Translate the text from Welsh to English.



 
### Cyflwyniad


Noswaith dda pawb – good evening everyone.


Diolch i Lynette a David am eu cyflwyniadau, a diolch yn fawr iawn i’r Sefydliad Dysgu a Gwaith a’r Brifysgol Agored yng Nghymru am y gwahoddiad – yr anrhydedd – i  draddodi Darlith Goffa Raymond Williams eleni.


Yn wir, efallai fy mod i wedi colli cyfle fan yna.


Fel teyrnged i siaradwr y llynedd, ac un o’i rolau a’i ddynwarediadau enwocaf ar lwyfan a ffilm, dylwn i fod wedi dechrau gyda


“Hello, Good Evening, and Welcome”…


Ond o ddifrif, ar ôl cwrdd â Michael a thrafod democratiaeth ac addysg yng Nghymru, dwi’n gwybod ei fod yn rhannu fy angerdd am ymestyn cyfle, grymuso pob dinesydd i gymryd rhan lawn mewn trafodaeth a sgwrs, ac i herio diddordebau a buddiannau breintiedig.


Wrth gwrs, nid yw ei awch am newid yn rhywbeth cwbl anghyfarwydd ymhlith wynebau blaenllaw Hollywood a’r celfyddydau creadigol.


Un rhagflaenydd o’r fath oedd Orson Welles – roedd yn arloeswr o ran sicrhau cyfleoedd i actorion a llenorion du, ymhlith llu o gyflawniadau eraill.


Yn yr wythnos hon \- pen\-blwydd ei farwolaeth \- mae yna ffilm ddogfen newydd ar ei fywyd yn cael ei dangos mewn sinemâu ledled y DU.


Ac mae’n cynnwys y dyfyniad hwn ganddo, yng Nghynhadledd Addysg Oedolion Los Angeles 1942


“Adult education must first enlist in the war against provincialism.


“Educators, which means every one of us in possession of the instruments of education, are sworn to the tremendous task of telling people about each other – about their works, which are called wisdom and culture.”


Addysg, democratiaeth a chymdeithas \- maen nhw yno i gyd yn y dyfyniad byr a chraff hwnnw.


Ac, wrth gwrs, mae’n rhagflaenu ond yn ategu chwyldro hir Raymond Williams, ynghylch y modd rydym ni’n gweld ein byd, ein lle ynddo, sut mae hynny’n cael ei wneud yn real neu’n cael ei newid gan gyfathrebu a diwylliannau torfol, a sut mae diwylliant sefydledig o ddemocratiaeth yn rhagofyniad ar gyfer cyfiawnder cymdeithasol.


A byddaf yn dychwelyd at y pwyntiau hyn yn y man.


Pe bai Raymond Williams yma heno, efallai y byddai wedi synnu o weld Democrat Rhyddfrydol yn crybwyll ei enw a rhai o’i syniadau. Ond yn ei ddadansoddiad diwylliannol a’i ffuglen, datblygodd ffyrdd o weld y byd, a syniadau ar gyfer ei newid, a ddenodd – ac sy’n parhau i ddenu – radicaliaid o bob lliw a llun.


Mae ei gydnabyddiaeth o gryfderau elfennau amrywiol radicaliaeth Gymreig, ei feirniadaeth o rannau ceidwadol y chwith law yn llaw â’i wrthwynebiad chwyrn i geidwadaeth, a’i haeriad bod y chwith Seisnig yn anghywir yn rhy aml pan fyddant yn diystyru cymunedau gwledig, yn elfennau dwi’n eu hadnabod yn rhy dda!


### Cyd\-destun


Byddaf, wrth reswm, yn trafod addysg oedolion a’i bwysigrwydd a’i ddylanwad heno.


Fel y bydd llawer ohonoch yn gwybod, mae’r cysylltiad rhwng y campws a’r gymuned wedi bod wrth wraidd fy agenda ar gyfer addysg uwch yn arbennig.


Dwi’n falch o weld cynnydd prifysgolion Cymru o ran adennill ymdeimlad o genhadaeth ddinesig – ond mae llawer i’w wneud o hyd.


Ac mae mynd i’r afael â’r dirywiad mewn addysg oedolion – fel rhan o’r broses o newid cymdeithasol a democratiaeth ar ei newydd wedd, heb fod yn gyfyngedig i’r her bwysig o ddatblygu sgiliau – yn rhan annatod o’r genhadaeth barhaus hon.


Fodd bynnag, fel Gweinidog y Cabinet â phortffolio sy’n cynnwys pawb o’n dinasyddion ieuengaf, pobl ifanc yn eu harddegau i fyfyrwyr prifysgol a choleg o bob oed, dwi’n awyddus i wrthdroi’r dulliau a’r dadansoddiad confensiynol. Dwi’n gobeithio y byddwch chi’n barod i mi wneud hynny.


Yma yng Nghymru, rydym yn cyflwyno’r casgliad unigol mwyaf o ddiwygiadau addysg yn unman yn y DU ers yr Ail Ryfel Byd.


