The Arts Council of Wales is encouraging artists and arts organisations to learn Welsh through the provision of the National Centre for Learning Welsh.
At the beginning of 2020, the Arts Council of Wales and the National Centre for Learning Welsh undertook a three month pilot project to identify the language needs of individuals working in the arts, and to find training courses for them to boost their Welsh language skills. The scheme was evaluated in early April and exceeded all the targets . Building on that success, the Council is encouraging those working in the arts sector to use the Centre’s resources to learn and improve their Welsh.
Commenting today Dona Lewis, Deputy Chief Executive and Director of Planning and Development at the National Centre for Learning Welsh said:
“We are delighted to be continuing our cooperation with the Arts Council of Wales to boost the level of interest in learning Welsh within the arts sector. Building on the success of the pilot project at the beginning of this year, we hope an even greater number of organisations and individuals in the arts will come to us for support.
“The biggest addition to our provision during the past extraordinary year has been an extended online self-study course, equivalent to 60 hours of lessons in a classroom. This brand new course helps meet the increasing demand for flexible learning methods and the challenges of the public health crisis.
“Also as part of the Work Welsh programme, we continue to offer tutor supervision, revision sessions and email support, along with a suite of online taster courses. All Work Welsh services are fully funded, so it’s just a matter of signing up.”
Nick Capaldi, Chief Executive of Arts Council of Wales said:
“Promoting the Welsh language is an Investment in our creativity and diversity, one of the most important goals in the Arts Council’s Corporate Plan, For the Benefit of All. We’re therefore delighted to have this opportunity to cooperate with the National Centre for Learning Welsh to encourage staff within the arts sector to take advantage of these free on-line tools.
“We hope that during this continuing period of restrictions, those working in the arts sector will be able to take advantage of this opportunity, which will in turn help the public more widely.”
END Monday 7 December 2020
Notes to editors
‘Work Welsh’ - https://learnwelsh.cymru/work-welsh/work-welsh-2020-packages/ - is a scheme for strengthening Welsh language skills in the workplace implemented by the National Centre for Learning Welsh.
Details of other courses for learning Welsh can be found by going to learnwelsh.cymru