Background
The National Union of Students United Kingdom (‘NUS UK’) is not a public organisation, and as such, is not regulated by the Welsh Language Commissioner. However, the organisation recognises the needs of its Welsh members in relation to bilingual provision and has developed the following approach for use of the Welsh language.
This approach has been informed by policies submitted to National and Wales conferences. It outlines what NUS UK & Wales will do to enhance its bilingual provision and clarifies what members and students can expect.
This approach may be reviewed following the outcome of NUS reforms in Spring 2024.
Principles
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NUS UK/ NUS Wales recognises the official and equal status of the Welsh language and has a commitment to enhancing its bilingual provision.
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NUS UK/ NUS Wales strives to enable its members to meet their obligations, create welcoming & inclusive NUS spaces for Welsh members, and ensure all students in Wales can participate in campaign activities.
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NUS UK/ NUS Wales is an agile organisation that may be required to balance these objectives with resources and time constraints to deliver value and impact for its members.
Commitment
We are committed to promoting and supporting the use of the Welsh language in relevant aspects of our organisation's activities. We recognise the importance of preserving and celebrating the Welsh language as an integral part of Welsh culture and identity.
NUS UK/ NUS Wales may at times aspire to provide greater bilingual provision than outlined within this approach, dependent upon resource and time constraints, to ensure a welcoming environment for Welsh speakers.
Theme
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What we will do
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Correspondence
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If correspondence is received in Welsh, we will reply in Welsh, as far as possible
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All correspondence to Welsh members will start with a Welsh greeting
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All phone calls in NUS Wales will be answered bilingually starting with Welsh
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Circular letters/newsletters sent primarily to Welsh members will be published bilingually
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The NUS Wales team will have bilingual email signatures
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Website
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- Enable translation (multi-lingual) of the NUS Wales website via the Read Me Aloud tool
- Additional promotion of this tool will be undertaken
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Press
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Key press releases will be translated and shared with Welsh press
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Social Media
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All social media produced by NUS Wales to be bilingual
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Corporate Identity
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NUS Wales will have its own brand identity and colour scheme
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NUS Wales will have a bilingual logo
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Meetings/ Events
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Simultaneous translation will be provided at events with a majority Welsh audience
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Publicity for events hosted in Wales, or by NUS Wales, will be bilingual
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Registration for all events hosted in Wales, or by NUS Wales, will be bilingual
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UK wide events with Welsh members in attendance will provide some pre-event bilingual communications where possible
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Materials & Resources
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Public-facing materials and resources produced by NUS Wales will be bilingual
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Materials and resources produced by NUS UK that are intended for further dissemination by Welsh members will be bilingual
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Welsh and English materials and resources will be released on the same day and in a similar format
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Welsh resources will be stored in the same place as the English counterparts
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Surveys & Forms
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Surveys and forms produced by NUS Wales will be bilingual.
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Surveys and forms produced by NUS UK for a UK-wide audience will be bilingual only where resource allows. Surveys produced by external providers are not able to be bilingual.
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Creating, revising, & reviewing Policy
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Introduce a Welsh Language Impact Assessment
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Organisational Development
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Welsh speakers in NUS Wales are encouraged to conduct business in Welsh
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Welsh Language awareness updates will be provided for NUS UK and Wales staff
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A Welsh greetings crib sheet will be provided to NUS Wales and UK staff
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Other/ Member Support
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NUS Wales will seek to set up a forum of Welsh Language SU officers to support this work and support and discuss any relevant Welsh language campaigning issues to Wales
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NUS Wales welcomes feedback from members on their Welsh language needs to inform policy review
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Monitoring
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The approaches outlined in this policy will be evaluated annually to assess the effectiveness and impact of the policy's implementation
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