'A living language: a language for living' – the way forward
24 Mar 2011 12:36 PM
The Minister for Heritage has welcomed the positive response to the consultation on the Welsh Language strategy – 'A living language: a language for living' – and outlined the work ahead to finish the development of the strategy.
More than 130 bodies, organisations and individuals submitted comprehensive comments to the consultation on the strategy.
“The strategy, together with our Welsh Medium Education Strategy, aims to see an increase in the number of people who can speak the language, and who use it,” Mr Jones said.
“I want to see more opportunities to use Welsh; increased confidence in people’s use and fluency in the language; greater awareness of the value of the Welsh language as a skill; and the strengthening of the Welsh language in our communities.
"The vast majority of the responses welcomed these objectives. That provides us with a solid foundation to create a strong strategy and develop a comprehensive action plan with our partners.
"This discussion has clearly demonstrated that the Government cannot, on its own, take on the task of strengthening the position of Welsh in our communities. The Government is very willing to provide leadership, and we can facilitate change. But we rely on our partners on the ground to act in the interest of the language.
“The comments received during the consultation confirmed that there is wide ranging support for the Welsh language,” Mr Jones explained.
"But there are many aspects that the Government needs to discuss further with its partners. That is the task facing us, and that is what will face the new Government from May onwards."
The Minister has published a document which summarises the main themes raised during the consultation and sets out actions for the coming year for the preparation of the final strategy and action plan.
The actions that have been identified in the document for the coming months include:
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establishment of a pilot Language Development Area in the Aman Tawe area;
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develop detailed guidelines for Bilingual Towns and Cities;
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establish the Welsh Language Delivery Plan for the early years;
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invite Urdd Gobaith Cymru to lead a piece of work to advise the Government on the needs and aspirations of young people; and
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establish a national workgroup to look into the development of using Welsh in the workplace.
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