* Diwygio ein cwricwlwm a’n trefniadau asesu;
* Ail\-lunio’r elfennau pwy, ble a beth ym maes hyfforddiant athrawon;
* Darparu cyllid myfyrwyr sy’n unigryw yn Ewrop ar gyfer cefnogi pob myfyriwr a phob dull dysgu;
* Newid y strwythurau cenedlaethol ar gyfer addysg ôl\-orfodol i ddymchwel y rhwystrau sy’n ein hatal rhag cydweithio i ddiwallu anghenion dysgwyr; a
* Lleihau maint dosbarthiadau a rhoi’r adnoddau i athrawon sydd eu hangen arnynt i fod y gorau y gallant fod fel addysgwyr a dysgwyr gydol oes.


A llawer mwy, wrth i ni symud ymlaen â’n cenhadaeth genedlaethol i godi safonau, lleihau’r bwlch cyrhaeddiad a chyflwyno system sy’n destun balchder cenedlaethol a hyder ymhlith y cyhoedd.


Ond, beth ydw i’n ei olygu wrth sôn am wrthdroi’r dadansoddiad confensiynol?


Dwi ddim am edrych ar addysg oedolion fel disgyblaeth sydd wedi’i rhoi o’r neilltu – yn ei bocs ei hun yn rhywle, nad yw’n gysylltiedig â’r genhadaeth genedlaethol honno.


Nid yw’n genhadaeth sy’n dod i ben wrth gatiau’r ysgol.


Yn wir, dwi am ddisgrifio sut mae traddodiad a chenhadaeth hanesyddol addysg – addysg oedolion – sydd wedi’i gwreiddio mewn cymuned, diwylliant a dinasyddiaeth yng Nghymru yn hanfodol i siâp newydd ein system addysg orfodol.


Dwi’n gwerthfawrogi na fydd llawer ohonoch chi yma yn y gynulleidfa hon yn gwbl gyfarwydd â’r holl ddiwygiadau hynny, megis y cwricwlwm newydd, er enghraifft.  

Ond rwyf am fanteisio ar y cyfle heno i ddisgrifio fy ymrwymiad i’r diwygiadau hynny.


A pham, a sut, mae’r ymrwymiad hwnnw – personol, polisi ac ie, gwleidyddol – yn cael ei ddylanwadu gan y traddodiadau a’r dibenion hynny.


Rydym yn llunio system sy’n cael ei phweru gan ddibenion a’r math o ddinasyddion yr hoffem eu gweld.


Dwi’n gobeithio, ac yn credu, bod hyn yn ailadrodd yr hyn y byddai Williams wedi’i ystyried yn genhadaeth addysg a oedd heb os yn sicrhau mynediad i’n “national inheritance, available to everyone”.


Felly, dwi eisiau ehangu ychydig ar y cysylltiad hwnnw,


* Beth mae’n ei olygu i ddinasyddiaeth fodern,
* Sut mae’n rhaid i ni gadarnhau’r lles cyffredin a’r buddiannau cyffredin ac osgoi eithafion dianghenraid rhyddfrydiaeth hunaniaeth a chwithiaeth;
* A beth mae’n rhaid i hyn ei olygu ar gyfer symudedd cymdeithasol a newid cymdeithasol.


### Dinasyddiaeth Fodern


Byddwn yn cyhoeddi’r cwricwlwm ysgol newydd – sy’n cael ei greu ar y cyd gydag athrawon, prifysgolion, arbenigwyr rhyngwladol a’r gymdeithas ddinesig – adeg y Pasg 2019\.


Yna bydd ar gael ar gyfer profion ac adborth, gyda phob ysgol yn cael mynediad i’r cwricwlwm terfynol o 2020 ymlaen, gan roi cyfle iddyn nhw baratoi’n llawn a bod yn barod ar gyfer ei gyflwyno’n statudol ym mis Medi 2022\.


Bydd ein cwricwlwm newydd yn cynrychioli’r hyn rydym ni ei eisiau – yr hyn rydym ni’n ei ddisgwyl – i’n dinasyddion i fod yn y dyfodol, i wybod, ac i fod ar eu hennill diolch i’w hathrawon.


Ond mae’r broses o gydweithio i lunio’r cwricwlwm hwnnw yn cynrychioli’r hyn rydym ni eisiau ei gael gan ein system addysg hefyd.


Proffesiwn sy’n cydweithio; sy’n agored i syniadau newydd; sy’n dysgu bob amser ac sy’n ceisio codi safonau ar gyfer pob disgybl.


Ac rydym yn esiampl ryngwladol o’r modd y gellir ymgymryd â diwygiadau addysg blaengar trwy gydweithio, creadigrwydd a hyder.


Dwi wedi bod yn ddigon ffodus i gwrdd â Gweinidogion, athrawon ac addysgwyr o bob rhan o Ewrop a Gogledd America dros y misoedd diwethaf ac maent yn gwylio gyda diddordeb brwd, ac yn awyddus i ddysgu o’n dull ni o weithredu.


Er mae arna’i ofn nad yw’r diddordeb hwn a’r awydd i ddysgu yn wir am ein ffrindiau dros y ffin!


Wrth lunio’r cwricwlwm gyda’n gilydd, rydym ni’n buddsoddi mewn cenhadaeth a rennir i ysbrydoli:


* Dysgwyr uchelgeisiol, galluog sy’n barod i ddysgu trwy gydol eu bywydau.
* Cyfranwyr creadigol a mentrus sy’n barod i chwarae rhan lawn mewn bywyd a gwaith.
* Dinasyddion moesegol a gwybodus sy’n barod i fod yn ddinasyddion Cymru a’r byd; ac
* Unigolion iach a hyderus sy’n barod i fyw bywydau llawn fel aelodau gwerthfawr o gymdeithas.


