1. Who We Are
1.1. Wild Cymru was founded in 2018 as a charitable incorporated organisation (charity number: 1180113). Our vision is of ‘a Wales with more wildlife in more places, created by a society that intrinsically values the natural world’.
1.2. Wild Cymru was formed in response to the growing need for a truly independent nature conservation organisation for Wales. An organisation that was able to speak out and challenge environmental decision makers to do more for wildlife and nature conservation in Wales. To help achieve this we undertake a wide variety of nature conservation activities, including:
• Targeted species and habitat conservation projects
• Research, surveys and monitoring
• Practical habitat management and landowner advisory
• Community engagement and education
• Advocacy and campaigns
1.3. To remain uncompromised and objective we do not seek or accept direct funding from Welsh Government or its statutory environmental body. Instead, Wild Cymru relies on the generosity of individual supporters, grant giving trusts and foundations.
2. The Welsh Language
2.1. Wales is a bilingual country and its language forms a major part of its cultural identity. Wild Cymru is committed to ensuring we communicate with the people of Wales in both Welsh and English wherever possible. The ability to communicate in the Welsh language is also an important and valuable tool to engage with new audiences and communities in Wales and to gain further support for our work. According to the Welsh Language Commissioner’s Office, and based on the 2011 Census, 23% of children between the ages of 3 and 4, 38% between 5-9 years and 42% between 10 and 14 years can speak Welsh. Around 600,000 people in Wales currently speak Welsh and the Welsh Government has set a target of getting a million Welsh speakers by 2050.
2.2. Wild Cymru will endeavour to treat the English and Welsh languages on the basis of equality.
3. Wild Cymru’s Position
3.1. Wild Cymru recognises that:
• People can express themselves better in their preferred language of communication.
• Making our members, supporters and the general public, feel welcome to use their preferred language is a matter of good practice and customer care.
• In the spirit of the of equality expressed in the Welsh Language Act, our members, supporters and the general public may choose whether they wish to communicate with us in English or Welsh.
3.2. Wild Cymru recognises that this Welsh language Policy can contribute towards the charity’s effectiveness in delivering in Wales in the following ways:
• It can allow the Trust to operate in a more inclusive manner, making links with local communities and individuals throughout the country, thus improving opportunities for fundraising, for public engagement and volunteering.
• It can assist Wild Cymru’s activity in the Public Affairs field, by ensuring that Wild Cymru is seen as an organisation which understands the particular circumstances in Wales, and has adapted to meet its particular needs.
• It can assist the work of Wild Cymru’s outreach, education and community engagement, by ensuring that bilingual material is available to a wide a range of audiences and that no individual is disadvantaged in engaging with us on the basis of language
• It can assist Wild Cymru in gaining media coverage.
• It can assist the decision-making process within Wild Cymru by prompting staff to ask whether we are communicating effectively with all the communities of Wales, and whether its relationship with present and potential supporters can be improved.
• Wild Cymru is unable to provide all services in Welsh at present. However, we will ensure that our staff are sensitive to the issue of language preference and that we strive to provide the maximum opportunity for people to use their preferred language. If this is not immediately possible, the options will be explained fully and politely.
In order to give effect to the principles set out in the Policy,
Wild Cymru has adopted the following guidelines:
4. General
4.1. First contact with the organisation creates a lasting impression. Wild Cymru will aim to give people the impression that they are welcome to use either English or Welsh in communicating with us.
4.2. Wild Cymru uses and promotes our bilingual logo on all literature produced by the charity, including headed notepaper, press releases, leaflets etc.
5. Publications, signs, stationery and publicity
5.1. All temporary signage at events (e.g. information posters) should be bilingual.
5.2. All stationery (on paper and virtual) used by Wild Cymru should be bilingual. This includes letterheads, business cards, compliment slips etc.
5.3. All leaflets and forms produced by Wild Cymru for the general public should be bilingual.
5.4. The Natur Cymru magazine is a major way of communicating with supporters and the people of Wales about Wild Cymru’s work and the wider nature conservation sector. Given its importance, Wild Cymru has produced its own Natur Cymru Welsh Language Position Statement.
5.5. All press releases issued by Wild Cymru should be bilingual.
6. Online material
6.1. Currently Wild Cymru’s website has a relatively small amount of Welsh language content, including press releases, annual reports and articles. As Wild Cymru develops, we commit to providing more Welsh language content on our website.
6.2 Social media is a high-turnover platform for instant as well as scheduled information sharing. Wild Cymru will endeavour to post in both English and Welsh for selected, scheduled, posts- but we recognise that in many cases posts created or shared by Wild Cymru will depend on the language capabilities of the individual administrator.
7. Correspondence
7.1. Circular letters sent to significant numbers of people including to our own members, members of public authorities, should be bilingual.
7.2. Replies to written correspondence will be made in the language of the original letter, whether that is English or Welsh. Staff who are not confident in writing Welsh should seek the help from a professional translator.
7.3. Wild Cymru produces a substantial amount of digital newsletter content. At present Wild Cymru does not have the resource to translate all newsletter content (when it cannot be done in house) without materially reducing the amount of content shared. For this reason at present, not all digital newsletter content is bilingual. However as we grow, we will prioritise resourcing this. Requests for grant funding will include budget lines to cover translation of newsletters.
7.4. Wild Cymru staff email signatures and out of office replies must be bilingual.
8. Telephone calls
8.1. The telephone answering machine at the Welsh Office should have a bilingual greeting, and messages in English or Welsh should be answered as soon as possible.
8.2. Wherever possible telephone calls to the main Wild Cymru office should be answered with a bilingual greeting, or a bilingual answering machine message.
9. Staff Recruitment
9.1. Wild Cymru recognises that the Welsh language is an important skill to help us deliver our work and our campaigns and messages, and we recognise the need for more Welsh speaking staff and volunteers. As a result, we will advertise our posts bilingually and will state that the Welsh language is desirable / essential depending on the post in hand.
10. Training and Development
10.1. Wild Cymru will work to ensure that all members of staff and key volunteers will receive an induction and training to ensure that they fully understand, commit to and implement this Welsh Language Policy.
10.2. Training and support will be given in the use of Welsh language on the phone and in greetings. Should staff wish to extend their use of the Welsh language within their role, line managers will discuss the training and support needs and support them to the best of Wild Cymru’s ability.
11. Quality control
11.1. The Welsh used in Wild Cymru’s publications, signs etc should be clear, correct and easily comprehensible to a normal Welsh speaker.
11.2. Large pieces of translation should normally be carried out by an external professional translator familiar with ecological terms and phrases. We will source such translations via approved translators from The Association of Welsh Translators and Interpreters.
12. Review
12.1. These guidelines will be reviewed on an annual basis, and, if thought appropriate, amended.
Signed on Behalf of Wild Cymru Trustees:
Name: Lyndsey
Date: 09/12/2020
First adopted by Wild Cymru Trustees on 9th December 2020
