Agenda item

This report is submitted in order to provide a background to Committee members about the existing work and priorities of the initiative.

Unanimously accepted.

The report was presented by the Chief Officer of Hunaniaith (Gwynedd's Language Initiative) who referred briefly to the following principal points: 

-      It was confirmed that a voluntary leading group had been established to complete the work of making the initiative independent from the Council. He explained that a new company (not-for-profit), called Menter Iaith Gwynedd was currently being set up by the voluntary group. He elaborated that the aim was to transfer staff to the new entity by the end of the current financial year.

-      He explained that there was a good representation of different ages, gender and areas on the group.

-      He reported that there would be a soft launch for the new initiative at the Llŷn and Eifionydd National Eisteddfod in August.

-      He noted that they had been successful in attracting additional funding through the Welsh Government's 'Summer of Fun' fund last year, which had allowed Hunaniaith to organise 23 events for 341 children and young people across the county.

-      He reported that there was good collaboration taking place with the Council's departments such as the Education Department in order to ensure that whole families understood and had input into the events of the immersion centres, had information about Gwynedd's language and culture and opportunities to use the Welsh language. He also referred to joint working with Menter Iaith Môn with the goal of attracting funding from Cyngor Gwynedd's Economy and Community Department, in order to encourage more businesses to make use of the Welsh language day to day.

-      The members were reminded that the primary purpose of the initiative was to identify gaps in the opportunities to use the Welsh language in areas, and to work with communities to find long-term solutions for them. The Officer shared an example of this, referring to Welsh yoga lessons in Bangor after identifying the need for such sessions to be held within the area.

-      It was noted that three members of staff were supporting the Chief Officer of Hunaniaith. The main focus of their work was to encourage and support communities to develop projects to promote the use of Welsh, which would be sustainable in the long term. He elaborated that the initiative primarily focused on looking at areas, rather than individual projects. He confirmed that the areas that had been prioritised for next year were Bangor, Ogwen, Penllyn and Felinheli. It was also stated that the initiative would focus on the Pen Llŷn area because the National Eisteddfod would be held in that area this year.

-      Some of the initiative’s priorities for the year ahead were discussed, focusing on ensuring that the National Eisteddfod's visit would encourage more people to speak Welsh in the area and to also work with Welsh children and families to ensure that the language was spoken amongst each other from day to day.

Members were given an opportunity to ask questions and offer observations. During the discussion, the following matters were raised:

-      In response to an enquiry regarding the effect on the Welsh language in light of the National Eisteddfod visiting the area this year, the Hunaniaith Chief Officer confirmed that the Eisteddfod organisers were exploring various options for specific audiences with the aim of promoting the language. Members shared several ideas, which included a discounted admission price on certain days of the festival and targeting some areas so as to encourage people to attend and hear the Welsh language in a natural setting, given that the Eisteddfod this year was based in an area where there was a lot of tourism. In response to the above, the Language and Scrutiny Adviser confirmed that she would share the observations with the officer from the Council who was coordinating the Council's arrangements with the Eisteddfod.

-      Concern was expressed that the language initiative was separating from the Council, and the reason for this change.

o   In response to the question, the Language and Scrutiny Adviser confirmed that this change was happening to ensure that communities took ownership of the initiative in the future. It was hoped that more people within communities would take a greater interest in the events and subsequently better promote the Welsh language in communities.

o   The Hunaniaith Chief Officer stated that the initiative would be open to more funding options when it was an independent entity, compared with being an initiative that was part of Cyngor Gwynedd's Corporate Support Department.

The officer was thanked for the report.

RESOLVED

To accept the report and note the observations received.