Welsh Language Policy

INTRODUCTION

The Welsh Rugby Union Group takes Wales to the world through rugby and welcomes the world to Wales at Principality Stadium. The game of rugby defines us as a nation and the Welsh language identifies us as a people. The Welsh language is part of our heritage and our future. The Welsh Rugby Union Group will continue to embrace the Welsh language through this policy.

BACKGROUND

The Welsh Language Act of 1993 encouraged the private sector to offer Welsh language services wherever possible. The Welsh Rugby Union governs the sport of rugby in Wales for the supporters, players, coaches, referees, administrators and volunteers. Its remit as a governing body is to sustain and develop the national sport of Wales. With that responsibility in mind the Welsh Rugby Union Group wants its mission statement to encourage the use of the Welsh language wherever practical. This Welsh Language Policy is fully supported by the Board of Directors of both the Welsh Rugby Union and Principality Stadium.

The Welsh Language (Wales) Measure of 2011, which gives the Welsh language official status in Wales, emphasised the importance of using Welsh where possible and the Welsh Rugby Union Group supports that aim.

THE SCHEME

This policy applies to the Welsh Rugby Union and to Millennium Stadium plc, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Welsh Rugby Union.

CONSULTATION

The membership of the Welsh Rugby Union through its 320 clubs, colleges and associated organisations will be able to lobby and influence the development of this policy which aims to deliver bi-lingual output and use by the Welsh Rugby Union however and whenever practically possible.

This policy will be amended and revised as the use of Welsh within the Welsh Rugby Union Group evolves.

SIGNAGE

The Welsh Rugby Union Group will continue to develop its bi-lingual policy at Principality Stadium with the aim of providing prominent bi-lingual content.

This policy will include directional and information messaging as well as welcome signage.

Most of our permanent signs are bi-lingual. We will always encourage event organisers to consider using Welsh language signage for games or events that are held at Principality Stadium.

The Welsh Rugby Union Group commits to a strategy of introducing Welsh on permanent signs at Principality Stadium.

Some temporary signs at Principality Stadium are already bi-lingual and the Welsh Rugby Union Group will ensure that this is sustained and enhanced whenever possible.

This bi-lingual signage policy will be extended to other Welsh Rugby Union events and venues.

BUSINESS CARDS

We will ensure that business cards of employees are in English and Welsh.

WEBSITE

A Welsh language content option will be hosted on the main Welsh Rugby Union website. This will feature a rolling news and feature service to update information in Welsh. The Welsh Rugby Union will aim to ensure that the static, or background, content of its website is permanently available in Welsh. This background content will focus on text material such as regulations, advice, statistics, historical and useful information. The news and feature updates will include text, audio and video output in Welsh.

The Welsh Rugby Union will continue its policy of supplying Welsh language video content to S4C, the Welsh language broadcaster, for their website use from Wales' foreign tours whenever operationally feasible.

The Welsh Rugby Union will also allow S4C access to Welsh video imagery and interviews through the use of the Welsh Rugby Union's contracted video provider. This will allow S4C to gather video news and feature material in Welsh to output via all their media platforms in Welsh. All the material gathered by S4C will be available for use on the Welsh Rugby Union's media platforms.

The Welsh Rugby Union Group will remain mindful of the stated aims of this policy as its digital output continues to develop.

The long term aim of the Welsh Rugby Union Group is to utilise new media communications systems wherever possible and the use of the Welsh language will always be an important strand of this initiative.

SOCIAL MEDIA

We will link our Facebook and Twitter output to Welsh Rugby Union Group articles and reports in Welsh, to ensure that news is available on social media platforms bi-lingually.

MARKETING / ADVERTISING

We will continue with our existing policy of committing broadcast and publication advertising budget spend to Welsh language output.

We will continue with our long-standing policy of including words and phrases in Welsh on international rugby kit.

PUBLICATIONS

The regular Welsh language content within international match programmes will be maintained and we will seek opportunities to increase this. Original features will be commissioned by the Welsh Rugby Union for publication in the Welsh language.

The Welsh Rugby Union Group is committed to using the Welsh language within its diverse range of publications. This activity will include areas such as manuals, brochures and invitations. Press releases will be translated for use on the Welsh Rugby Union's Welsh language section of its website.

Major publications such as the Welsh Rugby Union Group Annual Report have regularly contained Welsh language sections and these will be continued and enhanced.

The Welsh Rugby Union will continue to publish a range of rugby educational material in Welsh.

FACE TO FACE COMMUNICATION

We will encourage employees, players, coaches, match officials and volunteers to speak Welsh.

