If you know a child in Wales today, or if you knew one yesterday, or the day before, or anytime in the years dating back to 1922, chances are that he or she has been a member of the Urdd. Type the words ‘Urdd Gobaith Cymru’ into a search engine and multiple pages of references will clot the screen. For at the beginning of the 21st century, the Urdd Gobaith Cymru, which boasts more than 52,000 members, is one of the world’s largest youth cultural organisations. It would seem fitting then, that when the Wales Millenium Centre (WMC) opens in Cardiff in November 2004, the Urdd should be one of the seven established Welsh arts organisations to be based there.
Established in 1922 with the specific aim of keeping the Welsh culture and language alive, the Urdd works to provide Welsh children with a range of, artistic, sporting and recreational activities aimed at connecting them with their country, language and culture. Fifteen hundred branches throughout the country, in addition to residential centres at Glan-ilyn, Llangrannonog and Pentre Ifan, offer involvement opportunities for children from all regions and backgrounds, and the organisation’s annual Urdd National Eisteddfod is believed to be the largest youth arts festival in Europe.
‘The arts are our most high profile activities,’ says Chief Executive Jim O’Rourke, when asked about the importance of the arts to the philosophy of the Urdd. ‘The Eisteddfod costs £1.2 million and involves over 45,000 competitors in the initial rounds… the link between the arts, Welsh language promotion and heritage is central to our work.’
Eisteddfod Director, Sian Eirian, is quick to agree. ‘What’s really great is that the Urdd [Eisteddfod] gives an opportunity for everyone to be involved in the arts,’ she remarks. ‘Every child in Wales gets a chance to take part in the cultural syllabus. Of course, [cultural studies] are part of the school curriculum as well, but from the Urdd’s point of view, the arts are something to be enjoyed. I believe that what people learn at a grass roots level is something they never forget.’
When the Urdd moves to the Wales Millenium Centre in November 2004 (to be open for residential groups from January 2005), it will join the Welsh National Opera; dance company Diversions; peak music body Ty Cerdd; Welsh literature body Academi; Hijinx theatre and disability therapy centre, Touch Trust as one of a clan of arts organisations to reside and produce there. O’Rourke and Eirian believe the move will be of great benefit to the Urdd and its ability to carry out its work.
‘We expect to increase our arts activity on opening at the WMC,’ Eirian envisions. ‘At present, the Eisteddfod is a major competition, but we will hopefully be able to develop a lot of talent courses at the WMC where the emphasis is not on the actual competing element [of the Eisteddfod]. We want to enable children to gain experiences in different forms of arts.’
‘The WMC will also attract different sorts of people. We’re hoping children from the North of Wales will come to Cardiff for a capital city experience – one which we obviously can’t offer at our other centres.’
O’Rourke agrees that the move to the WMC will bring with it a heightened awareness of the organisation both nationally and internationally.
‘We envisage a massive boost to our profile,’ he says. ‘[Being located] next door to the National Assembly, as part of the WMC, will boost [our profile] in Wales and on the world stage.’
Eirian also believes that as a result of the move, future Urdd Eisteddfod’s will be conducted on a grander scale than in the past.
‘At the moment we go to a different site each year,’ she explains. ‘Going to the WMC offers a different experience and I think people in Wales will be amazed. The first Eisteddfod at the WMC will be a different experience because it will take place in such an enormous building. The experiences that we can offer, in co-operation with the other seven organisations housed there, are going to be completely different than those we could offer in a normal Eisteddfod year.’
And it is here that Eirian raises an interesting point. Just how will seven arts organisations, each regarded as significant to the development of Welsh culture, and each sharing space in the country’s greatest arts venue, get along?
Eirian and O’Rourke believe that the opportunity to strengthen ties between Urdd and the country’s other major arts organisations is one of the attractions of the WMC.
‘We have been working [with some of the other companies] for at least five years and have already developed some major projects together,’ says O’Rourke.
‘Being in the WMC will provide [children] with a wider cultural experience than we can offer them now in our offices in Cardiff,’ reflects Eirian.
‘And because we’ll be sharing with other bodies in the WMC, we’ll hopefully be able to do certain projects together. We’ve worked with Diversions and we work closely with the Academi at present. The presence of the other centres will have a vital impact on Urdd and we’re looking forward to being a part of the whole package.’
For more information about the Urdd and the organisation’s residency at the WMC, CLICK HERE
