Therefore the next item is the 90-second statements, and the first of those comes from Sioned Williams.

Thank you, Llywydd. Monday of this week was the International Day of Education, a day that celebrates the role of education in terms of promoting peace and development worldwide. The International Day of Education this year takes place once again during the COVID-19 pandemic and, as Plaid Cymru's spokesperson on post-16 education, I'd like to take this opportunity to congratulate the sector in Wales for continuing to collaborate at an international level despite the challenges that the pandemic has posed. ColegauCymru CollegesWales, for example, is supporting further education colleges, such as Neath Port Talbot College in my region, to integrate international activities and partnerships into the daily lives of learners and staff, and the international learning exchange programme for Wales places a firm emphasis on the value of international exchange programmes in the further education sector as well as in higher education and on providing opportunities that broaden horizons and change lives here and worldwide.

As we emerge from the pandemic, we must ensure that people of all ages can improve their opportunities through upskilling or retraining and changing course. Our further education sector and community education are experts on this, and need to be fully supported to achieve these aims.

As well as COVID, too many nations are also facing war, famine and poverty—problems in which western nations, such as the UK, have often played a part. As we mark International Day of Education therefore, we should challenge ourselves and the leaders of the world's powers to ensure that the best possible environment for education—an environment that promotes peace and social justice—is nurtured and developed. Thank you.

Next today we have Heledd Fychan.

Thank you, Llywydd. Yesterday, as noted by many of my fellow Members, the nation celebrated the Urdd's centenary. And we heard, through our Llywydd's excellent singing, that, as part of the celebrations, people of all ages were part of the Urdd's successful attempt to break two world records by singing 'Hei Mistar Urdd'.

For me, the challenge summed up perfectly the Urdd's great strength, namely the organisation's role in promoting the Welsh language as a living, fun language that belongs to everyone, something that is just as relevant and important today as it was when the organisation was established back in 1922 by Sir Ifan ab Owen Edwards. As he noted in an issue of Cymru'r Plant in 1922,

'Now in many villages, and almost every town in Wales, children play through the medium of English, they read English books, and they forget that they are Welsh.'

The organisation's aim, therefore, was to safeguard the Welsh language in a world where English was increasingly dominating the lives of children in Wales. Over the decades that followed, the organisation went from strength to strength, leading to the establishment of the Urdd Eisteddfod, the residential centres in Llangrannog, Glan Llyn and now Cardiff, as well as a whole host of activities such as sports clubs, volunteering opportunities and humanitarian work. More recently, the Urdd played a prominent role in supporting refugees from Afghanistan, as well as ensuring access to the Urdd for all by offering membership for £1 to young people in receipt of free school meals.

As the organisation evolves, millions of children and young people in Wales have benefited from its work. And because of this evolution, the organisation is as important and relevant today as it was in 1922. We wish the Urdd every success for the next 100 years.

And on the same theme, Carolyn Thomas.

Thank you. As we celebrate 100 years of the Urdd, I want to read a short extract from Urdd Gobaith Cymru Treuddyn, celebrating 100 years. Just over 100 years ago, Ifan ab Owen Edwards, from near Bala, wrote passionately about the plight of the Welsh language and culture. He was concerned that many children were reading and playing in English. They were forgetting they were Welsh, and so he proposed the establishment of new organisation for young people aimed at keeping the language alive and making young people aware of their responsibilities to it. Ifan invited readers of Cymru'r Plant, a monthly magazine he produced for children, to join his new movement, Urdd Gobaith Cymru, and the response exceeded expectations. By the end of 1922, the names of 720 new members had appeared in the magazine, with hundreds more waiting to join.

It was a girl who became the first general—remember, this reflected the style of the times, just after the first world war. She was Marian Williams, and did not, as one would expect, come from the heart of Welsh Wales, but from a farm, Fferm y Llan, in Treuddyn, Flintshire. Marian made history by organising her enlisted members into a group that met regularly once a week, and so, without any pressure, or even any suggestion from the founder, the first Urdd branch, or adran, came into being.

Sixteen-year-old Marian was a talented musician and writer who loved to write dramas for children. She was passionate about the movement and cycled round many houses recruiting members. She kept them busy practising songs, dances and recitations. She also wrote plays for them to perform. Thank you. 

Well done, Marian, and all Urdd members throughout the years.