Charities may not be under a legal duty to deliver services in the Welsh language, as are public bodies such as councils. But with bilingual signage and communications becoming increasingly common in the commercial sector too, what does best practice look like? And how can our communications best meet the expectations and needs of key audiences?
At this meeting of the CharityComms Wales Networking Group we heard about the resources available to support charities in using Welsh along with case studies from organisations on the challenges and opportunities of working with the Welsh language. Scroll down to see the presentations from the day, along with a bunch of very useful resources and tools.
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Presentations
Buddion marchnata dwyieithog gan elusennau yng Nghymru/ The benefits of bilingual marketing by charities in Wales
Gethin Edwards, uwch swyddog hybu a hwyluso/ senior officer promotion and facilitation, Welsh Language Commissioner
Promoting the use of the Welsh language within a UK national charity’s communications
Rhian Iolo Brewster, media and communications manager, Save the Children Cymru
Challenging stigma and changing social attitudes to mental health – working with the Welsh language in a Wales-based organisation
Beth Mahoney, marketing and communications manager/rheolwr marchnata a chyfathrebu, Joanna Brewer, marketing and communications officer (young people’s programme)/ swyddog marchnata a chyfathrebu (rhaglen pobl ifanc) and Lewis Cole, marketing and communications officer/ swyddog marchnata a chyfathrebu, Time to change/Amser i newid
Useful resources and translation tools
- 10 tips for integrating the Welsh language into your communications
- Welsh government translation resources
- Hyby Cymraeg – Welsh language Hub – resources from the Welsh Language Commissioner to help businesses and third sector organisations who want to build their use of the Welsh language. Includes a detailed questionnaire to help you assess your current use and develop a Welsh Language Promotion Plan.
- The Welsh Language Commissioner’s proofreading service
- Google translate – never use google translations without a proofread from a fluent Welsh speaker!
- Cysill Ar-lein Welsh language spelling and grammar checker – useful for checking mutations – this is the free version, so limits to the word count that can be corrected at once
- Termiadur Addysg – free online Welsh – English / English – Welsh Dictionary
About the Wales Networking Group
The CharityComms Wales Networking Group brings together charity comms professionals based in Wales. Each event focuses on a different comms topic with guest presenters, group discussions and networking.
The events will give you the chance to meet your peers, compare notes on workplace practices and share successes, ideas, challenges and inspiration. The network is designed to encourage networking and peer to peer support, sharing issues in a ‘safe’ environment.
This group is led by Jess Day, digital strategist at more onion. If you’re interested in speaking at an event or if there are any topics you’d love to discuss, please get in touch with Jess at jess@charitycomms.org.uk.
To be added to the Wales Networking Group mailing list please email Lauren Haizel-Cobbina.
About Cowshed
Cowshed was set up in 2014 by Vicki Spencer-Francis to use her 20 years’ experience to make a big difference to people’s lives. We are campaign specialists that deliver fully integrated campaigns, for clients we love and causes we believe in. We want to work with organisations who share our passion for making a difference. If that’s you, please do get in touch by email, call 02920 789 321 or visit the Cowshed website to find out more.