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1. NEWYDDION / STOP PRESS
1.1 CILIP slams government's inaction
Local people to suffer as government
inaction exposes libraries to cuts
CILIP:
the Chartered Institute of Library &
The cuts in Wirral library services are looking increasingly
like the tip of the iceberg, as more local authorities including Swindon,
Nottingham and Warwickshire announce plans to review or cut services. CILIP
calls on everyone who cares about libraries, learning, reading, or their
community to contact their local authority or Andy Burnham to voice their
concern.
Andy Burnham's response comes after the Leader of CILIP Council and CILIP’s Chief Executive both formally asked the Secretary
of State to review Wirral Council's plans to close almost half its public
libraries. CILIP has now been advised that the Secretary of State had
considered this case in light of his powers of investigation and "is not minded at this stage to investigate
further or intervene."
This inaction flies in the face of statistics from local authorities who have
seen a surge in library use. An extra 4,989 people joined Cumbrian
libraries between September and December 2008, up 39% on the previous year. The
Bookseller recently reported that London Borough of Westminster have seen
visits increase by 10.5% (634,600) over the three months to the end of January
2009, compared to the same period in the previous year. The Birmingham Mail
reported that membership numbers increased by nearly 4,500 towards the end of
2008, taking the number of people who use
Caroline Moss-Gibbons, Leader
of the CILIP Council, points out the inconsistency of this inaction with recent
government initiatives, "The Department
of Culture, Media and Sport should be embarrassed that while 2008 was the
government-backed National Year of
Press contact:
Mark Taylor
Head of
Corporate Marketing and Media Relations, CILIP
Tel: 020
7255 0654
Email: [log in to unmask]
2. CYNULLIAD / WELSH ASSEMBLY
2.1 Minister announces £4 million scheme to
help people from BME communities into work
A £4 million initiative to help tackle the barriers faced
by people from black and minority ethnic communities trying to find a job has
been announced by Social Justice and Local Government Minister, Brian Gibbons,
today (Thursday 26th February).
The scheme has been funded with over £2million of
Convergence European Social Fund, which has been matched by the Welsh Assembly
Government. It will be led by the All Wales Ethnic Minority Association (AWEMA)
and will provide work and skills opportunities for over 1,000 people across
West Wales and the Valleys area. It will also help people furthest from the
labour market, particularly women, to gain new qualifications and enter further
education.
For more information on the project visit www.awema.org.uk
http://new.wales.gov.uk/news/latest/090227scheme/?lang=en
2.2 Heritage Minister gives evidence to
Legislation Committee on Welsh Language LCO
The Heritage Minister, Alun Ffred Jones,
gave evidence to Legislation Committee Number 5 on the proposed plans to
confer competence to legislate on the Welsh Language on the National Assembly
for Wales.
This is the first step in the pre-legislative scrutiny
process and the proposed LCO will be scrutinised over the coming months by
committees of the National Assembly for Wales, the Welsh Affairs Committee and
the UK Parliament. In addition, the views of everyone will be sought on
whether the Assembly should be able to consider legislating for the Welsh
language.
If the National Assembly for Wales gains legislative
competence, the aim of the Welsh Assembly Government will be to propose
legislation that will let it fulfill the commitments outlined in One Wales.
Those commitments are to confirm the official status of both Welsh and
English; linguistic rights in the provision of services; and establish the post
of Language Commissioner.
Following his appearance in front of the committee, the
Heritage Minister, said:
To sustain Welsh as a living language, it needs to be
used in our communities. The first step is to make sure that the public
in Wales has a language choice when accessing public services.
We want to ensure that there are more services available
in Welsh and English, improve the consistency of those services, to ensure that
there is a clear and transparent framework for supporting access to services in
Welsh and to create a level playing field for companies providing services to
the public.
We are at the very first stage of discussing the
principle of conferring competence on the National Assembly. There is
still plenty of time for interested parties to put forward their views on the
Welsh Language to members of the Welsh Assembly Government.
24 February 2009
http://new.wales.gov.uk/news/latest/090224language/?lang=en
2.3 Minister announces scheme to provide
training and Pre-VENT NEET
A new £7million Convergence initiative
to prevent thousands of disadvantaged youngsters from dropping out of school
and becoming economically inactive across the Heads of the Valleys has been
announced by Deputy Minister for Skills, John Griffiths.
