IAITH at the Eisteddfod
01 August 2023
Refugees and Welsh-medium education: Pathways to Welsh for families
During the 2023 Llŷn and Eifionydd Eisteddfod, IAITH held a panel session to discuss what is currently being done and what more needs to be done to support refugee families to access Welsh language education for their children. The session was held as part of the ‘Pathways to Welsh for international migrants’ project.
You can now watch the session in its entirety as well as a news item broadcast by Newyddion S4C.
This session is one of the events of the Pathways to the Welsh language for international migrants project – a project that raises awareness about Welsh language education provision for migrant adults and children in Wales, as well as improving access to this provision. This comes at a time when the Welsh Government, through their ambitious ‘Nation of Sanctuary’ strategy, is readdressing its approach towards welcoming international migrants. On one hand, the latest ESOL policy for Wales is under review and is considering the scope for incorporating Welsh and multilingualism in ESOL classes across Wales. On the other hand,Urdd Gobaith Cymru was part of an innovative scheme to welcome over 100 Afghan refugees through the medium of Welsh and English, challenging preconceived ideas about monolingual integration. In the words of Welsh Government officer, John Davies; “it is a ground-breaking approach to refugee resettlement and seeing refugee children singing in the Welsh language before learning English is something we haven’t been able to achieve before” (Urdd 2022). This project therefore directly responds to these latest developments and aims to contribute to a new, distinct, and inclusive Welsh approach to language education and integration.