I like the wording of the first petition that we're discussing particularly. The point has been made that the language is florid and important. It calls on the Welsh Government to create a common body of knowledge about the history of Wales that every pupil would be taught. And the second petition is related to that, because it asks for the histories of black people and people of colour to be taught in the Welsh curriculum.

Now, the idea of creating a common body of knowledge is crucial. The petition is speaking literally here and talking about certain incidents in Welsh history being taught in all parts of the country. But there is also a broader meaning: a common body, a corpus of knowledge, being created. Yes, a collection of sources, of events, but the issues that have formed the corpus of the nation and formed the population—a common body, the identity of the nation, the population's awareness. Because neither petition talks about the need to teach children about the history of others—no, it's learning about the history of the people of Wales, people from all sorts of different backgrounds, which are all part of that common corpus, an identity with diverse layers, where each and every one of them forms a whole. The wording reminds us that history does connect us, yes, but it also connects us with our past. It's history that has made us, for better and for worse. It's history that provides us with our roots. We can learn lessons, it enhances each and every one of us, but only if we hear about and learn about those histories can that happen.

Before the summer recess, we in Plaid Cymru staged a debate on this issue, setting out why it is so hugely important for young people to learn about the histories of their nation. And I use the word 'histories', as has already been said in this debate, because there is no strand of history that is more important than the others. Indeed, the children of Wales need to learn the histories of those people who didn't write the history books. As I said in that debate before the summer, unless every child in Wales learns about the important issues within our nation's history, then this can deprive whole generations of their sense of identity—they won't see themselves in the corpus. And that is just as true about the drowning of Capel Celyn, the history of Glyndŵr and the investiture, and Wales's relationship with slavery, and the cultural and industrial histories of areas such as Tiger Bay.

Since the summer there have been some developments that are to be welcomed, and I was discussing some of these with Dr Elin Jones recently. She's already been mentioned, and she chaired the taskforce on Welsh history in 2013. And I agree with her that there is reason to welcome the appointment of Professor Charlotte Williams to review the resources available to support teachers to assist them to plan lessons on histories of people of colour and black people's history. This can lead to delivering the recommendation of that report on developing pupils' awareness of the multicultural and multi-ethnic Wales in which we live, and guarantee that the children of Wales will not be deprived of information about their own history. And this is important, Llywydd, for our nation more generally. Unless Welsh histories are taught in our schools, then students won't learn about those subjects at university either, and this can lead to a further decline in the number of Welsh history centres and Celtic study centres within our universities. That would have an inevitable impact on national knowledge and the way the nation portrays itself on the world stage.

Given the awful decline of the University of Wales, it's important that we protect the Centre for Advanced Welsh and Celtic Studies, the University of Wales Press and the Gregynog higher education centre. This is all interrelated. If there is no enthusiasm or expertise on Welsh history—those Welsh histories that we're discussing—it will weaken the whole concept of Wales and its academic rigour. We need to secure the future of our nation and our centres of expertise, and to create new centres of excellence and departments for Celtic studies, not just in Wales but across the world. This is what we are discussing today and this is the start of that process to create a common corpus to guarantee the awareness of our young people of their identity. I very much hope that our legislature, the Senedd, will agree on the importance of that. Thank you.