Pre-VENT has been given the go ahead for almost £4
million from the Convergence European Social Fund to tackle the causes of
youngsters who find it difficult to learn and are at risk of leaving school
without qualifications or the skills to find a job.
Targeted at 11-13 year olds, the three year project will
provide a package of support and training for over 7,000 young people who will
be the first to benefit from an EU funding scheme aimed at this age range.
Led by Blaenau Gwent, the project will collaborate with
Bridgend, Caerphilly, Merthyr Tydfil and Torfaen councils, alongside Careers
Wales, to raise aspirations and tackle the barriers to learning faced by some
youngsters.
Frank Callus, Strategic Programme Manager for the Heads
of the Valleys Programme at Blaenau Gwent Council said:
We want too break down the barriers that prevent some
young people from gaining the most of their education, and this programme seeks
to address the issue in the critical early years of secondary school.
Announcing the project, Deputy Minister for Skills, John
Griffiths, said:
This is the first time that a European funded project has
been created to target children aged 11-13 and it shows how the funds are
reaching out and supporting projects to better engage with disadvantaged young
people. Pre-VENT will address the underlying cause of disengagement and through
that, the tendency to longer term unemployment and economic inactivity.
24 February 2009
http://new.wales.gov.uk/news/latest/090224training/?lang=en
2.4 Heads of Valleys project funds three e
learning initiatives
A Torfaen primary school is to become
the first in Wales to equip every child with a laptop computer under a pilot
e-learning initiative funded by the Heads of the Valleys programme.
The project in Victoria Primary School, Abersychan, is
one of three e-learning initiatives funded by the Welsh Assembly Government’s
Heads of the Valleys regeneration programme and supported by the Department for
Children, Education, lifelong Learning and Skills (DCELLS).
It follows recommendations highlighted in an e-learning
strategy currently being developed for the HoV by a group comprising local
authorities, colleges and the voluntary sector to ensure consistent development
of different forms of teaching.
Funding of £100,000 will enable 225 laptops to be
purchased for Victoria Primary School, provide training for the teachers and
ensure the school has adequate power, security and wireless access.
The project will be closely monitored from its inception
and will provide valuable information to support implementation later this year
of the One Wales commitment to pilot the provision of laptops for children.
The Heads of the Valleys is providing £100,000 to Merthyr
College to buy up to 250 mini notebooks and install or extend wireless access
in four secondary schools, one pupil referral unit and an adult and community
learning centre.
The project will provide students with mobile
technologies and ensure they have ready access to the internet and educational
resources at any time and any place. It will also enable groups of students to
access high quality educational material on line in the classroom.
Rhondda Cynon Taff Local Education Authority is to
receive £37,500 funding to establish one or more networked Moodles – on line
learning communities – to support collaborative working in schools in the Cynon
and Rhondda Valleys.
The intention is to develop examples of good practice in
the use of a virtual learning environment from primary through to tertiary
education and to support a range of activities and learning experiences both in
school and out of school.
24 February 2009
http://new.wales.gov.uk/news/latest/090224elearning/?lang=en
2.5 New university college title at Trinity
First Minister Rhodri Morgan and
Education Minister
Trinity College was awarded taught degree awarding powers
by the Privy Council in December 2008 which enables Trinity University College
to award its own degrees as well as those of the University of Wales.
The First Minister said:
I want to offer my warmest congratulations to everyone at
Trinity University College. This is a great achievement for Trinity.
It is a recognition of the progress the College has made and the maturing
of the institution as a whole.
Principal Dr Medwin Hughes said:
This is fantastic news and is a significant
achievement. The ability to call ourselves Trinity University College is
the culmination of the enormous commitment and dedication shown by staff over
the last few years.
This is a major development in the College’s long history
and is based on a wide range of factors including the management of academic
quality and standards at the university. Gaining university status will not
only impact upon Trinity; it will also redefine Carmarthen as a university town
and will add to its rich history as a seat of learning over the centuries.
as it continues to develop successfully in future.
