Welsh Language Revival: 2025’s Big Wins
Cymraeg 2025: How Welsh Language Is Booming . Image: The National Wales

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By The National Wales

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By The National Wales

In 2025, Cymraeg flourishes through strategic initiatives under the Welsh Government’s Cymraeg 2050 strategy, aiming for one million Welsh speakers and 20% daily usage by 2050. The 2025–2026 action plan, mandated by Section 78 of the Government of Wales Act 2006, focuses on education, community, technology, and infrastructure, aligned with the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015.

Education: The Welsh Language and Education (Wales) Bill (2024) advances Welsh-medium education, targeting confident speakers by 2050. Welsh in Education Strategic Plans (WESPs) support 23 new and 25 expanded Welsh-medium primary schools, with 16 opened and 31 projects completed since 2022, backed by £20 million in 2025–2026. Late immersion programs (£3 million) aid 4,000+ learners, while e-sgol offers 80 courses to 813 pupils.

Mudiad Meithrin’s Set Up and Succeed adds 82 nursery provisions, serving 11,000 children, with Cam wrth Gam training practitioners (£1.1 million). Flying Start and Cymraeg for Kids expand early years Welsh access. Post-16, Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol and the National Centre for Learning Welsh provide courses, including Cymraeg Gwaith and Siarad, targeting health, police, and sports sectors. Adnodd commissions bilingual Curriculum for Wales resources.

Daily Use: Welsh language initiatives receive £100,000 each to boost community usage, with Dyblu’r Defnydd collecting ideas. The National Eisteddfod (Wrexham) and Urdd Eisteddfod (Margam) offer free entry to low-income families. Siarter Iaith’s digital comic strip on Hwb promotes youth Welsh use.

The National Policy on Welsh Language Transmission supports 80.7% household transmission (2021 Census). Leading in a Bilingual Country workshops and Cymraeg. It Belongs to Us All (2025–2030) enhance workplace Welsh. Welsh Language Standards extend to Housing Associations. Welsh Language Music Day (2025) plans year-round events.

Infrastructure: The Welsh Language Communities Housing Plan and Perthyn scheme, expanded nationally, address second homes in Dwyfor. ARFOR 2 (£11 million) ends March 2025, with an evaluation planned. Cultural Ambassadors and a Youth course promote Welsh culture. Welsh place names are protected via a 2025 research report and Local Authority Place Names Forum.

The Welsh Linguistic Infrastructure Policy (2023) standardizes terms. Technology priorities include AI and accessibility, with Microsoft (Copilot, Teams) and OpenAI (ChatGPT) partnerships, plus bilingual synthetic voices for specific needs.

Swansea’s Role: Swansea’s Welsh Language Promotion Strategy 2024–2029 maintains 11.2% Welsh speakers (25,986 in 2021), engaging partners like Mudiad Meithrin and Urdd to enhance education and community use. The 2021 Census shows gains in 5–15 and 16–44 age groups, with APS reporting 19.6% speakers.

Equality and Global Reach: Anti-Racist Wales and LGBTQ+ Action Plans promote Welsh access for diverse communities, with Croeso i Bawb offering refugee courses. Wales leads in NPLD, British-Irish Council, and UNESCO’s Decade of Indigenous Languages, with a 2025 Wales in Japan campaign. Urdd’s 2025 Message of Peace and Goodwill addresses child poverty.

Culture and Broadcasting: Creative Wales and S4C fund Welsh productions like Effie (2025), with the Media Act ensuring digital rights. The 2025 Culture Strategy supports Welsh via Arts Council of Wales and Amgueddfa Cymru.

Research: The Bro Project analyzes Welsh heartlands, while ONS collaboration refines 2021 Census data. Evaluations of the Housing Plan and Education Bill are set for 2025–2026.