Dyma'r Urdd

An introduction to Urdd Gobaith Cymru, a youth movement founded in 1922 – and still going strong - to promote the use of the Welsh language through social and cultural activities.

Welcome to the youth movement Urdd Gobaith Cymru, its triangular logo using the three colours of the Welsh flag to symbolise its ethos: service to Wales (green), service to humanity (red) and service to Christ (white). The movement was inaugurated in 1922 by Ifan ab Owen Edwards, an academic and writer, to promote amongst children and young people these ideals of service and to develop their mental, physical and spiritual capacities through the medium of Welsh.

Ifan ab Owen Edwards had inherited from his father – O M Edwards, Chief Inspector of Education for Wales – a commitment to the Welsh language and culture and to the fostering of both amongst the nation's youth. Urdd Gobaith Cymru (Wales' League of Hope) was a popular movement commonly known as 'the Urdd' that went from strength to strength and by the time this film was made in the 1970s, it was a well established part of the lives of Welsh-speaking children, with its own annual, national eisteddfod (cultural festival).