23 February 2009
http://new.wales.gov.uk/news/latest/090223trinity/?lang=en
2.6 Pilot projects for new Communities First
Outcomes Fund given £1.5m funding
Six proposed projects across Wales have
been given Communities First funding of £1.5m over the next three years as part
of the new Communities First Outcomes Fund. The fund provides money to develop
and deliver new activities, services and projects for the benefit of
Communities First Communities.
The Outcomes Fund, which will be in place from 1st April,
is structured to support activities which deliver real improvements at local
level in terms of tackling key priorities for Communities First such as child
poverty, economic inactivity and job creation.
The projects have been designed to follow the revised
Communities First Vision Framework which is based on six themes – Child
Poverty; Community Safety; Health and Well Being; Education, Skills and
|
Project Title |
Local Authority Area |
Theme(s) Addressed
|
|
Young People Project |
Neath |
Child Poverty |
|
Community Environmental Project |
|
Poverty |
|
Debt and Benefits |
Carmarthenshire |
Income Generation / Child Poverty |
|
Employment Pathways |
|
Jobs & Business |
|
School Focused Communities |
RCT |
Education, |
|
Family Employment & Social |
Bridgend |
Jobs, Business, Income Generation |
Each project will receive £250,000 over three years. The projects will be used
as Demonstration Pilots to encourage other organisations or communities first
partnerships to run similar schemes.
Deputy Minister Leighton Andrews said:
The Outcomes Fund will support work across the
Communities First programme and will help ensure that the programme refocuses
on front-line delivery.
These six demonstration pilot projects are the first step
in rolling out the Outcomes Fund as they will highlight the key priorities and
principles of the fund and inform the final development of the fund, which will
provide more than £25 million over the next three years for similar
projects.
The Outcomes Fund will play a key part in our plans for
Communities First. I want Communities First areas to build on their success to
date and focus on practical solutions to tackling poverty and supporting
regeneration initiatives.
23 February 2009
http://new.wales.gov.uk/news/latest/090223communities/?lang=en
3 ADDYSG BELLACH AC UWCH / HE AND FE
3.1 Universities unite over recession
Five universities
are pledging to work together in an attempt to help drive the Welsh economy out
of the recession.
Aberystwyth,
The colleges estimate that they have
a combined annual turnover of almost £1bn and do 95% of all research in
Education Minister
Richard Davies, the vice-chancellor
of
"We have a huge range of
innovation, research and development, and business skills within our
universities and we can place some of these inspirational sorts of aid and help
at the beck and call of companies," he said. "In the recession we
feel that we have a responsibility to use this massive talent that we have in
the university base, and our students as well, to
actually help companies come through these difficult times."
Between them, the five universities
account for about 70% of students in higher education in
'Knowledge economy'
"The idea is that we have to
move as we come out of the recession into an economy where we create our wealth
in
"There are other countries
around the world that can do labour intensive work
far more cheaply than we ever can. We've got to add value by the mental input."
The universities say they are now actively examining areas where they can work
together strategically in
They have also pledged to drive
forward their plans to continue investing in new building and college
construction projects, using local suppliers and businesses where possible.
The assembly government's education
minister,
"It therefore very much
welcomes the Welsh universities announcement as a clear sign of the
determination of those universities to work in partnership in order to ensure
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/7917394.stm
3.2 Language technology boost for Wales
Wales is set to emerge as a hot spot
for 21st century language technologies following announcement of a new Welsh
Assembly Government initiative.
Bangor University has been awarded a £120,000, two-year
grant to set up a research network for Speech and Language Technologies in
Wales (SALT Cymru).
The grant will enable Bangor University to set up a
Special Interest Group, with academia and industry collaborating to develop the
use of software that deals with human languages.
The project is supported by the Assembly Government’s
Academic Expertise for Business (A4B) programme – a six year, £70 million
project supported by European structural funding and geared to ensure that
Wales maximises the economic impact of its academic institutions.
The network, the first of its kind in Wales, will bring
together academic researchers and industry to share information and promote
research and development in speech and language technology.
Companies involved in developing e-commerce, e-health,
educational software and multimedia and communications technologies have all
been targeted to join the group.
