Hay Festival Education’s Scribblers Cymraeg closed Friday 8 November after bringing a trio of exceptional writers and performers direct to 1,089 KS3 pupils across Wales.
Over five days, 33 schools took part in creative Welsh workshops at Swansea University, Aberystwyth University, Cardiff University, Bangor University and Wrexham University.
Free for local state schools, Scribblers Cymraeg events tie in with the Welsh Government ambition to have one million Welsh speakers living in Wales by 2050.
Writer, broadcaster and actor Anni Llŷn hosted the tour with workshops delivered by presenter and author Siôn Tomos Owen and stand-up comedian Leila Navabi, while staff from each university offered creative Welsh writing sessions and campus tours.
This year for the first time Scribblers Cymraeg sessions were also extended to second- language Welsh pupils at Swansea University on Thursday 7 November and Cardiff University on Friday 8 November with workshops in association with Reaching Wider, a partnership of universities, schools and colleges working to improve social mobility.
Scribblers Cymraeg and the English-language Scribblers Tour held earlier in the year both aim to engage and encourage the next generation in storytelling and conversation, inspiring empathy and creativity. Now in their thirteenth year, the tours give pupils a chance to engage with their nearest universities and experience life on campus too.
Hay Festival, one of the world’s leading cultural charities, was founded in Hay-on-Wye, Wales in 1987, providing audiences with dynamic platforms to come together to share ideas, different perspectives and provoke conversations that can create a better world.
Hay Festival Global CEO Julie Finch said:
“Thank you to everyone – our writers, partners, teachers and young creatives – who have made Scribblers Cymraeg 2024 a success. We believe that culture belongs to everyone. By taking writers direct to pupils all over Wales in free, creative workshops, Scribblers Cymraeg widens access to Festival inspiration while prompting a love of literature at an early age. By taking part in our events, young people find opportunities to explore their creativity, engage in fresh conversations, and discover new ways to express themselves and inspire their creative identities.”
Sara Jones, teacher at Ysgol Pentrehafod, Abertawe said:
“Attending Scribblers Cymraeg encouraged pupils to think creatively and proved that they understand and use Welsh much more than they realise. The staff were wonderful, so enthusiastic and knowledgeable.”
Hay Festival Education’s Scribblers Cymraeg and Scribblers Tour are funded by the Welsh Government and are part of Hay Festival’s wider outreach and education work that includes the free schools programmes at Festivals, and Hay Festival Academy in the UK, plus Hay Festival Joven and Hay Festival Communitario internationally. Last year, more than 15,000 school pupils enjoyed free access to Festival events globally.
Welsh Government Cabinet Secretary for Education Lynne Neagle said:
“Hay Festival Scribblers Cymraeg is a fantastic way of inspiring the next generation to use Welsh creatively, find their passion for stories and poetry and understand the power of storytelling. It also gives young people an opportunity to visit local universities, often for the first time. I hope to see lots of our young people getting involved.”
Audiences can support Hay Festival’s growing education and outreach work by becoming a Festival Member, Patron or Benefactor at hayfestival.org/support-us.
About the speakers:
Anni Llŷn is a Welsh author, poet and script writer who works on a variety of projects for children and young adults. She’s published books and worked on digital resources and scripts for theatre in education and TV. She has a strong background as the Welsh Children’s Poet Laureate and a TV presenter and her creative workshops are mostly driven by imagination and entertainment.
Siôn Tomos Owen is a bilingual presenter, caricaturist, author and illustrator. He has written poetry, comics, books for Welsh learners and children’s ebooks with Darllen Co, a Welsh-language online reading resource for primary school children, teachers and parents in Wales. He also runs creative workshops, creates murals, caricatures at festivals through his company CreaSion.
Leila Navabi is a writer, producer, and stand-up comedian. She has written on shows such as
Bad Education,
Nevermind the Buzzcocks, and her own sitcom
Vandullz.