The continued fantastic work of The Urdd - A shining example of commitment to anti-racism
During 2023, we delivered sessions to all the staff at The Urdd across Wales including Cardiff Bay, Llangrannog in West Wales and Llanfyllin in North Wales.
The Urdd is Wales’ largest youth and community organisation in the medium of Welsh. The organisation was established 103 years ago and has strong links both nationally and internationally.
Each session lasted half a day and we covered topics such as racial microaggressions, language and terminology, Black Lives Matter, white privilege and ‘What is racism?’.
These sessions were a part of the wider work that The Urdd does throughout the year. They publish an annual Peace and Goodwill message; Prior to the anti-racism staff training, No Boundaries delivered a workshop to support the Peace & Goodwill message for 2023, the workshop helped create the Urdd’s 2023 anti-racism message that calls on people to “encourage kindness, teach acceptance, and to call out racist remarks and prejudices
The annual Peace and Goodwill message from the year we delivered sessions was that if you see racism, Call Them Out and that there is no place for racism in the world.
Siân Lewis, the Urdd’s Chief Executive said:
“Each year the Urdd gives a voice and platform to the youth of Wales to be heard across the world, and our anti-racism message is a no holds barred message, telling everyone that we must call out racism whenever and wherever we see it.
“As an organisation we recognise that we must take action and responsibility to make sure that racism has no place in the world. The Urdd is for everyone, and as an organisation it’s important that we represent and reflect Wales as a country today. To help us become an organisation that attracts staff and board members from diverse communities we’ve approached No Boundaries to provide training for our 300 staff in Race Awareness.
“The Urdd is the largest Welsh language third sector employer in Wales. With over 100 apprentices, 40,000 young people and children visiting our residential centres and 75,000 members competing at the Urdd Eisteddfod annually, we have a duty to this and the next generation to educate and drive change. We believe that the Urdd can make a significant impact with our anti-racism message, by encouraging everyone, young and old, black or white to Call. Them. Out."
This message was supported by the First Minister of Wales, Mark Drakeford, who said:
“The Urdd’s Peace and Goodwill message continues to play an integral role in projecting Wales’ values around the globe. I’m delighted to support this year’s message which calls upon the citizens of the world to take action and call out racism and unconscious prejudices. This important message carries the Welsh Government’s vision of becoming an anti-racist nation by 2030 – a place where we can all live and thrive, creating a society where everyone is valued.”
There were some really honest and frank discussions on the topic and some wonderful ideas on how to move forward to build an anti-racist society. Furthermore, we discussed the growing number of Welsh speakers who are from the Global Majority in Wales and that inclusivity and representation are really important in the various sectors in Wales.