The project will be particularly attractive for companies
who aim to work in a bilingual or multilingual environment, helping them
incorporate multiple languages into their products or services.
The SALT project has been welcomed by Deputy First
Minister Ieuan Wyn Jones, who said it would capitalise on Wales's privileged
position as a bilingual nation to exploit worldwide markets.
Mr Jones, who is Minister for Economy and Transport,
said:
This is a further example of how our management of
European funds can help to link up Welsh universities and industry, enabling
them to become world-class players in a growing sector of the economy.
Companies from the ICT and media sectors in Wales are well placed to benefit
globally from new speech and language technology techniques that are as yet
under-exploited.
A number of companies and organisations – such as
Microsoft and the BBC – have already benefited from speech and language
technologies developed in Welsh academia, and North-west Wales shows potential
for becoming home to a world-leading cluster in the field, the Minister added.
The new special interest group will aim to maximise the
extent to which the same technologies can benefit businesses in Wales to profit
in a global multilingual market.
Gruffudd Prys, Project Manager said:
Our Language Technology Unit is being increasingly
approached by companies asking where they can get multilingual proofing tools,
machine translation aids or speech technology applications to include in their
products, or whether such things exist for the languages they work with.
We felt that setting up a Special Interest Group for SALT
would put all these companies in touch with each other and really act as a
catalyst for research and knowledge transfer within Wales.
http://new.wales.gov.uk/news/latest/2961846/?lang=en
3.3 JISC launches first e-book
Publication
Date:
JISC has just launched its first e-book. ‘The e-Revolution and Post-Compulsory
Education: Using e-business models to deliver quality education’ offers senior
managers in further (FE) and higher education (HE) best-practice guidance for
applying e-business approaches to their institutions.
Particularly in the current economic climate, IT -
especially web technology - is a powerful tool that enables institutions to
manage their business in a more innovative, cohesive and strategic way. Applied
effectively, in support of clear business processes, it can confer competitive
advantage, as well as provide enriched opportunities for collaboration. From
supporting teaching and research to managing strategic partnerships as part of
business and community engagement, e-business is bringing new opportunities in
efficiency and service improvement.
The e-book launch coincides with a new ‘e-textbook business
models’ study that forms part of the JISC national e-books observatory project. This major study
will trial a variety of business models to determine the viability of delivering
e-textbooks through the library. The study will explore the management and
economic impact of the trials on publishers, e-book aggregators and educational
institutions over the course of the 2009/2010 academic year.
http://www.jisc.ac.uk/news/stories/2009/03/ebook.aspx
3.4
UCISA’s ‘Top Ten Concerns’ released
For the second
consecutive year, funding is the top concern of
UCISA’s
Top Ten Concerns 2008-2009
Dr Malcolm Read, JISC's
executive secretary, welcomes this chance to raise awareness of UCISA's
key concerns, for they reflect areas in which JISC
is already active.
1. Funding and
sustainable resourcing of IT
2. IT strategy and planning
2. Organisational change and process
improvement
4. Business systems to support the institution
5. 'Environmentally friendly' computing and energy efficiency
6. IT/IS service quality
6. Service availability and resilience
8. Governance of IT
9. E-learning
10. The development of an architected, enterprise-wide IT Infrastructure
Dr Malcolm Read,
executive secretary of JISC, was not surprised but
encouraged by these results, welcoming this chance to raise awareness of its
key concerns. He said: 'JISC is already very active
in all of these spheres, particularly in terms of fostering organisational
change, providing leadership in the strategic planning of IT resources, and in
pioneering the energy-efficient use of technology - JISC
has just published its report on Green ICT, for example. The
improved JANET network continues to provide a resilient service
both within and across institutions, and JISC's
repositories, digitised resources and research into
virtual learning and research environments (VLEs and VREs) are helping the UK move towards its goal of enabling
world-class - and world-leading - online education and
research.'
http://www.jisc.ac.uk/news/stories/2009/02/ucisa.aspx
3.5
Offering the
best student experience in
The programme has been developed by Giles Polglase
from the University’s Centre for the Development of Staff and Academic Practice
and Del Harris, Social Science Coordinator for the
Giles Polglase said; “We surveyed a cross section of students and
identified that for most their first contact for support or advice was with
members of non-academic staff, such as departmental administrators. In response
we developed the “Supporting Students Award”.
