11 hours ago
- Entertainment
- South Wales Argus
Welsh speakers develop Celtic connections in exchange
The Celtic Exchange programme, developed by the British-Irish Council, united young creative professionals to learn new media skills and co-create multilingual content.
They also explored their common cultural roots.
As part of the programme, participants travelled through the Western Isles, meeting filmmakers, content creators, and musicians, to learn how these ancient languages are part of their modern creative work.
They discovered more about the similarities between their languages and cultures, building a network to develop ideas and multilingual content in the future.
Ifan Prys, who works at Rondo Media and took part in the exchange, said: 'The trip was a unique opportunity to meet other Celtic language content creators, to share ideas and strengthen the networks between the linguistic communities.
'The programme was full of varied and rich activities. We had the opportunity to network with MG ALBA and BBC Alba and with local producers, discussing our opportunities, challenges and ambitions.
'The opportunity to learn, share and inspire alongside creative people from diverse linguistic backgrounds was invaluable. It has really reinforced the importance of continuing to work creatively in our languages.'
Bethan Campbell from Boom Cymru was inspired by collaborating with fellow Celts.
"The trip to Scotland was a very special experience," she said. "The activities were valuable and very diverse."
The young creatives gained hands-on experience by producing multilingual content, which premiered at the 2025 Celtic Media Festival in Newquay, Cornwall.
Welsh language secretary, Mark Drakeford, said: "The Celtic Exchange programme celebrates our living languages and supports young people to build creative careers using their indigenous languages, wherever they choose to live and work.
"We're proud to work with our partners across the nations to grow our languages, strengthen our cultural connections and help people develop opportunities and careers in their indigenous languages.'
