£425,000 has been awarded to 26 innovative projects that promote Welsh in the community and Welsh language technology
This was published under the 2016 to 2021 administration of the Welsh Government
The Cymraeg 2050 Grant is a key element of the Welsh language strategy, Cymraeg 2050: A million Welsh speakers. It will provide small grants of up to £20,000 each to fund innovative, short-term projects which aim to increase people’s daily use of the language and to promote technology which supports the use of Welsh.
Projects include a website that enables Welsh speaking volunteers to create audio Welsh language content for those with sight loss and a scheme to develop technology to enable Welsh speakers at risk of losing their ability to speak to build personal synthetic voices so they can continue to communicate in their native language.
£300,000 was originally allocated to the scheme, however, due to the exceptional quality of the bids received the fund has been increased.
The Minister said:
“We want the use of Welsh to be a routine part of everyday life so that speakers at all levels feel confident in using it in formal and informal situations. The projects announced today will make it easier for people to use the language, whether face to face in the community and in the workplace or through digital platforms.
It is very heartening that we have had to increase the fund to accommodate the excellent projects put forward to us. We’re under no illusion about the challenge of creating a million Welsh speakers by 2050 and I’m delighted there are so many organisations and people who are willing to join us in this task”
The grants have been awarded to the following projects:
| Organisation<?XML:NAMESPACE PREFIX = "O" /> |
Grant
| Project |
| Astral Dynamics | £20,000.00 | To create a game, based on Welsh folk legends, to assist Welsh learning through gaming. |
| Bangor University | £20,000.00 | To pilot a project using the ‘Eusle’ methodology used in the Basque Autonomous Community to increase use of the Welsh language in bilingual workplaces. |
| Bangor University, Canolfan Bedwyr | £20,000.00 | A project to develop software that will build personal synthetic Welsh voices for individuals that are at risk of losing their ability to speak. |
| Cardiff and Vale College | £5,570.00 | A project to increase the confidence and use of Welsh by students through a digital system for the use of Welsh in social situations. |
| Cardiff University: Welsh Wordnet | £19,964.00 | A project to construct a WordNet (lexical database) for the Welsh language. |
| Centre for Advanced Welsh and Celtic Studies (University of Wales Dictionary) | £20,000.00 | A pilot project to trial the use of volunteers to transcribe paper records of Welsh words and phrases into a digital database through an online portal. |
| Cered | £13,400.00 | A project to pilot Welsh language coding clubs in South West Wales. |
| Cered | £17,100.00 | A project to transform the popular “Caneuon Bys a Bawd” book for families and young children into an interactive resource via an app. |
| Ceredigion Youth Service | £5,000.00 | A project to develop and raise the confidence of young people at risk of becoming NEET to use the Welsh language through the use of graffiti art.
|
| Community Music Wales | £14,825.00 | To develop the “Clwb Finyl” project that brings together Welsh speakers and leaners to discuss Welsh language artists, albums and gigs, and provide them with the skills and confidence to write online reviews of the Welsh music scene. |
| Cyngor Gwynedd Council | £20,000.00 | To develop a Welsh language virtual reality experience to increase the understanding of individuals of the experiences of people suffering with dementia. |
| Family Fostering Partners | £20,000.00 | A project to create a digital platform for both foster carers and children and young people receiving care that will aim to offer therapeutic resources to help young people understand their life experiences in their mother tongue. |
| FAW Trust | £20,000.00 | A project to promote the use of Welsh through the training of new grassroots football coaches and the creation of a specific training module to be taken by individuals wishing to qualify as coaches. |
| Menter Caerdydd | £15,820.00 | A project to increase Welsh language digital content through the Wici Caerdydd project that aims to increase the number of Welsh language articles available on Wikipedia, and a project to promote the use of Welsh through Snapchat. |
| Menter Iaith Abertawe | £20,000.00 | To develop a Welsh language app to promote health and wellbeing, such as meditation and yoga. |
| Menter Iaith Caerffili | £19,955.63 | A project to create a new and local online community in Caerffili. This will include the development of weekly and monthly clubs and activities, volunteering opportunities and new digital, online channels. |
| Menter Iaith Rhondda Cynon Taf | £19,174.00 | To design and develop a Welsh language episodic adventure intuition game on the Steam platform. |
| Mynyddoedd Pawb | £18,250.00 | Create of a augmented reality map that will be available to individuals undertaking outdoor activities in Wales.
By moving the camera of the phone or tablet across the foot or cycle paths, points of interest and locations will appear on the screen. |
| National Trust | £6,480.00 | A project to promote and increase the use of Welsh by National Trust employees, both internally and with customers and visitors to National Trust sites. |
| Open Data Institute Cardiff | £19,900.00 | To create a Welsh language render of OpenStreetMap that will allow Welsh language mapping of Wales freely under an open licence. |
| Ospreys | £11,680.00 | A project to increase the use of Welsh through rugby sessions held with children and young people and to increase the use of Welsh on Ospreys TV. |
| Quantom Soup Studios | £19,650.00 | To support the development of Talesinger – a Welsh language, role playing game for PC and consoles. |
| RNIB | £19,954.00 | A project to develop a web based portal which brings together Welsh speaking volunteers and people with sight loss wishing to read Welsh language content. |
| Sgiliaith | £19,991.00 | To develop the innovative ‘Seren Iaith’ initiative across the Coleg Llandrillo Menai Group that aims to promote the social use of Welsh withing the college. |
| Welsh Rugby Union | £10,000.00 | A project to promote the use of Welsh through the training of new grassroots rugby coaches and the creation of a specific training module to be taken by individuals wishing to qualify as coaches. |
| Y Selar | £7,000.00 | To create a new, digital platform, initially through a website, to take news and information about the Welsh language music scene to young people. |