Young Welsh, Irish and Cornish creatives join Celtic Exchange Programme

A new Celtic Exchange Programme will enable young creatives ‘to meet, travel and collaborate, co-creating and sharing content in their indigenous languages’ for the first time in June, 2025.

The programme has been set up after the British-Irish Council brought together a panel of media experts on the theme: ‘Livelihoods and Language: Making Your Living, Where You’re Living’ at the 2024 Celtic Media Festival in Cardiff.

The exchange is a joint initiative of the British-Irish Council, the Welsh Government and MG ALBA, with the support and participation of Cornwall Council and the University of Galway.

Innovative

Mark Drakeford, Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Welsh Language said: “We’re pleased to give Welsh Government support for this innovative Celtic Exchange Programme, which will create opportunities for talented young people to work together for the first time.

“It will give them an insight into other minority languages across these isles, which will no doubt affect how they see the world and how they live and work within the creative industries.

“These experiences are invaluable in broadening horizons and building connections. This partnership shows our shared commitment to sustaining our languages, strengthening cultural connections across our nations and helping people to work where they choose to live.”

Hosted by MG ALBA and their content creators, the inaugural Celtic Exchange Programme will welcome young speakers of Irish, Scots Gaelic, Welsh and Cornish.

Travelling throughout the Western Isles, participants will meet with colleagues working in creative and broadcast industries, celebrate cultural connections, explore opportunities to develop future collaborations and demonstrate the benefits of working within their communities.

Joining forces

Donald Campbell, Chief Executive MG ALBA said: “We are so pleased to join forces with the Celtic Media Festival, the British-Irish Council, Welsh Government, Cornwall Council and the University of Galway to help young people celebrate and sustain their indigenous Celtic languages.

“We are especially delighted that the first participants in the Celtic Exchange Programme are immersing themselves in Gaelic communities in the Western Isles. This media collaboration is an investment in creating an exciting future for the languages that are so precious to us.”

The multilingual content filmed during the event will be collaboratively shared across social media platforms and a short film produced from the event will also be screened as part of a panel discussion at the 2025 Celtic Media Festival in Newquay, Cornwall.

Catriona Logan, Celtic Media Festival Director said: “We were delighted to hear that the British-Irish Council made practical strides in supporting young people with Indigenous, Minority and Lesser-Used languages in the media, following on from Celtic Media Festival 2024.

“The ambition of the Celtic Exchange Programme is incredibly impressive, and we look forward to welcoming the British-Irish Council back to this year’s Celtic Media Festival in June to continue making cultural connections and supporting young people in creating collaborative work within their communities.”

The British-Irish Council was was established in 1999 under the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement (1998) to promote ‘mutually beneficial development’, and has  been partnering with the Celtic Media Festival as one of its sponsors for the last four years.

‘Celtic Exchange Programme – Supporting the Next Generation in Creative Media’ will feature in the Celtic Media Festival from June 3 – 5 2025. To find out more, visit the festival’s site.