The initiative heralds the launch of the Welsh Rugby Union’s Welsh language policy later this year.
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Three bilingual projects involving the Millennium Stadium, the WRU website and the forthcoming IRB Junior World Championship are being backed by the Welsh Assembly Government and the Sports Council for Wales.
The first will see publications for the Junior World Championship which will be contested by the top 16 Under 20 international teams across Wales this June made bilingual. This will include the official tournament guide and the programme for the championship final at the Liberty Stadium. Match tickets for all 41 games in the tournament will also feature Welsh language information.
The second project will involve an overhaul of the static content of the WRU website which will soon offer a bilingual bedrock of information and statistics for anyone interested in Welsh rugby.
The third scheme will see significant signage at the Millennium Stadium made fully bilingual to ensure all visitors will be able to get in and around the building following signs through the medium of Welsh.
Welsh Rugby Union Group Chief Executive, Roger Lewis, said: “I am delighted to be able to launch these three projects which clearly show our commitment to the Welsh language.
“We have worked closely with the Welsh Assembly Government and the Sports Council for Wales on these initiatives and I am extremely grateful for their ongoing support. This is an important step on our route towards a Welsh Language Policy for the WRU and that will now be published within the next few months.”
“The WRU is at the heart of every community in Wales and we fully appreciate our responsibility to the culture and language of our nation. These projects show how we prioritise Welsh language issues and the full policy will clearly show the work we already do and what we plan to achieve in the future.”
Heritage Minister, Rhodri Glyn Thomas said: “The Welsh Assembly Government is delighted to support the Welsh Rugby Union in its efforts to promote and foster the use of the Welsh language, both within and through the sport of rugby.”
“The commitment to a published Welsh language policy is very welcome It is important for high-profile Welsh organisations like the WRU to embrace the use of Welsh, and rugby can play a vital part in helping to encourage people of all ages and in all parts of Wales to learn and use Welsh in their everyday lives.
“We all know how often Welsh people talk about rugby and as more and more of us are able to do that through the medium of Welsh, the benefits will be obvious.”
“The WRU is promoting Welsh in a high profile and meaningful way by focusing on signage in our national stadium, the publications for the U20s World Championships and their website, and we are delighted to be playing our part in helping them to increase their use of Welsh.”
Huw Jones, Chief Executive of the Sports Council for Wales was on hand at the launch and is delighted to back the plans. “Language can make a big difference to the way in which people interact with one another and speaking the Welsh language in sport can be a big advantage both on and off the field.
“The WRU’s commitment to develop their Welsh Language policy is in line with the Sports Council Mainstreaming policy and the SCW Welsh Language Officer’s ongoing drive to develop sporting opportunities through the medium of Welsh.
“We are delighted to lend our support to this partnership with the WRU and it is pleasing to see their appreciation of the Welsh language and the potential to develop their sport through the language and the language through their sport.”
The WRU Welsh Language Policy is currently being finalised with help from the Welsh Language Board and will be approved and launched later this year. Meri Huws, Chair of the Welsh Language Board, said: “We look forward to working with the Welsh Rugby Union in order to develop their Welsh Language Policy over the coming months.
“We would like to congratulate them on the new bilingual projects. With the Stadium being in the international spotlight, it is important that the Welsh language has a prominent place there. These projects will also offer Welsh speakers the opportunity to use the language when coming to contact with the Union and their activities or when visiting the Millennium Stadium in future.”
WRU Chairman David Pickering said: “The Welsh language has always played an important role in rugby here in Wales and this announcement shows how we want to take that commitment even further.
“The projects we are unveiling today will also ensure that people from outside Wales and across the rugby world will get to know how important the language is to our people and our culture.”
The former Wales and British and Irish Lions star Gerald Davies who now sits on the WRU Board of Directors as national representative added: “It is vitally important for Welsh rugby to play a central role in sustaining and encouraging the use of our language.
“As a Welsh speaker I am proud whenever our players, coaches, administrators and supporters use the language and the WRU must enable them to extend that use into all their rugby experiences.
“Rugby already plays a huge part in promoting and encouraging the use of Welsh through our broadcast partners and in the community via our development officers and community coaches that acknowledgement of its importance will now be extended through other key channels.
“We are telling the world that Welsh matters and I am certain this will help encourage more people to discover the joy of being able to learn and use this rich and historically important language in their everyday lives.”
