In relation to increasing use of the language, last year, a memorandum of understanding was signed between the Welsh Government and the Welsh Language Commissioner. All of the work being done by our grant partners in our communities continues to give opportunities to people of all abilities to use Welsh. And the Welsh Government is developing an internal strategy to become a bilingual organisation by 2050. And in terms of infrastructure, we all know how important a solid technological foundation is in any language, and we've been taking steps under the Welsh language technology action plan, launched in October 2018.

From reading the report you'll see that its scope is very broad, and touches on portfolios across the Government. Donning my cap as Minister for international relations, I'm always looking for exciting opportunities for joint working between the Welsh language and international portfolios. You'll have heard about our work celebrating the UNESCO Year of Indigenous Languages last year, and the superb conference Gŵyl Ein Llais yn y Byd, the Our Voice in the World Festival, was held in November in Aberystwyth.

I want Wales to be seen leading on language planning, thus building on the reputation we already have internationally, and why we're setting up Prosiect 2050. And there’s a lot of collaboration between Wales and other countries that promote languages. We are members of the European network to promote linguistic diversity, and lead the British-Irish Council languages group.

By travelling abroad and seeing what we're doing in Wales through other people's eyes, it becomes evident that we have a tendency in general to think negatively about what we're doing here in relation to the Welsh language. There is a tendency amongst some people to speak of 'protecting' and 'loss' and the 'death' of the language, rather than 'celebrating' and 'growing' and 'planning'. I do think that it's important that we raise our sight and our aspirations.

But what I've seen from speaking to others is that Wales and the Welsh language are an inspiration to the speakers of other languages, and that they continue to learn about our plans for acquiring Welsh and promoting its use. Of course, we also have lessons to learn from Ireland and Scotland and the Basque Country as we consider how we convey ourselves to our fellow Welsh people and the world at large.

The story of the Welsh language can so easily be one of fun, positivity, unity and support, where we work together to reach a million speakers. Look at how members of our international women's football team are learning Welsh together and sharing their journey on social media as an example of that. And I'm looking forward to seeing the language taking a prominent place once again at the Euros next summer, just as it was in 2016.

There’s no doubt that we can do more to create favourable conditions to encourage people to use Welsh. Research conducted a few years ago suggested that some people said they weren't very confident in their Welsh and were afraid of being criticised—even though they hadn't, perhaps, had that experience themselves. So there's something holding them back, and that's disappointing to me. Welsh is a language for everyone in Wales, and sometimes, we have to take a look at ourselves, and make every effort to break down any barriers that prevent people from taking part. We need to turn 'them' into 'us'

We are developing our understanding of people’s behaviour in relation to language, of the types of messages that motivate people and make it easier for them to use Welsh—socially, in the family, the school community or the workplace. Reaching a million speakers will mean creating new speakers. And we have a good track record in Wales of welcoming people to Welsh. Our immersion centres for latecomers to Welsh-medium education have broken new ground and are a national treasure. And if we go back to the last time we had about a million Welsh speakers, at the start of the twentieth century, our communities played an important role in integrating people who moved to Wales. A number of them became keen advocates for the language. And that’s an important message for us to remember as we think of how we speak about Welsh. 

I want to put Wales and the Welsh language on the map as being modern, welcoming and vibrant. Our bilingualism can be a genuine advantage economically. We have a bilingual workforce, a unique culture and a story to tell. That’s why I'm presenting this annual report to you and why I'm proud of what we've achieved. And I want to pay tribute as well to the Minister who was my predecessor who was partly responsible for this period. We're not just proud about this reporting period, but since then, as well as our plans for the future. Young people—all of us, truth be told—identify with success, with hope for a bright future, and we have to show them that the Welsh language is one of those success stories.