“The programme builds on existing best practice and encourages
staff to reflect and develop their approaches to supporting the needs of a
diverse student population and can be tailored to individual role requirements.
“The programme has been benchmarked against the National
Professional Standards Framework and the Staff and Educational Development
Association (SEDA) values and is accredited by
The programme has been developed in collaboration with
In May the
first cohort of 10 of staff will complete the programme
which involves 30 hours of training over 15 weeks. From September 2009 the
course will become a permanent feature of the University’s Staff Development Programme with 35 members of staff already signed up.
http://www.aber.ac.uk/aberonline/en/archive/2009/03/au3009/
4. ADDYSG GYDOL OES / LIFELONG
LEARNING
4.1 Lifelong
Learning UK
Lifelong Learning UK has announced its 2009 conference. Entitled The Power of Lifelong Learning:
Innovation During a Recession, the event will explore
the idea that now more than ever, learners and workers across the UK need to
re-skill to stay ahead. The conference will take place on Tuesday 8 December,
so make sure you save the date!
As part of the launch, Lifelong Learning UK is calling for evidence from
those in the lifelong learning sector. We are looking for examples of best
practice in contribution to lifelong learning and meeting workforce needs from
employers, stakeholders and other interested parties in:
- Community
learning and development, including youth work
- Further
education
- Higher
education
- Libraries,
archives and information services
- Work
based learning
Share your views and experiences and help shape the agenda by emailing [log in to unmask].
More details about the conference will be posted on the Lifelong Learning
UK website in due course.
http://www.lluk.org/lifelong-learning-uk-conference-2009-get-involved.htm
4.2 Scottish Government publishes report on the Next
Generation of National Qualifications in Scotland
Ipsos MORI's independent report on the Scottish Government's Consultation
on the Next Generation of National Qualifications in Scotland has now been
published.
This draws together evidence from different strands of the consultation as
Ipsos MORI were commissioned to analyse the consultation responses, sample
findings at consultation events and undertake related qualitative research. The full report (which runs to some 120 pages) can be found on the
Scottish Government website:
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2009/02/23130007/0
A summary of the research findings (6 pages) can also be found on the
Scottish Government website:
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2009/02/20092418/0
The Scottish Government is currently working closely with the Curriculum
for Excellence Management Board on issues raised by this report. An
announcement on the way forward on National Qualifications will be made before
the end of the current school year in June.
5 DATBLYGU DARLLENWYR / READER
DEVELOPMENT
5.1 Aberystwyth
academic short-listed for top literary award
Dr Sarah
Prescott, a senior lecturer at the Department of English at
The four
will be vying for the £2,000 Roland Mathias Prize for Welsh writing in English,
which will be awarded on March 27 at a ceremony supported by BBC Wales and
hosted by Nicola Heywood Thomas, presenter of BBC Radio Wales’ Arts Show.
The biennial
prize is awarded for a work published during the last two years in the field of
poetry, short stories, literary criticism or Welsh history. For the first time,
the judges have chosen two works of literary criticism, charting the history of
Welsh writing.
Dr Prescott
is short-listed for her latest work, Eighteenth
Century Writing from
Also
selected are
http://www.aber.ac.uk/aberonline/en/archive/2009/03/au4009/
5.2 Splash out
– give a book this World Book Day in
Welsh Olympic swimming medal winner ‘Dai Splash’ may be afraid of fish – but he
sees no contradiction in a sportsman diving into a good book! He’s the second
Olympian to support this year’s World Book Day in
And one of the keys to his success is relaxing ahead of a big challenge, or
reading books of all kinds which help him unwind and also stimulate his mind.
‘Although I probably won’t be reading on World Book Day itself as I will be
training hard for up-coming competitions,’ said David, who celebrates his 24th
birthday on 3 March two days before World Book Day. Some of his favourite books are the ones which he read when he was a child:
‘I enjoyed all of the Roald Dahl books, especially
Fantastic Mr Fox and The Twits. They’re great stories
with brilliant pictures,’ he said.
