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Petition number: P-05-692 Petition title: Build an International Mother languages Monument at Cardiff Bay Text of petition: We the undersigned call on the National Assembly of Wales to urge the Welsh Government to build an International Language monument at Cardiff Bay for all International mother languages lovers.

Background

The petitioners explain that:

A plaque has been laid by Cardiff Lord Mayor in 2012 at Grange moor Park, Cardiff Bay. But due to lack of funding not constructed.

According to a news article:

Plans for the project began nearly 10 years ago when a petition calling on the council to build a monument celebrating linguistic and cultural diversity was submitted to the local authority.

Since then Cardiff council has designated land at Grangemoor Park, next to Cardiff Bay Retail Park, and planning permission has been granted.

Campaigners have raised more than £45,000 for the project but still need to raise thousands more to meet the £150,000 cost.

International Mother Language Day has been observed every year since February 2000 to promote linguistic and cultural diversity and multilingualism. The date represents the day in 1952 when students demonstrating for recognition of their language, Bangla, as one of the two national languages of the then Pakistan, were shot and killed by police in Dhaka, the capital of what is now Bangladesh.[1]

Welsh Government action

The Welsh Government has previously provided funding for memorials. The Six Bells Miners’ Memorial, completed in 2010, was the result of a partnership project between Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council and Six Bells Communities First. The sculpture cost £220,000 and the principle funder was the Welsh Government under the Heads of the Valley Programme. This community led project was managed by Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council.

In 2012 the Welsh Government provided a contribution of £5,000 towards the costs of erecting a statue in memory of Fred Keenor, captain of the Cardiff City team, who won the FA Cup in 1927.

 

National Assembly for Wales action

The Petitions Committee considered this petition on 12 July 2016. It subsequently wrote to the Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Infrastructure on 27 July 2016, asking him for his views on the issues raised by the petition. 

 

Every effort is made to ensure that the information contained in this briefing is correct at the time of publication. Readers should be aware that these briefings are not necessarily updated or otherwise amended to reflect subsequent changes.