Evening highlights
On Thursday evening, 20 June at the Coleg Cymraeg Annual Awards at Canolfan S4C yr Egin, students, apprentices and lecturers from the higher educacation, further education and apprenticeship sector were awarded for outstanding contribution to Welsh medium and bilingual education.
Merêd Award
Some of the highlights of the evening was announcing Priya Dodiya, a Psychology student at Swansea University as the winner of the Merêd Award which recognises a student's contribution to Welsh life and culture at university. Priya was awarded for her outstanding work in developing more opportunities for students from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic backgrounds to use their Welsh.
Priya said:
"This award means so much to me because as a Welsh speaker of Indian origin, I have faced discrimination within the community. But, through my efforts promoting the language within diverse communities, I hope to create a more inclusive environment for all."
Associate Lecturer: Celebrate Your Lecturer Award
Rhian Griffiths, Senior Lecturer at the School of Education and Social Policy at Cardiff Metropolitan Univeristy was annouced as the winner of the Associate Lecturer: Celebrate Your Lecturer Award. She was presented with the award by one of her students, Gronw Ifan, who nominated her, for her "tireless work and infectious character inspiring future teachers."
Gronw who is currently studying for his Post Graduate Certificate of Education (PGCE) said:
"Rhian Griffiths is an unrivalled lecturer, you always learn something of real value at her lectures. She presents them as if they were stage plays! As well as being a solid role model for aspiring future teachers, she also takes an interest in us and cares about us as if we were her children. It's quite obvious that she wants us to succeed."
On receiving the award Rhian said:
"This award means so much to me. I feel great joy in inspiring future teachers to take pride in the Welsh language.”
William Salesbury Further Education and Apprenticeship Award
Olivia Williams was announced as the winner of the William Salesbury Further Education and Apprenticeship Award. The award was presented to her by Welsh singer, Dafydd Iwan and the award recognised her creativity using music to promote the Welsh language among new Welsh speakers at Coleg y Cymoedd.
'Liv', who is studying Performing Arts and is a member of the bilingual band, General Waste, said:
"I am a creative person, and when I started college I realised there were a lot of opportunities to be creative using the Welsh language. I wasn't very confident in Welsh at the start of my course, but since getting involved and organising various Welsh language activities at Coleg y Cymoedd, such as arranging gigs for Dydd Miwsig Cymru, and creating Tik Tok videos for the Coleg y Cymoedd social media accounts, I'm now much more confident! I've even started singing in Welsh, and I'm seeing more people gaining confidence in the language and taking similar opportunities. I'm enjoying every minute, and that's important."
New Talent Award in memory of Gareth Pierce
The winner of the New Talent Award in memory of Gareth Pierce was Cerys Brown from Pembrokeshire College, who is a healthcare apprentice with Hywel Dda Health Board and based at Glangwili Hospital. The award recognises an apprentice who has demonstrated exceptional aptitude in the workplace. According to feedback from staff and patients about Cerys' performance on the wards, she is described as a reliable and professional individual who is well aware of the importance of the Welsh language when engaging with patients. Cerys said,
"I am honoured to receive this award. I love my job and the award confirms that I give my best academically and in the workplace. Working for the National Health Service can be challenging at times, but I enjoy every aspect of the work and helping patients in my care is very rewarding."
See below for the full list of winners.
New scheme launched to support Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic students
Also on the evening, the Coleg’s Cynllun Sbarduno was officially launched. The mentoring programme supports 16-18 year old students from Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic backgrounds to reach their potential.
Emily Pemberton, the Coleg's Equality, Diversity and Anti-Racism Co-ordinator, said:
"The purpose of Cynllun Sbarduno mentoring scheme is to ensure that young people from Black Asian and Minority Ethnic backgrounds have the opportunity to discuss their future with a mentor who can offer them advice and guidance on how to maximise their Welsh language skills.
"The Welsh language opens so many doors and it's important that pupils from the backgrounds involved can see that these opportunities are relevant to them."
A new film was shown on the night showing the experiences of the pupils who have benefited from this year's scheme.
The evening was presented by renowned S4C presenter Trystan Ellis-Morris and at the end of the ceremony Lloyd Lewis and Dom James gave a live performance of Dacw 'Nghariad.
Dr Ioan Matthews, Chief Executive at Coleg Cymraeg, said:
"All of tonight's winners deserve praise and recognition for their high quality work and contribution to Welsh and bilingual education in the higher education, further education and apprenticeship sector. We thanks them for raising the profile of the Welsh language in their organisations, and we wish them well into the future.
"We are also delighted to launch a new and important scheme, Cynllun Sbarduno. We have a lot of work to do as an organisation and as a sector in the field of equality, diversity, and anti-racism and Cynllun Sbarduno is an example of how we are implementing our strategy to ensure that Welsh and bilingual tertiary education is open to all regardless of background."
The event can be watched back on the Coleg Cymraeg’s You Tube channel.
Further Education Award Winners
William Salesbury Further Education and Apprenticeship Award - Winner: Olivia Williams, Coleg y Cymoedd. Recognises the contribution of a learner or apprentice to the Welsh life and culture within a further education college or apprenticeship provider.
New Talent Award in memory of Gareth Pierce - Winner: Cerys Brown, Pembrokeshire College. Recognising the contribution of an Apprentice who has shown exceptional talent in the workplace.
Innovative Educator Award - Winner: Marion Evans, Bridgend College. Recognise the contribution of a tutor, practitioner or assessor who provides Welsh language education in innovative ways.
Award for Special Contribution - Winner: Amy Thomas, Grŵp Llandrillo Menai. This award is given to a member of the management team who influences the development of Welsh language provision within their organisation.
Award for enriching the learner/apprentice experience - Winner: Sophia Randall, Coleg Cambria. Recognises the contribution of a member of staff in the sector for increasing the use of Welsh among learners/apprentices in various less formal situations.
Higher Education Award Winners
William Salesbury Medicine Award - Winners: Elin Bartlett & Celyn Jones-Hughes, Cardiff University. To recognise the innovation of a research project or contribution to current extra-curricular activities through the medium of Welsh within the field of Medicine.
Merêd Award - Winner: Priya Dodiya, Swansea University. Recognising a student's contribution to Welsh life and culture, within a university more widely.
Outstanding Welsh Medium Resource Award - Winner: Dr Alwena Morgan, Swansea University. For creating an excellent and high quality Welsh medium resource that supports the students in their studies. This award is for members of the Coleg's associate lecturer scheme.
Outstanding Contribution Award - Winner: Elen Mai Nefydd, University of Wrexham. For outstanding contribution to higher education (beyond a professional role). This award is for members of the Coleg's associate lecturer scheme.
Celebrate Your Lecturer Award - Winner: Rhian Griffiths, Cardiff Metropolitan University. The award offers a student or group of students the opportunity to nominate a lecturer who has made a huge difference to their Welsh life at university. This award is for members of the Coleg’s associate lecturer scheme.