Plan to get more people speaking Welsh in the capital

CARDIFF Council wants to double the number of Welsh speakers in the city by 2050.

The council has published a draft strategy aiming to increase the number of Welsh speakers in Cardiff through focusing on areas including education and employment.

In its ‘Bilingual Cardiff Strategy 202227,’ the council states that its main aims are:

Increasing the number of Welsh speakers in Cardiff;

Increasing the use of Welsh in Cardiff; and

Creating favourable conditions for Welsh speakers in Cardiff.

It also states that on its current trajectory, Cardiff is set to become the area of Wales with the highest number of Welsh speakers by 2027.

This strategy is an update to the council’s initial strategy outlined in 2017, following the Welsh Government’s Cymraeg 2050 plans published earlier that same year.

As part of its plans to increase the number of Welsh speakers in the city over the next decade, Cardiff council has stated that its focus will be primarily on increasing Welsh within family settings, in education, and in early years.

The strategy states that it will promote the benefits of using Welsh in the home, particularly for families who do not speak Welsh.

Another area of focus will be on promoting Welsh medium education among under-represented communities and black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) communities, while increasing the number of pupils in Welsh medium primary and secondary education overall.

The strategy also sets out the importance of increasing opportunities for pupils in English medium schools to connect with Welsh, and increasing the number of Welsh teachers.

With its second aim, to increase the use of Welsh in Cardiff, the strategy focuses on the need for Welsh to be used more regularly across different settings so that it can be normalised.

In addition to increasing the number of Welsh speakers working for Cardiff council and partner organisations, including universities, schools and organisations in the city, the plan is to develop activities for young people who speak Welsh as a second language in order to get them using it more regularly.

Finally, as part of its aim to create “favourable conditions” for Welsh speakers in Cardiff, the council has stated that its strategy is to focus on community, digital technology and culture and media, among other things.

This includes cultural activities for children and adults, a resource detailing all Welsh language employment opportunities in the city, and ensuring that Welsh is used in digital technology innovation.