Forum remains integral to Welsh language

Ensuring that the Welsh language remains integral to the Island's identity, culture and heritage remains at the forefront of Fforwm Iaith Ynys Môn's work.

Key partners which make up the Anglesey Language Forum met at the Business Centre in Llangefni earlier this month.

One of the forum's key responsibilities is keeping a strategic overview of Welsh in education, and this was discussed along with the Forum's other core items.

This year has also seen the Forum establish thematic subgroups to ensure that its targets were achieved collaboratively. The targets are: 'The Welsh language in the workplace', 'Family and language transfer', 'Community and young people', 'Education' and 'Infrastructure and legacy'. Resources were pooled together to enrich the work already taking place, and to add value.

The Council's Director of Education, Skills and Young People, Marc Berw Hughes and Senior Primary Sector Manager, Owen Davies, gave presentations on the Welsh language in education strategic plan and the associated work taking place in the county's schools.

Attendees were also given an update on OgiOgi, an app developed through the Forum that contains a treasure trove of local and national information and resources. The app is designed to help new parents introduce Welsh to their children in a fun way and support passing the language on from one generation to the next.

OgiOgi co-ordinators managed to attend 25 groups and speak to over 300 parents between February and April and as a result gained many new users.

Annwen Morgan, Chair of the Anglesey Language Forum said, "I would like to sincerely thank all members for their continued commitment to promoting collaboration between organisations, for the benefit of the Welsh language on Anglesey.

"The language is extremely important on the Island and adds significant value to people's lives. The Welsh Government's Welsh language strategy, Welsh 2050: Million Speakers, sets the national context for the work of the forum, and we look forward to 2024-2025 to continue our efforts to achieve the goal."

Education and Welsh Language portfolio holder, Councillor Dafydd Roberts added, "The Welsh language is an integral part of our identity, culture and heritage and we have a responsibility to ensure that it continues to develop and thrive, as set out in the Council Plan 2023-2028. The forum helps to put a spotlight on key areas, such as education, to help boost language provisions for future generations.

"Working with local and national partners to create more opportunities to use the Welsh language in social settings is vitally important, and I would like to thank the Forum and all its members for their work over the last working year."

End 24 May 2024

Notes to editors

For more information about the Forum's work, including the OgiOgi app, visit Effective Practices: Anglesey County Council (welshlanguagecommissioner.wales).