This week Clwyd Scouts have been at the National Eisteddfod in Wrexham asking whether we are welcoming enough to young people and adult volunteers whose first language is Welsh.
Hands up, we admit that we left it a bit late! We’d have much preferred to have had a stall to make us a lot more visible. Better late that never though and so we assembled a crack team of Welsh speakers to chat to those on the Maes, with pairs of volunteers attending on most Eisteddfod days.
People were really glad to see us and were open about what they thought. Some of the comments were:
- Bilingual information needed, including on the activities we do
- More Welsh speaking volunteers
- Welsh names on badges
- Badge on Welsh culture
- Welsh games & ceremonies
- Didn’t know about ScoutsCymru
- Never knew girls were allowed to join
- Presence at Eisteddfods needed
- More marketing about joining Scouts on Mum’s Facebook groups etc
- Great that Scouts are looking to use Welsh more
- Celebrating St David’s Day would be good
- Welsh-speaking guest speakers
- Is there a way to find out which Groups have Welsh speakers?
- How do we find out where our nearest Group is?
This was very much a starting point for us and we realise there’s a lot more we can do. The important thing for me is to ensure that Welsh-speakers see Scouts as a place they can go. We don’t want anyone to be put off in any way as Scouts is for all.
Next steps include getting together with those that attended the Eisteddfod and working out a Welsh language development plan for Clwyd which we can then expand with help from ScoutsCymru.
