As part of its centenary celebrations, Urdd Gobaith Cymru set an ambitious global goal: to share its annual Peace and Goodwill message in 100 languages, reaching young people in over 100 countries.
To achieve this, the Welsh youth organisation turned to long-standing translation partner, Wolfestone.
Urdd Gobaith Cymru is Wales’ largest national youth organisation, supporting young people to make positive contributions to their communities through the Welsh language. Since its founding in 1922, more than four million young people have taken part in Urdd activities, from residential camps to cultural festivals such as the Urdd Eisteddfod.
For over 100 years, Urdd’s Peace and Goodwill Message has offered a powerful annual statement from the youth of Wales to the youth of the world. Each year, the message focuses on a major issue affecting young people, ranging from world wars to climate change, equality and social justice.
In 2022, to mark its 100th anniversary, Urdd set out to make its message more global than ever before. The goal: to translate the message into 100 languages, enabling it to reach more communities and cultures than ever.
Urdd had worked with Wolfestone on previous projects and knew the team could handle both the scale and the sensitivity of this translation.
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Welsh-based with global reach
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Specialists in creative and cultural translation
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Capability to translate into 220+ language pairs
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Experienced in handling high-profile, multilingual campaigns
Wolfestone were able to handle every aspect of this complex project. We knew we were in safe hands.
Wolfestone developed a bespoke briefing process to ensure the poetic tone and intent of the message were preserved across all target languages.
The Urdd team contributed additional context, allowing our linguists to fully understand the cultural and emotional significance behind the words.
The 2022 Peace and Goodwill Message focused on the climate emergency, a globally relevant topic. With Wolfestone’s support, it was translated into major global languages like Gujarati, Japanese and Polish, as well as culturally specific ones, such as Hebrew.
- 100 languages delivered to deadline
- Message shared across social media in multiple languages
- Reach extended to new communities and faith groups
- Significant engagement from countries facing crisis, including Ukraine and Russia
This project marked the largest global reach of the Peace and Goodwill message to date, amplifying the voices of young Welsh people to an international audience.
Urdd continues to work with Wolfestone on multilingual campaigns, confident in our ability to combine scale with sensitivity. From high-volume language delivery to tailored creative translation, we remain proud to support a partner whose values align so closely with our own.
Looking to share your message with the world?
Whether you need creative translation, multilingual campaign support, or culturally sensitive localisation, we can help. Contact us today for a free quote, test piece or consultation.