Yn fy marn i, mae’r pedwar diben hwn yn dwyllodrus o syml.


Mewn gwirionedd, maent yn haeriad radical o hanfodion addysg.


Ond nid mor radical fel eu bod yn gwbl newydd.


Yn wir, gellir tynnu llinell yn ôl i Culture and Society a’r hyn a gynigiodd Williams fel “a full liberal education for everyone”.


Ysgrifennodd:


“Our specialisms will be finer if they have grown from a common culture, rather then being a distinction from it.


And we must at all costs avoid the polarization of our culture, of which there are growing signs.


Every man’s ignorance diminishes me, and every man’s skill is a common gain of breath.’


Rydym yn ffodus bod gennym system addysg gwasanaeth cyhoeddus ffyniannus a theg yma yng Nghymru.


Wrth gwrs, daw heriau’n sgil hyn.


Yn wahanol i systemau eraill, nid ydym yn gwneud penderfyniad ymwybodol i ddiystyru cyfran sylweddol o ddisgyblion a dewis pwy sy’n ennill a cholli pan fyddant yn 11 oed.


Mae gennym argyhoeddiad moesol.


Addysg gyfun annetholus lle mae sgiliau, gallu a dysgu pob dinesydd yn gwella lles pawb.


Ceir heriau wrth geisio codi safonau i bawb – dim esgusodion, dim disgwyliadau is, dim eithriadau – ond mae’n hanfodol i’n hymdeimlad o bwy ydym ni, addysg i bawb, ac i’r genedl.


Mae’r argyhoeddiad hwn – a’r berthynas â’r hyn a addysgir – yn cael eu mynegi ymhellach yn The Long Revolution.


Roedd syniadaeth Williams ym 1961 ar gyfer cwricwlwm ysgol newydd yn canolbwyntio ar:


* Hanfodion Saesneg a Mathemateg;
* Gwybodaeth gyffredinol amdanom ni ein hunain a’n hamgylchedd;
* Ymarfer ym maes gweithdrefnau democrataidd;
* A gwybodaeth nid yn unig fel disgyblaethau ar wahân ond a geir o’r disgyblaethau cyfnod uwch;


Cyferbynnu a chymharu â’n cwricwlwm seiliedig ar ddibenion yn yr unfed ganrif ar hugain,


* ar draws chwe maes dysgu a phrofiad yn hytrach na phynciau cul;
* yn canolbwyntio ar ddinasyddiaeth Cymru a’r byd;
* gyda safonau uwch o lythrennedd a rhifedd;
* a phobl ifanc sy’n fwy cymwys yn ddigidol ac yn ddwyieithog.


Mewn gwirionedd, nid oes fawr ddim cyferbyniad.


Byddwn yn dadlau ein bod yn bwrw ymlaen â hanfodion cwricwlwm Williams trwy ddiffiniadau newydd ar gyfer ein hoes gyfathrebu, ddiwylliannol a thechnolegol.


Ac os oedd angen prawf bod y Llywodraeth hon yng Nghymru, ac ie, y Gweinidog hwn sy’n Ddemocrat Rhyddfrydol, yn mynd ar drywydd y Chwyldro Hir hwnnw, yna cyflwynodd Williams ei ddiwygiadau ymarferol cychwynnol hefyd cyn newid y cwricwlwm – sef, ac rwy’n dyfynnu:


“Better provision for the training of teachers and for adequate school buildings and reducing the size of classes”


Fe welwch chi hyn oll yn fy Nghytundeb Blaengar gyda’r Prif Weinidog, yn rhaglen bolisi’r llywodraeth, ac yng nghynllun gweithredu’n cenhadaeth genedlaethol!


Gwn i Williams ysgrifennu ar un adeg am “fairly decent but also fairly modest Liberal party”


Wel, gan mai dim ond fi sydd yn y Senedd ac yn y Llywodraeth, does dim dwywaith ein bod yn ddi\-nod o ran diffiniad a maint... ond yn sicr nid yn ddi\-nod yn ein huchelgais i weddnewid addysg yng Nghymru!


### Lles Cyffredin A Buddiannau Cyffredin


Fodd bynnag, dwi eisiau trafod ‘rhyddfrydiaeth’ a’r berthynas rhwng hyrwyddo hunaniaeth gan y chwith rhyddfrydol ym maes addysg a beth allai hynny ei olygu i’n diwylliant a’n cymdeithas ddemocrataidd gyffredin.


Cyn i mi gychwyn y drafodaeth honno, gadewch imi egluro fy mod i’n ystyried buddugoliaethau gwleidyddiaeth flaengar i’n cymunedau amrywiol \- ffeministiaeth, cydraddoldeb LGBT, ymwybyddiaeth du, a datganoli democrataidd hyd yn oed – yn gyflawniadau sylfaenol y mae’n rhaid i ni eu dathlu a pheidio byth â bod yn hunanfodlon yn eu cylch.


