Urdd Gobaith Cymru

Urdd Gobaith Cymru (or 'Urdd Gobaith Cymru Fach') was established by Sir Ifan ab Owen Edwards in 1922.[3] His aim was to protect the Welsh language in a world where the English language dominated every aspect of life outside the home. In an issue of the magazine ‘Cymru’r Plant’ in 1922 Sir Ifan said, "These days, in many villages, and in most towns in Wales, children play and read in English. They forget that they are Welsh."

He appealed to the children of Wales to join a new organization that offered opportunities through the medium of Welsh, and as a result, Urdd Gobaith Cymru was established.

Nearly a century later, Urdd Gobaith Cymru, the main youth organization in Wales, has over 56,000 members, belonging to over 900 branches who take part in a wide range of activities. The work is carried out with the help of 260 staff and 10,000 volunteers. The Chief Executive appointed in 2015 to take the movement forward to the 2022 centenary left in 2017 after Trustees took action following the expression of a lack of faith in her ability by staff.[4] The current Chief Executive of Urdd Gobaith Cymru is Sian Lewis.

The Urdd National Eisteddfod (Welsh: Eisteddfod Genedlaethol Urdd Gobaith Cymru or Eisteddfod Genedlaethol yr Urdd) is an annual Welsh-language youth festival of literature, music and performing arts organised by Urdd Gobaith Cymru. Arguably Europe's largest youth festival, it is usually held during the last week of May, coinciding with schools' half term holiday. Locations alternate between north and south Wales.

The Eisteddfod consists of competitive singing, recitation, art, composition, dance and instrumental events for contestants aged between 7 and 24 years. Regional qualifying heats are held in advance around Wales, as occurs for the National Eisteddfod.

In 2019, the Eisteddfod yr Urdd was held in Cardiff Bay. In 2020, it was planned to be held in Denbigh but was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mistar Urdd (Mr Urdd) is the personification of the triangular red, white and green logo of Urdd Gobaith Cymru.

The Urdd's Sports Department hosts a wide range of community sports clubs and national sporting events for children and young people through the medium of Welsh. In 2019 boys were banned at short notice from participating in netball at the Urdd National Sports Festival.[5]

The Sports Department, supported by Sport Wales, now employs 20 staff and trains over 1,000 volunteers annually. This has enabled the organisation to offer regular activities for children and young people, with 150 sports clubs held weekly across the country, and over 11,000 children attending.[6]

They have said that 47,000 people have visited the Urdd Camps annually.[7] In 2018, over 2 million young people have attending one or more of the Urdd residential Centres. The aim of the centres is to create spaces that offer opportunities for children, young people and adults to live, teach and socialize in a safe and welcoming Welsh environment. In 2019 £5.5 million was allocated to Glan-Llyn and Llangrannog by the Welsh Government to develop the centres.[8]

The Urdd offers residential experiences through its 5 residential centres:

• Gwersyll Llangrannog, Ceredigion, providing recreational activities, including horse riding and skiing
• Gwersyll Glan-llyn, near Bala, Gwynedd, offering water sports;
• Gwersyll Caerdydd located in Cardiff Bay
• Pentre Ifan, Pembrokeshire, a centre for environmental and wellbeing experiences;
• Tŷ Kisbodak Ház in Hungary offers young people of Wales an international experience.

Every year since 1922, the children and young people of Wales have written and sent a Message of Peace and Goodwill to the children and young people of the world on Goodwill Day, 18 May.[9]

Since 1955, Urdd Gobaith Cymru has been responsible for arranging for the message to be written and shared each year

• Official website in English
• Official website in Welsh