1. Who We Are
1.1. The Initiative for Nature Conservation Cymru (INCC) was founded in 2018 as a charitable incorporated organisation (charity number: 1180113). Our vision is of ‘a Wales with more wildlife in more places, created by a society that intrinsically values the natural world’.
1.2. INCC was formed in response to the growing need for a truly independent nature conservation organisation for Wales. An organisation that was able to speak out and challenge environmental decision makers to do more for wildlife and nature conservation in Wales. To help achieve this we undertake a wide variety of nature conservation activities, including:
• Targeted species and habitat conservation projects
• Research, surveys and monitoring
• Practical habitat management and landowner advisory
• Community engagement and education
• Advocacy and campaigns
1.3. To remain uncompromised and objective we do not seek or accept direct funding from Welsh Government or its statutory environmental body. Instead, INCC relies on the generosity of individual supporters, grant giving trusts and foundations.
2. The Welsh Language
2.1. Wales is a bilingual country and its language forms a major part of its cultural identity. INCC is committed to ensuring we communicate with the people of Wales in both Welsh and English wherever possible. The ability to communicate in the Welsh language is also an important and valuable tool to engage with new audiences and communities in Wales and to gain further support for our work. According to the Welsh Language Commissioner’s Office, and based on the 2011 Census, 23% of children between the ages of 3 and 4, 38% between 5-9 years and 42% between 10 and 14 years can speak Welsh. Around 600,000 people in Wales currently speak Welsh and the Welsh Government has set a target of getting a million Welsh speakers by 2050.
2.2. INCC will endeavour to treat the English and Welsh languages on the basis of equality.
3. INCC’s Position
3.1. INCC recognises that:
• People can express themselves better in their preferred language of communication.
• Making our members, supporters and the general public, feel welcome to use their preferred language is a matter of good practice and customer care.
• In the spirit of the of equality expressed in the Welsh Language Act, our members, supporters and the general public may choose whether they wish to communicate with us in English or Welsh.
3.2. INCC recognises that this Welsh language Policy can contribute towards the charity’s effectiveness in delivering in Wales in the following ways:
• It can allow the Trust to operate in a more inclusive manner, making links with local communities and individuals throughout the country, thus improving opportunities for fundraising, for public engagement and volunteering.
• It can assist INCC’s activity in the Public Affairs field, by ensuring that INCC is seen as an organisation which understands the particular circumstances in Wales, and has adapted to meet its particular needs.
• It can assist the work of INCC’s outreach, education and community engagement, by ensuring that bilingual material is available to a wide a range of audiences and that no individual is disadvantaged in engaging with us on the basis of language
• It can assist INCC in gaining media coverage.
• It can assist the decision-making process within INCC by prompting staff to ask whether we are communicating effectively with all the communities of Wales, and whether its relationship with present and potential supporters can be improved.
• INCC is unable to provide all services in Welsh at present. However, we will ensure that our staff are sensitive to the issue of language preference and that we strive to provide the maximum opportunity for people to use their preferred language. If this is not immediately possible, the options will be explained fully and politely.
In order to give effect to the principles set out in the Policy,
INCC has adopted the following guidelines:
4. General
4.1. First contact with the organisation creates a lasting impression. INCC will aim to give people the impression that they are welcome to use either English or Welsh in communicating with us.
4.2. INCC uses and promotes our bilingual logo on all literature produced by the charity, including headed notepaper, press releases, leaflets etc.
5. Publications, signs, stationery and publicity
5.1. All temporary signage at events (e.g. information posters) should be bilingual.
5.2. All stationery (on paper and virtual) used by INCC should be bilingual. This includes letterheads, business cards, compliment slips etc.
5.3. All leaflets and forms produced by INCC for the general public should be bilingual.
5.4. The Natur Cymru magazine is a major way of communicating with supporters and the people of Wales about INCC’s work and the wider nature conservation sector. Given its importance, INCC has produced its own Natur Cymru Welsh Language Position Statement.
5.5. All press releases issued by INCC should be bilingual.
6. Online material
6.1. Currently INCC’s website has a relatively small amount of Welsh language content, including press releases, annual reports and articles. As INCC develops, we commit to providing more Welsh language content on our website.
6.2 Social media is a high-turnover platform for instant as well as scheduled information sharing. INCC will endeavour to post in both English and Welsh for selected, scheduled, posts- but we recognise that in many cases posts created or shared by INCC will depend on the language capabilities of the individual administrator.
7. Correspondence
7.1. Circular letters sent to significant numbers of people including to our own members, members of public authorities, should be bilingual.
7.2. Replies to written correspondence will be made in the language of the original letter, whether that is English or Welsh. Staff who are not confident in writing Welsh should seek the help from a professional translator.
7.3. INCC produces a substantial amount of digital newsletter content. At present INCC does not have the resource to translate all newsletter content (when it cannot be done in house) without materially reducing the amount of content shared. For this reason at present, not all digital newsletter content is bilingual. However as we grow, we will prioritise resourcing this. Requests for grant funding will include budget lines to cover translation of newsletters.
7.4. INCC staff email signatures and out of office replies must be bilingual.
8. Telephone calls
8.1. The telephone answering machine at the Welsh Office should have a bilingual greeting, and messages in English or Welsh should be answered as soon as possible.
8.2. Wherever possible telephone calls to the main INCC office should be answered with a bilingual greeting, or a bilingual answering machine message.
9. Staff Recruitment
9.1. INCC recognises that the Welsh language is an important skill to help us deliver our work and our campaigns and messages, and we recognise the need for more Welsh speaking staff and volunteers. As a result, we will advertise our posts bilingually and will state that the Welsh language is desirable / essential depending on the post in hand.
10. Training and Development
10.1. INCC will work to ensure that all members of staff and key volunteers will receive an induction and training to ensure that they fully understand, commit to and implement this Welsh Language Policy.
10.2. Training and support will be given in the use of Welsh language on the phone and in greetings. Should staff wish to extend their use of the Welsh language within their role, line managers will discuss the training and support needs and support them to the best of INCC’s ability.
11. Quality control
11.1. The Welsh used in INCC’s publications, signs etc should be clear, correct and easily comprehensible to a normal Welsh speaker.
11.2. Large pieces of translation should normally be carried out by an external professional translator familiar with ecological terms and phrases. We will source such translations via approved translators from The Association of Welsh Translators and Interpreters.
12. Review
12.1. These guidelines will be reviewed on an annual basis, and, if thought appropriate, amended.
Signed on Behalf of INCC Trustees:
Name: Lyndsey
Date: 09/12/2020
First adopted by INCC Trustees on 9th December 2020
