Tuesday, October 16, 2007

CPRW President Supports Review of Welsh Language Act

Glyn Davies, new President of the Campaign for the Protection of Rural Wales is supporting calls for a review of the Welsh Language Act. Glyn has learned to speak Welsh over recent years and in 2003, he reached the final of the Learner of the Year Competition at the National Eisteddfod. He made his remarks at a meeting of Caernarfon CPRW last weekend.

Commenting on the current debate about the need for a new Welsh Language Act, Glyn Davies said;

"The Welsh Language is a hugely important feature of life in Rural Wales. Protection and promotion of the Language must inevitably be a major issue for the CPRW. This may be a controversial issue but I believe that there must be a detailed consideration of the need for a new Welsh Language Act. Current legislation has succeeded in stemming the decline of the Language, but many people believe that it now needs to be strengthened if this success is to move forward to a position where the use of Welsh can increase further, and we can be confident about its long term survival.

I have always believed it is absolutely vital that any change in legislation must be carefully considered and sensitively handled. The continuing public and private investment in the Welsh Language depends on the goodwill of non Welsh speakers and it would be disastrous if this were to be sacrificed. I expect the Assembly Government to begin a review of how the current Welsh Language Act is operating and how the legislation can be improved. I hope that the CPRW will be able to contribute to this debate."

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