TELEPHONE COMMUNICATION

The Welsh Rugby Union Group will welcome the use of Welsh by people making inquiries by telephone. We will endeavour to ensure that Welsh speaking employees are available to communicate with any person who wishes to do so using the Welsh language.

The Welsh Rugby Union Group will utilise a caller option system which gives individuals a facility to decide on a Welsh or English language route to the person or department they require.

CORRESPONDENCE (Paper and Electronic)

We accept correspondence in Welsh or English and we reply in Welsh to correspondence received in Welsh.

We will ensure our Customer Care Team welcomes and is able to communicate with customers in Welsh.

TICKETS

The Welsh Rugby Union introduced Welsh language banner slogans on home rugby international tickets in 2008. The Welsh Rugby Union is committed to maintaining this bi-lingual approach and will feature Welsh language phrases on match tickets.

GUIDED STADIUM TOURS

Tours of Principality Stadium are available in the medium of Welsh, in response to demand when booked in advance.

THE GAME

All international teams representing Wales will be encouraged to use the Welsh language in training sessions, matches, socially or in team meetings as appropriate.

Welsh Rugby Union employees will continue to offer rugby training, coaching and match official courses through the medium of Welsh on demand.

Rugby related brochures, manuals or educational and advisory documents will be made available in Welsh.

Match official, coaching, rugby skills or associated courses, seminars or talks will be made available through the medium of Welsh on demand.

THE COMMUNITY GAME

Welsh Rugby Union employees will offer relevant training courses in Welsh as required and when possible each year.

The Welsh Rugby Union Group offers fully bilingual training packs for coaches and some official Welsh Rugby Union courses are delivered through the medium of Welsh.

MEDIA

All Welsh speaking players, coaches and administrators will be encouraged to offer Welsh language interviews for the relevant television, radio, new media and newspaper or magazine outlets whenever possible.

The Welsh Rugby Union will make Welsh speaking interviewees available whenever possible within all tournament and match media schedules.

Public announcements at WRU organised rugby matches in Principality Stadium will continue to be bi-lingual. This has long been a feature of our international matchday protocol at Principality Stadium, where Welsh is used first. Giant screen messaging will continue to be bi-lingual.

This public announcement protocol will be repeated at all other Welsh Rugby Union events whenever possible

EMPLOYEES

Welsh language courses will continue to be offered to Welsh Rugby Union Group employees. We will consider means of improving the Welsh language skills of our employees.

Our policy of hosting Welsh language training courses or issuing training tools for staff will continue.

CORPORATE IDENTITY

The Welsh Rugby Union Group will continue to support the Welsh language and bi-lingualism in Wales. We will monitor this policy and will update it as required.

PUBLIC SPEAKING

Whenever practically possible, speeches or addresses by senior representatives of the Welsh Rugby Union Group will continue to be delivered using elements of the Welsh language.

As appropriate, some discussions, speeches or corporate and commercial conversations will be conducted in Welsh whenever practically possible.

PUBLIC MEETINGS

We will incorporate the use of Welsh in public meetings.

RECRUITMENT

We will utilise the Welsh language section of the Welsh Rugby Union's website for recruitment as the ability to speak Welsh wll be considered a desirable asset.

DISPLAY ADVERTISING

We will encourage our partners to utilise the Welsh language in their advertising.

EXHIBITIONS

We will ensure Welsh Rugby Union hosted exhibitions utilise the Welsh language.

FORMS

Bi-lingual information is published on a range of Welsh Rugby Union Group forms.

WELSH LANGUAGE AUDIT

We are an equal opportunities employer and within our data review processes we will monitor the number of Welsh Rugby Union employees who can speak Welsh.

INTERNAL COMMUNICATION

We encourage internal communication in Welsh and will continually review advances in technology to assess their suitability for Welsh language use.

WELSH LANGUAGE COMMISSIONER

The Welsh Rugby Union Group will continue to liaise with the Welsh Language Commissioner and other relevant stakeholders to review our use of the language in accordance with this policy.

AWARENESS

This policy is available for the public to read. It is published on the Welsh Rugby Union website.

All employees receive a copy of this policy and copies of this policy will be available at each of the Welsh Rugby Union's training facilities used by all Wales international squads. All WRU staff will work to the principles and protocols outlined in the Welsh Language Policy.

The Welsh Rugby Union Group will monitor this policy through its Executive Board. The implementation of this policy will be regulated by the Welsh Rugby Union Group Executive Board, monitored by the WRU Board of Directors and become the responsibility of the Group Chief Executive with liaison.

CONTACTS

For further information regarding this policy, please contact the Welsh Rugby Union Group via info@wru.co.uk

Download the Welsh Language Policy here