Amgueddfa Cymru's Response to the Culture, Welsh

Cynulliad Cenedlaethol Cymru / National Assembly for Wales Pwyllgor Diwylliant, y Gymraeg a Chyfathrebu / The Culture, Welsh Language and Communications Committee Cefnogi a hybu’r Gymraeg / Supporting and Promoting the Welsh Language CWLC(5) SWL14 Ymateb gan Amgueddfa Cymru / Evidence from National Museum Wales

Amgueddfa Cymru’s response to the Culture, Welsh Language and Communications Committee’s Consultation on Supporting and Promoting the Welsh Language

Contact name: Manon Humphreys, Welsh Language Co-ordinator Amgueddfa Cymru, Cathays Park, Cardiff, CF10 3NP [email protected]

Please note: Due to the wide remit of the consultation, it is not possible to respond in detail to all areas. We would welcome a series of more detailed consultations on the different areas and disciplines of this subject.

Background Amgueddfa Cymru operates in line with our Welsh Language Policy which is based on our Compliance Notice issued by the Welsh Language Commissioner, under Section 44 of the Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011.

We welcome these statutory duties towards the Welsh language. Furthermore, we are very proud of the wider work we do to increase the use, support and promotion of the Welsh language, as well as our developments in the fields of bilingual design and interpretation. The Welsh language is mainstreamed as part of our corporate Vision, ‘inspiring people, changing lives’, where our purpose is to:

Inspire people through our museums and collections to find a sense of wellbeing and identity, to discover, enjoy and learn bilingually and to understand Wales’s place in the wider world.

Amgueddfa Cymru has seven national museums open to the public: National Museum Cardiff, St Fagans National History Museum, National Waterfront Museum, National Slate Museum, National Wool Museum, National Roman Legion Museum and Big Pit National Coal Museum. The National Collections Centre is also part of the family and open to the public by appointment.

Our response The changes in the language policy landscape over the past few years, including the current standards system under the Welsh Language Commissioner, has allowed us to begin a journey to create museums that operate bilingually internally, as well as strengthen and improve our bilingual provision for external users. They have

1 challenged us to improve the services we offer, as well as our policies and plans, and implement internal changes. Among the main advantages we have encountered over the last 18 months are the following:  The standards are wide-ranging and insightful – they allows us to ensure any effects (positive and negative) on the Welsh language are considered across all of our policies, not only those directly related to the language. Consideration is now given to the Welsh language on the highest level and at the point of formulating policies and procedures. The language has status within the organization, at the highest level.  Driving change – we are in the process of reviewing our Welsh language- learning provision, and are strengthening our less formal plans that celebrate our Welsh-learners – from ‘bridging’ clubs for learners and first language speakers to buddy schemes, and from confidence-building workshops to resources. We have joined Cymraeg Gwaith, the National Centre for Learning Welsh’s Welsh in the workplace scheme and have benefitted from the free opportunities for staff to learn Welsh at different levels.  The increased partnership work between bodies is positive. We have established new partnerships in order to improve our Welsh-language provision including with the National Centre for Learning Welsh, not only in terms of language-learning provision but also in creating resources and events for learners in our museums. Wherever possible, we are also working with Welsh for Business to share information about the services that are available to small and medium sized business e.e. with the St Fagans Food Festival stallholders.  The need to comply with the standards has accelerated some of the changes to our internal processes, e.g. the way we assess language skill levels when recruiting.  The standards have helped us focus on the experience we are giving our Welsh-language audiences.  Awareness of the advantages of working with two languages at the same time is increasing, as shown in our large redevelopment project in St Fagans National Museum of History. We are developing new interpretation methods, including interpretation that is suitable for all but ideal for Welsh learners.  The information and research done by the Welsh Language Commissioner e.g. Assurance Reports and research into software and systems that are key to compliance help us to develop and improve our services.  The private sector’s awareness of bilingual needs are increasing – the increase in demand for bilingual systems, software and materials is strengthening our voice as we request bilingual services that are key to our infrastructure, although it continues to be difficult to source bilingual systems to support some aspects of our internal administrative work.