Fel arweinydd Democratiaid Rhyddfrydol Cymru, roeddwn yn falch o gynnal trafodaeth gyntaf y Senedd erioed ar faterion trawsryweddol, ymhell cyn i’r trafodaethau hyn fod yn fwy prif ffrwd. Ac yn awr, fel Gweinidog Democratiaid Rhyddfrydol Cymru, dwi’n falch o fod yn llusgo ein cwricwlwm a’n rheolau ysgol i’r unfed ganrif ar hugain fel bod ein hysgolion yn llefydd cynhwysol sy’n parchu hawliau pob disgybl.


Ac wrth gwrs, mae addysg oedolion ei hun wedi bod yn rhan o’r broses honno o newid cymdeithasol a siapio agweddau cymdeithasol ers tro byd.


Ond mae pleidlais Brexit, pleidlais UKIP yn Etholiad Cyffredinol diwethaf Cymru ac, wrth gwrs, llwyddiant Trump yn yr Unol Daleithiau, yn dangos pa mor fregus yw’r datblygiadau hynny.


Mae’n amlwg, pan fydd pobl a chymunedau’n credu bod datblygiadau er budd eraill – yn hytrach nag er eu budd nhw, eu teuluoedd neu gymdeithas yn gyffredinol – byddant yn meddwl nad oes ganddyn nhw ddim i’w golli drwy wneud safiad yn eu herbyn – neu o leiaf anwybyddu’r sefyllfa pan fydd eraill yn ymosod ar y datblygiadau.


Fel y mae Mark Lilla, Athro yn Princeton, wedi dweud mewn perthynas â buddugoliaeth Trump:


“All of us liberals in higher education should take a long look in the mirror and ask ourselves how we contributed to putting the country in this situation. We must accept our share of responsibility.


But it extends beyond feeding the right\-wing media by tolerating attempts to control speech, limit debate and stigmatise and bully conservatives, as well as encouraging a culture of complaint that strikes people outside our privileged circles as comically trivial.”


We have distorted the liberal message to such a degree that it has become unrecognisable.”


Aiff ymlaen i ddweud bod y chwith a’r rhyddfrydwyr, ers buddugoliaeth Reagan, wedi:


“Thrown themselves into the movement politics of identity, losing a sense of what we share as citizens and what binds us as a nation.”


Nid yw mor syml â dweud, ‘newidiwch y gair America i Gymru neu’r DU’, ond byddwn yn dadlau bod yna gryn debygrwydd mewn sawl ffordd.


Ac yn hyn o beth, ni allwn ystyried addysg, democratiaeth a chymdeithas yn bethau ar wahân i’w gilydd.


Bûm yn ffodus iawn yn ddiweddar i gael cwrdd â Kerry Kennedy, Llywydd Sefydliad Hawliau Dynol RFK a merch Robert Kennedy, i drafod diwygio’r cwricwlwm. A byddaf yn dychwelyd at y gwaith hwnnw’n ddiweddarach yn fy sylwadau.


Aeth ewythr Kerry, sef Ted Kennedy, i’r afael â’r cydbwysedd gwleidyddol rhwng hunaniaeth a chyffredinedd yn y 1980au. Nododd yr her i’r glymblaid Ddemocrataidd fel hyn:


“There is a difference between being a party that cares about labour and being a labour party.


“There is a difference between being a party that cares about women and being a women’s party.


“And we can and we must be a party that cares about minorities without being a minority party.


“We are citizens first.”


Dwi’n credu y dylai’r system addysg Gymraeg roi ‘dinasyddion yn gyntaf’ hefyd.


Dyna pam, wrth dderbyn y swydd, fe wnes ailddatgan ymrwymiad y Llywodraeth i gwricwlwm newydd, a derbyniais gynigion Adolygiad Diamond y dylai cymorth i fyfyrwyr fod yn deg ar draws pob dull a lefel o astudio.


Fe wnaeth erthygl ddiweddar gan David Hughes, Prif Weithredwr yr Association of Colleges in England gryn argraff arnaf fi. Mewn dadl glir o blaid addysg oedolion ac addysg bellach, ysgrifennodd:


“People coming together to learn is often the only time and place they meet people from other walks of life, breaking down the barriers between people. It helps make people feel part of the community, introduces them to new friends and gives them support.”


Hynny yw, y cysyniad o addysg – addysg oedolion – fel ei ffurf ei hun o ofod cyhoeddus.


Yn yr ystafell ddosbarth, yn y gymuned, ac ar\-lein.


Yn archwilio a phrofi syniadau a thystiolaeth.


Mae hwn yn syniad twyllodrus o syml. Ond ar adeg pan fo’r syniad o drafodaeth seiliedig ar dystiolaeth wybodus, ac yn wir y syniad sylfaenol o wirionedd, o dan y lach gan rai, mae’n rhan angenrheidiol o’n democratiaeth a’n diwylliant.


Yn union fel y mae hyn yn wir o ran addysg oedolion, mae’n wir ar gyfer addysg wirioneddol gyfun nad yw’n seiliedig ar ddethol na gallu.


Yn yr un modd ag y mae yna her wleidyddol, mae yna her i addysg.


Mae Lilla’n gwneud y gymhariaeth uniongyrchol hon.


Dywed bod addysg flaengar, ryddfrydol hunan\-ddiffiniedig a oedd yn canolbwyntio ar ein gwahaniaethau’n rhy aml yn:


“Turns young people back onto themselves, rather than outward to the wider world. Unprepared to think about the common good and what must be done to secure it, especially the hard task of persuading people very different from themselves to join a common effort.”