Currently he is reading Speeches that changed the world by Simon Sebag Montefiore – 50 momentous
speeches from history with biographies of each speaker, why each speech was
significant, and what happened as a result. David hopes that by helping to
prove you don’t have to be a bookworm to read books, he will encourage more
people to take part in this year’s ‘Give a Book on Book Day’ campaign. “Many of
the leading figures in
Every year the Welsh Books Council, co-ordinator of
World Book Day celebrations in
http://wbd.wbc.org.uk/DYLL2009/WBD_news.php?welsh=&ID=128
5.3 Following the footsteps of Dylan Thomas
Washington Wales Tuesday 24 March 2009
Washington DC
Some of the best young Welsh writers will be performing their work in
Washington DC in March 2009 as part of a week-long celebration of contemporary
Welsh literature in the US capital.
Washington Meets Wales is part of the wider Wales Smithsonian
Cymru 2009 programme of activities and events, which includes Wales as a guest
nation at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in June 2009.
As a taster to the festival, Academi, the Welsh National Literature
Promotion Agency and Society for Authors, with support from the Welsh Assembly
Government, has organised a series of literary activities around Washington DC.
Tom Anderson, Catrin Dafydd, Fflur Dafydd,
Eurig Salisbury
and Owen Sheers
will perform and discuss their work. Venues include Busboys and Poets and The
Writers’ Center in Bethesda. They will also visit campuses and lead workshops
with students at George Washington University, American University, Marymount
University and the British School of Washington. They will combine poetry,
prose and music and there will also be an opportunity to hear some of the work
read in Welsh.
Academi Chief Executive Peter Finch says: “The links between Wales and the U.S. have a long
history. Academi is delighted to have a role in creating new connections today.
Following in the footsteps of Dylan Thomas, five young Welsh writers will cross
the Atlantic for a week of workshops, readings, exchange and debate. What
better time to glance at the state of these two nations and their literatures.
The inheritors of Dylan Thomas have a lot to live up to but, being Welsh,
they’ll do it with ease.”
http://www.academi.org/news/i/133936/
5.4 It Started in the Sixties
John Tripp and Anglo-Welsh Poetry of the 1960s
An Academi Day
School
Saturday 7 March 2009
11.00 am - 6.00 pm
The Wharf, Cardiff
(See below for
ticket prices)
Were the 1960s when it all began?
For fans of Welsh writing in English this was the golden age of Glyn Jones,
Gwyn Jones, Harri
The Programme
11.00 am – a 60s REVIVAL
Dip your toes into the poetry that shaped Anglo-Welsh writing in the 1960s.
Aberystwyth-based poet, critic and lecturer Tiffany Atkinson reads a
selection of poetry written in Wales at that time including work from some of
the most influential names in Welsh literature.
12.00 noon – Sing for Wales
Sing for Wales or shut
your trap – All the rest’s a load of crap: English-Language Poetry in Wales
during the 1960s – A lecture by Matthew Jarvis.
Matthew is currently the Anthony Dyson Fellow in Poetry at the University of
Wales, Lampeter. His research focuses on the development of Welsh poetry in
English since the 1960s and on British avant-garde poetry of the same period.
1.00 pm – Lunch
2.00 pm – Tripps off the Tongue
Over the years some now familiar faces have won Wales’s foremost performance
poetry competition, the John
Tripp Award for Spoken Poetry. For one afternoon only
Academi brings together previous winners Ifor Thomas, Mike Jenkins
and Clare Potter
for some memorable and prize-winning performances.
3.00 pm – The Meaning of Apricot Sponge
The 2009 Gwyn Jones Lecture - The Meaning of Apricot Sponge: John Tripp’s Taste for Life
- delivered by Professor
Tony Curtis. At times original and brilliantly
witty, at times wasteful and frustrating, John Tripp, poet, story writer,
journalist and broadcaster is celebrated by Professor Curtis’s lecture which
argues that Tripp’s work, including much that remains unpublished or
uncollected, is still vital and we must remember John Tripp in order to
understand how we got to where we are, and what it means to be Welsh today.
4.00 pm – Did it Begin in the 60s?
