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Diwrnod Hawliau

Published: 07/12/2020

For the second year running, Flintshire County Council is proud to support Diwrnod Hawliau, the national Welsh language rights day on 7 December.

Welsh speakers in Wales have rights to deal with public organisations through the medium of Welsh and receive Welsh language services from them.

The rights are created by the ‘Welsh language standards’ - a list of the things that organisations are required to do in Welsh, for example:

• answer telephone calls
• write letters
• publish documents
• publish websites and social media posts
• hold meetings
• provide reception services

The Council is one of over 100 organisations which currently operate the standards.

Flintshire County Council Cabinet Member for Corporate Management, Councillor Billy Mullin, said:

“Diwrnod Hawliau is a day to promote the fact that, wherever you live in Wales, you have rights to use the language.  We are proud to be one of the organisations in Wales taking part in the Welsh Language Rights Day. It’s an opportunity to promote Welsh language services and to try to increase the number of people who choose to use them.”

Chief Executive, Colin Everett, said:

“Flintshire supports people of all ages to improve their Welsh language skills and to give them the confidence to use the language in their daily lives – at work, at home, at school and in their communities. This sends a clear message that the Welsh language is valued and is an asset in employment.”

According to the Welsh Language Commissioner, Aled Roberts:

“We found from our surveys that there were few examples of public organisations running campaigns to promote their Welsh language services.

“So the communications team came up with the idea of offering them practical help, creating a package of marketing resources and designating national day for them to promote the rights.

“Of course, we expect organisations to promote their services throughout the year, but giving everyone one day to celebrate the Welsh language services available is an effective way of raising awareness. It is also a reason to set a date each year to remind staff internally of existing rights and carry out promotional activities.”