Rwy’n ystyried – ac mae ein diwygiadau wedi’u seilio ar hyn – y broses addysg yn ymdrech gyffredin ei hun ac ar gyfer gwireddu lles cyffredin.


Ydyn, maen nhw’n cael eu siapio gan wahanol brofiadau, hunaniaethau a safbwyntiau. Heb os.


Ond ni all, ac ni ddylai, nodweddion gwahanol ddiffinio a chyfyngu ar y cyfleoedd sydd ar gael.


Mae’n rhaid i ni ochel rhag hyrwyddo ymwybyddiaeth hunaniaeth ryddfrydol fel bod yn bartner yn enciliad addysg ryddfrydol, eang, genedlaethol sy’n cynnwys pawb mewn ymdrech gyffredin.


Ymdrech gyffredin sy’n annog cwestiynu a herio.


Herio ffyrdd sefydledig o feddwl a threfnu.


Ond hefyd herio’r diffiniadau a’r gwahaniaethau hynny lle bo hynny’n briodol.


Bod yn chwilfrydig ynghylch eraill a’r byd ehangach y tu hwnt i’ch hunaniaeth eich hun – sut bynnag rydych chi’n dewis ei ddiffinio.


Cyfres gyffredin o ddibenion, ond yn seiliedig ar gyfuno’r wybodaeth a’r sgiliau sy’n galluogi dinasyddion unigol i ddod yn rhan o’r broses honno o newid cymdeithasol.


### Symudedd Cymdeithasol A Newid Cymdeithasol


Sy’n dod â mi at fy nhrydedd thema, a’r un derfynol \- symudedd cymdeithasol a newid cymdeithasol.


Fel y soniais yn gynharach, rydym ni’n adeiladu system addysg sy’n ceisio sicrhau tegwch a rhagoriaeth gyda’i gilydd.


Fel dwi wedi dweud yn glir, dwi’n credu y dylem ni fod yn falch ein bod wedi cyflwyno gwerthoedd a dibenion ein cenhadaeth addysg genedlaethol.


Fodd bynnag, dwi'r un mor glir bod rhaid i ni ochel rhag y syniad bod cael set o werthoedd yn amcan ynddo’i hun.


Yn anffodus, yn rhy aml mae yna rai sy’n gweld tegwch a chydraddoldeb  mewn addysg fel diben ynddo’i hun.


Ni allwn ganiatáu unrhyw fath o gonsensws blaengar clyd yn hyn o beth.


Dwi wedi sôn eitha’ tipyn am bedwar diben ein cwricwlwm.


Datblygiad pobl ifanc foesegol a gwybodus sy’n barod i gyfrannu a bod yn ddinasyddion.


Fy nadl i yw mai’r dibenion hynny yw’r sylfeini ar gyfer cyfiawnder cymdeithasol a newid cymdeithasol.


I rymuso’n dinasyddion ieuengaf gyda’r wybodaeth a’r sgiliau i newid cymdeithas, nid dim ond i ddeall cymdeithas a derbyn lle gallen nhw fod yn rhan ohoni.


Mae Sefydliad Hawliau Dynol RFK, fel y soniais yn gynharach, yn gwneud gwaith rhyngwladol ar ddatblygu’r cwricwlwm, gan gyflwyno materion hawliau dynol drwy straeon am bobl o bob cwr o’r byd.


Mae hyn wedyn yn grymuso myfyrwyr i gymryd rhan yn bersonol mewn materion yn ymwneud â hawliau ac eiriolaeth, trwy gysylltiadau rhwng mathemateg a threthiant corfforaethol, cyflenwad bwyd a llafur plant ac ati.


Teitl y gwaith hwn yw ‘Speaking Truth to Power \- Changing our World’ – sy’n cyfeirio’n ôl at fy thema flaenorol.


Os ydym ni’n canolbwyntio gormod ar ba focs y gallai myfyriwr berthyn iddo, yna ni fydd byth yn dianc o’r bocs hwnnw. Dyna pam y gwnes gymryd y cam i newid enw’r ‘Grant Amddifadedd Disgyblion’  i ‘Grant Datblygu Disgyblion’ – yr un adnoddau o hyd sy’n targedu ein disgyblion tlotaf yn uniongyrchol, ond gan ganolbwyntio ar gynnydd dysgwyr.


Fel y ysgrifennodd Williams ynghylch pwrpas addysg:


“The process of giving to the ordinary members of society its full common meanings, and the skills that will enable them to amend those meanings, in the light of their personal and common experience.”


Mae ein hysgolion, colegau, prifysgolion a dosbarthiadau addysg oedolion yn dwyn dinasyddion Cymru o bob lliw, credo a chefndir at ei gilydd.


Cânt eu dwyn ynghyd mewn ymdrech gyffredin ac yn fuan trwy gwricwlwm newydd a ddatblygir trwy ymdrech gyffredin.


Ond a yw’r ymdrech gyffredin honno’n sicrhau ein bod ni’n newid cymdeithas ac yn diwygio’r ystyron hynny fel y dywedodd Williams?


Y gwir amdani yw nad ydym ni yno eto.


