, lakes and regions are used and kept alive.
Having now expanded and shared our work with all areas across Wales, continuing to be a positive influence is more important than ever. of the population in Wales feel that the Welsh language is something to be proud of, and further, 94 % of Welsh speakers feel that providing Welsh language service helps a company make a good impression, and of Welsh speakers believe that charities should operate bilingually in Wales. So it’s more important to us now than ever to build on this work.
And not just in Wales! Operating in various UK regions gives us the opportunity to promote and educate about the language further afield. Recent conversations in areas such as Plymouth centered around raising awareness of the Welsh language through visibility on marketing materials and it being a great conversation starter! And in other UK regions, such as Ayrshire and Northern Ireland, we aim to develop similar programmes working in languages such as Scots Gaelic and Irish Gaelic.