So was it really the 1960s when it all began? And is it true that if you can
remember the 60s then you weren’t really there? Our panel delves into the
decade of Tripp,
5.00 pm – John Tripp’s Tragic Cabaret
After playing the part of Dylan Thomas over 100 times and receiving 5-star
reviews two years running (2004 and 2005) at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Peter Read
now turns his attentions to John Tripp. His latest and never-before-seen
one-man-show John
Tripp’s Tragic Cabaret traces Tripp’s battles against
the black dog of despair, sheds light on The Hayes Al Fresco Drinking Club and
celebrates his biting sense of humour. A première not to be missed.
Tickets:
£17.50 / £15.00 Academi Members and Associates
Venue:
The Wharf, Schooner Way, Cardiff, CF10 4EU
Contact:
For more information and
to book your tickets contact Academi:
029 2047 2266 / [log in to unmask]
http://www.academi.org/news/i/133875/
5.5 Children's book
awards spot on by engaging young readers online
Connecting young readers online: www.ckg.org.uk/shadowing
Since 1994 Teachers and librarians across the country have
used the CILIP Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Awards
shadowing scheme to engage young people with quality fiction and picture books.
This year CILIP has made major developments to the accompanying website.
Building on the popularity of social networking sites, the
shadowing website’s new features allow for more interaction between reading
groups across the
New features will allow groups to:
Upload video content and write blogs
Design individual questionnaires and polls for everyone to participate in
Highlight favourite authors or illustrators from the
current shortlist
Link to past winning books in the ‘Living Archive’ via the ‘step back in time’
function
CILIP is committed to promoting the library as a democratic,
fun place in which to read and discuss books outside the classroom. The
shadowing scheme helps children develop creative responses to reading and to
interact and debate their favourite books with other
young people and the website is an increasingly important tool to enable this.
“It provides an excellent resource for both children and
their group leaders,” says Joy, “It won’t just be the young people learning
about ICT as it’s also a great opportunity for
librarians and teachers to develop their online skills and to gain support and
ideas from colleagues across the UK.”
The new features have been made possible by the support of ALCS, the Authors’ Licensing & Collecting Society, and
provide an invaluable resource for both the shadowers
themselves and group leaders, linking ICT and reader
development.
Take a look at the CILIP demonstration group home page to see how
reading groups’ can develop their own homepage and identity.
There are already 3,600 shadowing groups registered for the
2009 awards, a significant increase of 400 from 2008. The shadowing scheme
officially kicks off on Friday 24 April, when the 2009 shortlists are
announced.
6 DATBLYGIAD PROFFESIYNOL / PROFESSIONAL
DEVELOPMENT
6.1 Free Sustainability
Case Studies Workshop - A
limited number of places are still available!
Join us for the free Ithaka/Strategic
Content Alliance joint-workshop on
The workshop will explore Ithaka's
recent project Case Studies in
Sustainability, which explores the wide range of sustainability
strategies that leaders of digital projects are employing today through a
series of eleven in-depth case studies drawn from the
Delegates from some of the world's greatest collections as
well as small to medium sized organisations will
gather at the workshop on Wednesday 25th
March from
RSVP at
http://survey.jisc.ac.uk/ithaka_sca-bmsw
6.2 A-Z index of 2009 CILIP courses
For full list please visit:
http://www.cilip.org.uk/training/training/2009/AZindex2009.htm
7. LLYFRGELL GENEDLAETHOL / NATIONAL LIBRARY OF
7.1 International
To commemorate World Book Day, on
The lunchtime talk will take place in the DRWM
beginning at
Admission is free with a ticket. You can book tickets online or through the
Library Shop by calling 01970 632 548. This event will be held in Welsh.
Nigel Owens – Hanner Amser
Thursday 5 March
Free entry with ticket
Event held in Welsh
01970 632 548
8 Y WASG / PRESS
8.1 Welsh councils' £625m in
reserves
Welsh local
councils have £625m in cash reserves with large variations between authorities,
BBC Wales has learned.
Savings are kept for future projects
and to cope with emergencies.
Gwynedd had the highest proportion of cash
reserves compared to the total budget: just under £48m out of a budget last
year of more than £198m, or 24%.
Councils said they were bringing
forward spending on projects to help counter the recession and they had to
prepare for cutbacks in their funding.