* Rwy’n siŵr y bydd yn sioc i chi glywed bod gennym lai na 400 o athrawon o gefndir du neu leiafrifoedd ethnig yng Nghymru, a dim ond 4 pennaeth;
* Mae canran ein poblogaeth sydd â chymwysterau lefel uwch yn dal i fod 3% yn is na chyfartaledd y DU.
* Ac mae’r dilyniant i astudiaeth ôl\-raddedig yn rhai o’n cymunedau yn y Cymoedd yn hanner y gyfradd yma yng Nghaerdydd, gyda chyfran y bobl ifanc 18 oed sy’n mynd i addysg uwch yn y lle cyntaf ymhell ar ei hôl hi eisoes.


Tri maes yn unig yw’r rhain sy’n dangos yr heriau sy’n dal i fod o’n blaenau.


Fodd bynnag, dwi’n hyderus y bydd diwygiadau i gymorth i fyfyrwyr, ehangu llwybrau prentisiaeth a chyfleoedd hyfforddiant athrawon yn helpu i fynd i’r afael â’r rhain i ryw raddau.


Ond ymhellach, rwy’n cydnabod y rôl y mae’n rhaid i addysg oedolion ei chwarae wrth fynd i’r afael â’r meysydd hyn a meysydd eraill y genhadaeth genedlaethol.


Er enghraifft, rydym wedi cychwyn ar ddiwygiadau fel ein bod yn gwneud mwy i ddenu gweithwyr anhraddodiadol i’r proffesiwn addysgu.


Mae hyn yn cynnwys darparu cymhwyster addysgu rhan\-amser trwy fodel dysgu cyfunol. Bydd hyn yn sicrhau bod y ddarpariaeth yn niwtral yn ddaearyddol. Bydd yn galluogi myfyrwyr rhan\-amser i fanteisio ar y cyfleoedd a gynigir gan y trefniadau cyllid myfyrwyr newydd hefyd.


Ac mae’r diwygiadau cyllid myfyrwyr hynny yn cael effaith sylweddol ar recriwtio myfyrwyr rhan\-amser yng Nghymru yn barod. Mae’n ddyddiau cynnar, ond dwi’n deall fod y Brifysgol Agored yn gweld cynnydd canrannol sy’n cyrraedd ffigurau dwbl.


I mi \- cynnydd mewn astudiaeth ran\-amser ac ôl\-raddedig \- yn enwedig o gefndiroedd anhraddodiadol ac ymhlith dysgwyr aeddfed, yw’r prawf go iawn o radicaliaeth ein diwygiadau cymorth i fyfyrwyr. A hyd yn hyn, diolch i ymdrech ar y cyd, rydym ni’n pasio’r prawf hwnnw.


### Casgliad


Ond fi fyddai’r cyntaf i gyfaddef bod yna dipyn o ffordd i fynd o hyd – mewn cyfnod parhaus o adnoddau llai a chyfyngedig – i sicrhau bod addysg oedolion a dysgu gydol oes yn rhan o drefn naturiol o broses benderfyniadau prifysgolion, colegau, cynghorau ariannu a’r llywodraeth.


Byddwch yn fy adnabod i’n ddigon da i gydnabod, fel y dywedais ar y dechrau, fy mod i’n gweld addysg oedolion ac ymgysylltu â’r gymuned yn rhan annatod o genhadaeth ddinesig addysg ôl\-orfodol.


Nid wrth ddarparu cyrsiau’n unig, ond o ran sut mae profiadau a diddordebau cymunedol yn llywio gwaith ymchwil a gweithgareddau prifysgol eraill y tu hwnt i’r ddarlithfa.


Dwi wedi gofyn i CCAUC gyflwyno adroddiad i mi ar y mater hwn erbyn diwedd y flwyddyn.


  

Bydd hyn yn berthnasol i’r buddsoddiad cenhadaeth ddinesig a ddygwyd ymlaen yn dilyn fy llythyr cylch gwaith diweddaraf, ond ni chaiff ei gyfyngu gan hynny.


Ar ôl i mi dderbyn yr adroddiad hwnnw, byddaf yn ei ystyried yng nghyd\-destun ein cynlluniau ar gyfer Comisiwn Addysg Drydyddol newydd.


Ond fel dwi wedi egluro heno, mae’r ethos a’r traddodiad hwn yn ddylanwadol mewn sawl ffordd.


Dwi’n gobeithio fy mod wedi llwyddo i gyflwyno’r achos – beiddgar fel y bo – y mae ein cenhadaeth genedlaethol bresennol i ddiwygio addysg wedi’i hetifeddu gan Raymond Williams a hanfodion traddodiad addysg oedolion yng Nghymru.


Amgylchiadau sydd wedi newid, ie yn bendant – ond mae ein hathrawon a’n myfyrwyr yn camu ymlaen yn ysbryd y chwyldro hir.


Cwricwlwm a system addysg sydd, fel y dymunai Williams, yn rhoi cyfle i bawb “grasp the real nature of our society”.


Ac mewn Cymru hyderus a democrataidd lle, fel yr ysgrifennodd yn Long Revolution, mae yna system o “public education designed to express and create the values of an educated democracy and a common culture”.