 Any user can raise a complaint about any issue – including staff who may wish to raise an issue regarding their employer’s Welsh-language provision. Arguably, this makes it easier for users to highlight deficiencies with confidence.  Some of the exemptions we agreed with the Welsh Language Commissioner have been advantageous as we build new processes which will ensure practical changes without having an adverse effect on good will and internal resources.

Among the challenges that have arisen or are foreseen, are the following:

 Lack of clarity regarding the meaning or interpretation of the standards (i.e. no Code of Practice).  The processes for dealing with complaints through the Welsh language Commissioner are time-consuming, e.g. if a complaint is sent to an individual body and to the Welsh Language Commissioner at the same time, a solution may have already be in place but the lengthy formal investigation process must still be completed.  There is a lack of effective means of sharing resources and experiences (regionally, nationally and according to sets of standards) – a better means of sharing and celebrating good practice should be found as well as supporting bodies that are innovative in the field, including offering additional resources to experiment and innovate.  There is a need to ensure the quality of services as well as compliance.  There are gaps in the infrastructure required to facilitate bilingual workplaces – for example, software in fields such as health and safety. Without the input of private companies, either in the form of software, providers, wellbeing support services for staff etc, it is difficult for us to create a bilingual climate which allows learners and native speakers to use their Welsh, become fluent and develop to be confident users. Regulation of the private sector should be looked at again in more detail. In some fields, there are no bilingual systems in place that allow us to operate bilingually e.g. health and safety systems and visitor data systems. Funding should be made available to develop bilingual systems that could be used by public bodies in Wales. It would also be useful to have a national forum to discuss these needs and current projects to ensure a more co-ordinated and economical use of resources.  There is a lack of understanding of the scale and complexity of the field of language planning – there is a tendency to want to discuss all things to do with the Welsh language at once, without giving due attention and time to the extent and complexity of the field, and the different disciplines and areas that need to be included.  There is no framework or timetable for reviewing/re-issuing compliance notices that might be a driver for progress and improvement.  There is a lack of data and research on matters that are part of the language planning field but are not related to the standards e.g. national

and regional trends, statistics on current usage (beyond Census data) and ways of exploring individuals’ complex relationship with the language. Excellent and bold research work is happening, but it would be advantageous to have a central portal to share good practice as well as specific funding to ensure action is taken on the basis of quantitative and qualitative data.

Some questions that arise: In light of the uncertainty surrounding proposed changes to the current regulatory system, some questions arise, including the following:  Would the proposed new Commission be an independent body, and what would the relationship be between the Comission and the Welsh Government?  If the Welsh Government were to set and enforce standards for itself, how would conflicts of interest be avoided?  How can any organization that is setting standards ensure it has the appropriate information and expertise to set constructive and ambitious standards?  Will the Welsh Government report on its work annually or every 5 years, given that its’ statistics, reports, plans and strategies are of key importance to language planners and public bodies?  Will a new procedure replace the Standards Investigation and what will the timetable be? In our case, the Standards Investigation was a valuable opportunity to explain aspects of our work that may not have been entirely understood without further explanation. We would not wish to lose the momentum gained so far.  In the Welsh Government’s White Paper, an option was noted for the proposed new Commission to only investigate ‘serious complaints’, what would constitute a ‘serious complaint’ and will the context of the complaint also be considered? Small changes can lead to far-reaching effects at a grassroots level paving the way for people to live their lives through the medium of Welsh. By focusing only on ‘serious complaints’, this could lead to a detrimental affect on the willingness of organizations to look at all fields; leading to a focus on ‘important’ areas only and a decrease in Welsh- language provision. In our experience, the standards have led to further- reaching changes than were seen under the Welsh Language Scheme system.  By simplifying the current system and reducing the number of standards, could this mean less clarity for language planners and policy officers? (Please see the first challenge listed above).  Having adapted procedures and workforces to respond to the challenges of complying with the current standards, what would the practical and cost implications be for public sector bodies if there is any change to the current system?

 What effect could any changes have on the awareness and understanding of the public and organizations, and what will be done to address this?  Will further steps be taken to consider introducing regulation in the private sector? There is increasing crossover in public and private sector provision, examples from the heritage sector are noted above.  If the Welsh Language Commissioner’s role is to be removed, and other commissioners remain, what will the Future Generations Commissioner’s role be in the development of the Welsh language? What effect could there be on the status of the Welsh language in terms of prioritization?