Gwynedd is planning to spend £37m from its
reserves on specific projects in the future, while keeping £11m for
emergencies.
Freedom of
Carmarthenshire, Denbighshire and Pembrokeshire had 18% of their annual budget in reserves
and Neath Port Talbot, Blaenau
Gwent and
Bridgend and Caerphilly
had the lowest, around 7%.
The Welsh Assembly Government, which
provides local councils with most of their funding, is itself holding only 1%
in cash reserves this year.
Critics, including Wrexham AM Leslie
She called on the auditor general to
consider whether local authorities should have guidelines on their level of
reserves and argued that the assembly government might need to issue advice on
the matter.
The assembly government agreed that
there were large differences between how councils were handling the recession
in their areas.
Local Government Minister Brian
Gibbons warned against telling councils how to spend their money.
"There is certainly
professional guidance out there already through the accounting agencies and the
finance officers of local authorities so, if they're professional on the job,
they know what makes economic sense for them," he said.
"I think it would be a bit
dangerous, at this particular stage, for us to be micro-managing the finances
of individual local authorities," Dr Gibbons added.
But ministers said that councils
should bring forward spending on projects where possible, as the assembly and
'Fundamentally
flawed'
The Welsh Local Government
Association (WLGA) insisted this was already
happening in many cases.
And it argued there were cutbacks of
£500m projected for the assembly government's budget and this would inevitably
have an impact on local government finances.
WLGA chief executive Steve Thomas said
councils needed to prepare for this.
He said: "From our point of
view, the reserves have been built up and are there because of statutory
guidance from the Wales Office.
"They'll be used to help people
during the recession, but will also be phased-in during a period of time within
communities.
"So we've got to make sure
we've got a sustainable local government in
"The lessons of the last two
years prove that strategy is fundamentally flawed."
WLGA leader Cllr
John Davies said it was "incredulous" that councils were being
questioned over their reserve levels "when it is these same reserves that
will play such a vital role in ensuring financial risks can be managed".
The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) said councils should use their surpluses to provide
short-term loans to small businesses unable to get funding from banks.
They FSB
said this would be an effective way of boosting the economy during the
recession.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/wales_politics/7914591.stm
8.2 Half polled support Welsh laws
Nearly half of the
people questioned in a poll commissioned for BBC Wales say they support the
need to create new laws to encourage the Welsh language.
The assembly government is currently
seeking permission from
Of the 1,000 people polled by ICM, 47% agreed there was a need for new laws, 29% thought
they were not required and just under a quarter were undecided.
Heritage Minister Alun Ffred Jones said the support shown was
"heartening".
Initial plans in the assembly
government's legislative competence order (LCO) have
indicated that any future new law would be aimed at requiring more of the
public sector and some private businesses who provide
public services to provide more Welsh language services to their customers and
users.
The LCO,
which was first published in February, is the first stage in passing a Welsh
law (measure) and seeks to give the assembly government more powers over the
Welsh language.
Fluent speakers
Any handover of power would need the
approval of both the Welsh assembly and
In the ICM
poll, support for any new laws is strongest among Welsh speakers with around
75% of fluent speakers and 60% of those with some understanding of the language
agreeing with the need for new laws.
However, among the non-Welsh speakers
polled, there appears to be a fairly equal split between those who are opposed
(35%) and those who agree with the need to develop new laws.
Support for changes is strongest in
the north (56%) and the biggest opposition is in the south east (35%).
Mr Jones said the poll's results
reinforced the assembly government's belief that there is widespread support
for their proposals.
"We are only beginning to
discuss the measures, the laws, that will come from this therefore that level
of public debate is very heartening and it shows a growing maturity among Welsh
people," he said.
"The Welsh language belongs to
all of us. It is part of what we are and I think that people think there is a
need to use measures to support and to encourage it."
The Secretary of State for Wales
Paul Murphy said it was also important to look at the detailed results of a
consultation on the proposals.
"There is some detail with regard to the impact on
business in these difficult times which we are consulting on and that I guess
will be the main focus in the months ahead," he said.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/7918403.stm
Development Officer
Chartered Institute of Library and
07837 032 536