Yn ei nofel ‘The Fight for Manod’, mae Williams yn cyflwyno golygfa derfynol lle mae dau o’r prif gymeriadau yn gyrru i un o’r bylchau uchel ym Mannau Brycheiniog. Wrth wneud hynny, llwyddodd Williams i gyfleu’r newid economaidd, cymdeithasol a diwylliannol yng Nghymru dros y ganrif flaenorol. Dwi am ddyfynnu ohoni nawr:


Where they were standing, looking out, was a border in the earth and in history: to north and west the great expanses of a pastoral country; to south and east, where the iron and coal had been worked, the crowded valleys, the new industries, now in their turn becoming old.  There had been a contrast, once, clearly seen on this border, between an old way of life and a new… But what was visible now was that both were old.  The pressure for renewal, inside them, had to make its way through a land and through lives that had been deeply shaped, deeply committed, by a present that was always moving, inexorably, into the past.


Nawr, dyna beth yw golygfa – o dirwedd ac o hanes a rennir – y byddaf yn ei gweld a meddwl amdani bob wythnos wrth i mi deithio o Aberhonddu i Fae Caerdydd.


Yr her sy’n ein hwynebu o hyd yng Nghymru yw her adnewyddu: yr economi, diwylliant a democratiaeth – a dwi’n credu ein bod ni i gyd yn gwybod bod yr her yn debygol o droi’n anoddach yn y blynyddoedd, yn tydyn ni?


Dim ond trwy adeiladu system addysg sy’n ceisio creu diwylliant cyffredin a’r syniad o ddinasyddiaeth a rennir o’n cwricwlwm newydd hyd at addysg oedolion y gallwn sicrhau’r adnewyddu hwnnw, a’r cyfiawnder cymdeithasol sy’n gorfod bod yn rhan ohono.


Fe ddechreuais i heno trwy wneud cysylltiad rhwng Williams ac Orson Welles.


Wrth gloi ei sylwadau i’r Gynhadledd Addysg Oedolion honno ym 1942, dywedodd Welles:


“The new elements of mass education will be to the dark places of the human mind as bright sunlight is to the crawling things under a lifted stone.


“The vermin and bacteria of intolerance cannot survive in the bright gleaming light of understanding”.


Prin mai tasg rwydd yw’r ymdrech ar y cyd ar draws ein system addysg i godi safonau, sicrhau tegwch a rhagoriaeth law yn llaw, ac ysbrydoli cenedlaethau o ddinasyddion gwybodus a mentrus.


Mae gennym ein fersiwn genedlaethol ein hunain o godi’r garreg drom honno.


Ydyn, rydym ni’n wynebu cyfnod anodd, ond fe allwn ni weld dechrau golau’r haul disglair hwnnw eisoes,


A mawr yw ein dyled am ein dealltwriaeth ohono a’i botensial ar gyfer newid:


I Raymond Williams,


I hanes addysg oedolion yng Nghymru,


Ac i ymdrechion addysgwyr y gorffennol, y presennol a’r dyfodol.


Diolch.







Translation:


 
### Introduction


Noswaith dda pawb – good evening everyone.


Thanks to Lynette and David for their introductions, and a huge thanks to the Learning and Work Institute and The OU in Wales for the invitation – the honour –to deliver this year’s Raymond Williams Memorial Lecture.


Actually perhaps I’ve missed a trick there.


In tribute to last year’s speaker, and one of his most famous roles and impersonations on stage and film, I should have started with


“Hello, Good Evening, and Welcome”…


In all seriousness, having met Michael and discussed democracy and education in Wales, I know he shares my passion for extending opportunity, empowering all citizens to engage fully in debate and discourse, and to challenge vested interests and privileges.


Of course, his activism is not wholly uncommon amongst leading lights from Hollywood and the creative arts.


One such predecessor was Orson Welles – a pioneer in opportunities for black actors and writers amongst many other achievements.


In this week \- the anniversary of his death \- there is a new documentary on his life playing in cinemas across the UK.


And it features this quote from him, given at the 1942 Los Angeles Adult Education Conference


“Adult education must first enlist in the war against provincialism.


“Educators, which means every one of us in possession of the instruments of education, are sworn to the tremendous task of telling people about each other – about their works, which are called wisdom and culture.”


Education, democracy and society – they are all there in that short, far\-sighted quote.


And, of course, it pre\-dates but complements Raymond Williams’s long revolution, of how we conceive of our world, our place in it, how that is made real or altered by mass communication and cultures, and how an embedded culture of democracy is a pre\-requisite for social justice.


And I shall return to these points in a moment.


If Raymond Williams were here this evening, he may well have been taken aback to find a Liberal Democrat invoking his name and some of his ideas.  But in his cultural analysis and his fiction he developed ways of seeing the world, and ideas for changing it, that attracted – and continue to attract \- radicals of many colours.


His recognition of the strengths of the various strands of Welsh radicalism, his critique of conservative parts of the left alongside his fierce opposition to conservatism, and his insistence the English left was too often wrongly dismissive of rural communities are elements that I recognise all too well!


### Context


I will, of course, discuss adult education and its importance and influence this evening.


As many of you will know, the connection between campus and community has been at the heart of my agenda for higher education in particular. 


I am pleased by the progress from Welsh universities in recapturing a sense of civic mission – but there is still much to do.


And addressing the decline in adult education – as part of the process of social change and a renewed democracy, not limited to the important challenge of skills development – is integral to this continuing mission.


However, as a Cabinet Minister whose portfolio runs from our youngest citizens through teenagers to university and college students of all ages, I want to invert the conventional approach and analysis.  I hope you will indulge in me in that.


