Global cultural leaders to gather at Eisteddfod for Indigenous languages exchange

Nation.Cymru Staff

Cultural leaders from across the world will gather in Wales to explore how the arts can help protect and strengthen Indigenous and minority languages.

The international delegation of leaders, festival presenters, artists and language practitioners will visit the National Eisteddfod as part of its landmark 850th anniversary celebrations.

The delegation includes Indigenous and minority language communities from North Turtle Island (the Indigenous name for North America), the Basque Country (Euskadi), Ireland, Scotland, Canada and Mexico.

It will also include Anna Nsubuga, the UK’s Ambassador to UNESCO, highlighting the international significance of the programme and Wales’ contribution to global conversations around language, culture and heritage.

Anna Nsubuga, the UK’s Ambassador to UNESCO, said: “I’m looking forward to visiting the National Eisteddfod of Wales during its 850^th anniversary year.

“It’s wonderful that this major national festival in an Indigenous language, which dates back to Lord Rhys’s vision in 1176, is still going strong today.

“Nearly a year since I met the Archdruid of Wales Mererid Hopwood at UNESCO and during the MONDIACULT conference in Barcelona, I’m looking forward to meeting more Welsh cultural leaders and international partners who will be sharing their lived experiences of supporting minoritised languages and cultures.”

The visit forms part of Gwrando (Listening), Wales Arts International’s international exchange programme delivered in the context of the United Nations International Decade of Indigenous Languages.

A central ambition of the programme is to develop an international network of festivals, presenters and cultural organisations committed to supporting Indigenous languages through the arts.

Organisers say the Eisteddfod is a fitting setting because it is one of Europe’s oldest travelling festivals and one of the world’s largest cultural festivals held through the medium of an Indigenous language, attracting around 170,000 visitors each year.

Over five days, delegates will experience key ceremonies, performances and discussions across the National Eisteddfod, alongside visits to cultural organisations and heritage sites in west Wales.

They will see some of the festival’s most iconic moments, including the Chair and Crown procession, led by the giant puppet of Lord Rhys, the founder of the Eisteddfod, and will be welcomed by Archdderwydd Mererid Hopwood ahead of the Gorsedd Ceremony and the Crowning of the Bard.

Delegates will be taking part in discussions exploring language transmission through the arts, storytelling, music and international creative exchange.

Participants will also be introduced to the vision for Tŷ ‘r 7000 Iaith (House of 7000 Languages), conceived by the late Dr Carl Clowes, which imagines Wales as a future international hub for collaboration between Indigenous language communities.

Rather than following a traditional study visit, each delegate will be paired with a Welsh ‘ffrind’ (friend) who will help shape a personalised programme, introducing them to artists, organisations and communities aligned with their interests.

Through shared experiences, informal conversations, and tailored introductions, the programme aims to create long-lasting relationships.

Wales Arts International, the international arm of Arts Council of Wales, hopes to encourage future artistic collaborations, increase opportunities for programming in Indigenous languages, and ensure the conversations started at this year’s Eisteddfod continue beyond the festival itself.

Eluned Haf, Head of Wales Arts International, said: “The National Eisteddfod is one of the world’s most inspiring examples of how an Indigenous language can flourish through creativity, community and culture and has shown for generations that creativity can play a transformative role in sustaining a living language.

“As it celebrates its 850th anniversary, we’re proud to welcome colleagues from across the world to experience that for themselves. Gwrando is built on a simple belief: that the strongest international partnerships begin by listening.

“This programme is about creating space to share experiences, ask questions and learn from one another as we explore how the arts can help Indigenous and minoritised languages thrive.

“Through our work of Listening to Indigenous Languages, Gwrando, we have discovered a huge appetite by sister nations and agencies across the world interested in Wales’ lived experience in terms of transmitting our Indigenous and minoritised language, Cymraeg, through the arts. 

“This programme isn’t simply about sharing Wales’s experience. It’s about creating an international community of festivals, presenters and cultural leaders who can learn from one another, inspire new collaborations and champion Indigenous languages together long after this year’s Eisteddfod has ended.”

The visit reflects Wales Arts International’s long-term commitment to developing international cultural partnerships while supporting the ambitions of the United Nations International Decade of Indigenous Languages.

Organisers say that, at a time when many Indigenous languages face significant challenges, Gwrando demonstrates how Wales is contributing to a growing international movement celebrating linguistic diversity and creating new opportunities for Indigenous languages to be heard, shared and sustained through the arts.

The Gwrando project was co-funded by the Welsh Government.

Anna Brychan MS, Cabinet Minister for Education and the Welsh Language, said: “Wales has shown the world that a language can thrive when it’s at the heart of its culture, and the Eisteddfod is the finest example of that.

“I’m delighted that, as we celebrate this landmark 850th anniversary, cultural leaders from across the world will come to experience it for themselves.

“The Welsh Government is proud to have supported Gwrando, and I hope the connections made here inspire communities everywhere to champion their languages through the arts.” 

Read more about the international delegation on the Arts Council of Wales website.

---

Get more trusted Welsh news

Choose Nation.Cymru as a preferred source in Google News to see more of our journalism.