Hay Festival returns with Scribblers Cymraeg this autumn, 9-10 November, inviting Year 7-9 pupils to get creative with the Welsh language at special events in Swansea University and Aberystwyth University.
Free for local state schools to attend in-person, Scribblers Cymraeg events tie in with the Welsh Government ambition to have one million Welsh speakers living in Wales by 2050.
Poet Aneirin Karadog will host the two days of workshops featuring acclaimed poets and authors Anni Llŷn and Ifor ap Glyn, offering creative and interactive events celebrating the Welsh language. In addition, at Aberystwyth University, Welsh poet and translator Mererid Hopwood will lead a session on music and language, while at Swansea University, writers Tudur Hallam and Miriam Jones will present a workshop on science fiction writing in Welsh.
Scribblers Cymraeg and the English-language Scribblers Tour both aim to engage and encourage the next generation in storytelling and conversation, inspiring empathy and creativity. Now in their eleventh year, the tours give pupils a chance to engage with their nearest universities and experience a taste of life on campus too.
Hay Festival is one of the world’s leading literary charities, running Festivals to inspire, examine and entertain globally, featuring Nobel Prizewinners and novelists, scientists and politicians, historians, environmentalists and musicians. Over the past year, the Festival earned 1.5 million web visits and passed one million event views online, while its social media following climbed to 328,000, making it one of the most impactful literary events in the world.
Julie Finch, Hay Festival CEO, said: “This autumn the Hay Festival experience will be available to even more young people across Wales, as they get creative in Cymraeg. These free Festival days bring together partner universities, Hay Festival’s creative network and young people, together embarking on an imaginative journey sharing stories through the power of writing, reading and listening, developing dialogue and celebrating talent, both established and new. At the heart of Scribblers Cymraeg is a desire to explore emerging Welsh talent, Cymraeg and creativity in young people. Through taking part in these events, pupils will find opportunities to engage in fresh conversations, discover new ways to express themselves and inspire their creative identities.”
Hay Festival Scribblers Cymraeg and Scribblers Tour are funded by the Welsh Government and are part of Hay Festival’s wider outreach and education work that includes the free Programme for Schools, Hay Academy and the Beacons Project in the UK, and Hay Joven, Hay Communitario and Hay Festivalito internationally.
The Minister for Education and Welsh Language, Jeremy Miles, said: “I’m proud that the Welsh Government will continue to support Hay Festival to deliver valuable experiences to young people across Wales. Cymraeg belongs to us all, and Scribblers Cymraeg is a fantastic opportunity to use Welsh creatively. I hope to see lots of people across Wales getting involved and discovering a passion for reading, writing and storytelling.”
About the speakers:
Aneirin Karadog was Bardd Plant Cymru 2013-2015 (Welsh-language Children’s Laureate) and writes poetry mainly in Cymraeg. He speaks five languages and has been known to rap in a previous life.
Anni Llŷn is a familiar face on Welsh television as a presenter and actress. She was the Bardd Plant Cymru 2015-2017 and often holds workshops in primary and secondary schools all over Wales. She was brought up on the Llŷn Peninsula and after a period living in Cardiff, she has recently moved back to the area to bring up a family.
Ifor ap Glyn is a poet, presenter, director and producer. Ifor has won the Crown at the National Eisteddfod – one of the festival’s most prestigious prizes – on two occasions, first in 1999 and then at the Denbighshire and District National Eisteddfod in 2013. From 2008-2009 Ifor was Bardd Plant Cymru (Welsh-language Children’s Laureate). From 2016-2022 he was the National Poet of Wales.
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