Chapter 8.
Welsh Language, Culture, Sport and Tourism
Welsh Labour’s Promise to Wales
WE WILL:
- Establish a National Music Service to make sure that a lack of money is no barrier to young people learning to play an instrument.
- Consult on legislation permitting local authorities to raise a tourism levy, ring fenced to support improving the visitor experience in Wales and to help the local economy.
- We will create a Welsh language Communities Housing Plan to strengthen Welsh language communities and we will work with partners in these communities to support young people in securing affordable homes. We will also work to protect Welsh place names.
- Push forward with our goal of 1 million Welsh speakers. We will introduce a Cymraeg 2050 Welsh Language Education Bill to strengthen and increase our Welsh language school provision across Wales and ensure delivery of the Welsh Education Strategic Plan, expanding the role of the Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol.
- Expand our Welsh language early years provision including nursery groups, parent taster sessions and we will encourage people to choose to speak Welsh within their families. We will expand the Pupil Immersion Programme to ensure all newcomers to the language have access to Welsh medium education. The National Centre for Learning Welsh will help ensure that parents too have access to learning the language.
- Introduce a pilot project which will incentivise young Welsh speakers to return from universities to help teach Welsh in schools for the final weeks of the school term. This will give our young people a taste of teaching, encouraging them to take up teacher training through the medium of Welsh.
- Provide free access to the Urdd Eisteddfod in 2022 on its centenary anniversary.
- Invest in our theatres and museums, including committing to Theatr Clwyd, establishing the Football Museum and the National Contemporary Art Gallery.
- Tell the full story of our country by ensuring that Black, Asian, and Ethnic Minority histories are properly reflected throughout our cultural and heritage sectors including in our National Museums.
- Invest in our world-class sports facilities, promote equal access to sports and support young and talented athletes and grassroots clubs. We will invest in new facilities such as 4G pitches.
- Work with key partners in TV, film and in education to establish a Creative Skills Body to cultivate home-grown excellence particularly among our young people. We will also consider establishing a Creative Industry Research and Development Fund so that Wales is always at the forefront of skills and technology.
- Support the application to identify the slate landscape of North West Wales as a World Heritage Site. We will work with local organisations to promote this cultural and economic opportunity and we will develop plans for a Museum of North Wales.
Our national anthem speaks of Wales as the land of song and poetry, and we are known the world over for our creativity, music, and sport. Our Welsh language is a national treasure, reflecting our long history. In 2019, Wales was named amongst the top 10 most beautiful countries in the world by the Rough Guide.
Given these riches of culture, Welsh Labour has always understood the importance of the arts, tourism, and sport to the Welsh economy and to our national life. We are committed to celebrating Wales’ history and language as well as being an open, inclusive society that builds on a variety of cultural traditions. We want to make our heritage available to everyone, including our many visitors. We believe that it is the right of every individual in Wales to participate and shape the cultural life of our country and communities.
Despite the unprecedented challenges caused by the pandemic, we are looking to the future and we have an outstanding base from which to re-build our tourism, hospitality, and cultural industries: St. Fagans has been named the best museum in the UK; partners like Bad Wolf and Netflix saw Wales create award-winning cinema and TV productions. Wales hosts internationally renowned events such as the Hay Festival, the ICC Cricket World Cup, the Volvo Ocean Race and Wales Rally GB. We are also famed for our home-grown events such as the Urdd Eisteddfod, the Eisteddfod Genedlaethol, Aberystwyth Comedy Festival and the Steelhouse Festival.
A Welsh Labour Government will champion our successes, harness the creativity and sporting ability of our young people, and enable our tourism, sports, and arts industries to maintain their proper place on the world stage.
What we did in government
- The Welsh Labour Government has made an unprecedented commitment to the Welsh Language through Cymraeg 2050, with its ambition to reach 1 million Welsh speakers by 2050 and we have created a new language planning unit within the Welsh Government – Prosiect 2050.
- We have placed the Welsh language as a central component of our International Strategy and ensured we were centre stage at UNESCO’s International Year of Indigenous Languages – reinforcing our status as a leading country for language rejuvenation.
- We are delivering on our strategy for making the Welsh Government a fully bilingual organisation by 2050 and through the launch of ‘Helo Blod,’ a free support and translation service for small businesses across Wales.
- Through our ambitious ‘Welcome to Wales’ tourism strategy and our remarkable tourism industry, Wales secured numerous awards including:
National Geographic top 25 trips in the World.
National Geographic top 3 global destination for adventure.
Visit Wales won a silver award for best destination marketing.
Lonely Planet’s top 5 best sustainable trips.
- We have supported jobs in the creative industries through the establishment of Creative Wales and provided funding for key creative projects across the country.
- We established Sporting Heritage to celebrate and protect our incredible sporting success. We strengthened Sports Wales to further promote our world-class facilities and athletes and provide support for grassroots clubs and activities.
- We have promoted sport and exercise widely and created the Healthy and Active Fund to encourage families and young people to make the most of our remarkable country.
- We provided the largest budget in a decade to conserve, support and increase access to our world-class heritage sites. This includes £4m to redevelop Caerphilly Castle, over £3.5m for Caernarfon Castle, £1m for Tretower Court and £1.2m for Coity Castle.