Here in Wales, we are delivering the single biggest set of education reforms anywhere in the UK since the Second World War.


* Reforming our curriculum and assessment arrangements;
* Re\-shaping the who, where and what of teacher training;
* Delivering student finance that is unique in Europe for supporting all students and all modes;
* Changing the national structures for post\-compulsory education to break down the barriers that stop us working together to meet learners’ needs; and
* Reducing class sizes and giving teachers the tools they need to be the best life\-long learners and educators.


And so much more, as we go forward with our national mission to raise standards, reduce the attainment gap and deliver a system that is a source of national pride and public confidence.


But, what do I mean by inverting the conventional analysis?


I am not going to look upon adult education as a discipline set aside – away in its own box, unrelated to that national mission.


It is not a mission that stops at the school gates.


In fact, I want to describe how the historical mission and tradition of education – adult education – rooted in community, culture and citizenship in Wales is essential to the new shape of our compulsory education system.


I appreciate that many of you here in this audience may not be fully across all those reforms, such as the new curriculum for example.


But I want to take the opportunity this evening to describe my commitment to those reforms.


And why, and how, that commitment – personal, policy and yes political – is influenced by those traditions and purposes. 


We are constructing a system powered by purposes and the type of citizens we’d like to see.


I hope, and believe, that this is an iteration of what Williams would have viewed as an education mission that was truly ensuring access to our “national inheritance, available to everyone”.


So, I want to expand a little on that connection,


* What it means for modern citizenship,
* How we must affirm the common good and common interests and avoid the unnecessary extremes of identity liberalism and leftism;
* And what it must mean for social mobility and social change.


### Modern Citizenship


We will publish the new school curriculum – which is being co\-constructed with teachers, universities, international experts and civic society – in Easter 2019\.


It will then be available for testing and feedback, with all schools having access to the final curriculum from 2020, allowing them to get fully ready and prepared for statutory roll\-out in September 2022\.


Our new curriculum will represent what we want \- what we expect \- the citizens of the future to become, to know, and to have gained from their teachers.


But the process of working together to shape that curriculum also represents what we want from our education system.


A profession that collaborates; that is open to new ideas; that is always learning and that seeks to raise standards for all pupils.


And we are setting an international example on how progressive education reforms can be undertaken through collaboration, creativity and confidence.


I’ve been lucky enough to meet Ministers, teachers and educationalists from across Europe and North America over recent months and they are watching on with great interest, and are keen to learn from our approach.


Although I’m afraid that this interest and eagerness to learn doesn’t extend to our friends across the border!


In shaping the curriculum together we are investing in a shared mission to inspire:


* Ambitious, capable learners who are ready to learn throughout their lives.
* Enterprising, creative contributors who are ready to play a full part in life and work.
* Ethical, informed citizens who are ready to be citizens of Wales and the world; and
* Healthy, confident individuals who are ready to lead fulfilling lives as valued members of society.


To my mind, these four purposes are deceptively simple.


They are, in fact, a radical assertion of the essentials of education.


But not so radical that they are completely new.


Indeed, one can draw a line back to Culture and Society and what Williams prescribed as “a full liberal education for everyone”.  

He wrote that:


“Our specialisms will be finer if they have grown from a common culture, rather then being a distinction from it. 


And we must at all costs avoid the polarization of our culture, of which there are growing signs. 


Every man’s ignorance diminishes me, and every man’s skill is a common gain of breath.’\#


We are fortunate to have a thriving and equitable public service education system here in Wales.


That, of course, brings challenges.


Unlike other systems, we don’t take the conscious decision to write off a significant proportion of pupils and pick winners and losers at 11 years of age.  

We have a moral conviction.


Non\-selective, comprehensive education where every citizen’s skill, ability and learning enhances the common good.


It brings about challenges in seeking to raise standards for all – no excuses, no lowered expectations, no exceptions – but it is fundamental to our sense of self, of education for everyone, and for the nation.


These convictions – and relationship to what is taught \- are further expressed in The Long Revolution.


Williams’s 1961 prescription for a new school curriculum focused on the:


* Fundamentals of English and Maths;
* Of general knowledge of ourselves and our environment;
* Practice in democratic procedures;
* And knowledge not solely as separate disciplines but drawn from the higher stage disciplines;


Contrast and compare with our 21st century purposes\-based curriculum,


* across six areas of learning and experience rather than narrow subjects;
* focused on citizenship of Wales and the World;
* with higher standards of literacy and numeracy;
* And young people who are more digitally and bilingually competent.


In fact there is very little contrast.


I would argue that we are taking forward Williams’s curriculum essentials through new definitions for our communications, cultural and technological age.


And if proof were needed that this Welsh Government, and yes this Welsh Liberal Democrat Minister, was pursuing that Long Revolution, then Williams also set out his initial practical reforms ahead of curriculum change – they were, and I quote:


“Better provision for the training of teachers and for adequate school buildings and reducing the size of classes”


You will see all these in my Progressive Agreement with the First Minister, in the government’s policy programme, and in our national mission action plan!


I know that Williams once wrote of a “fairly decent but also fairly modest Liberal party”


Well, as it’s only me in the Senedd and in Government, we are undeniably modest by definition and size… but certainly not modest in our ambitions for transforming Welsh education!


### Common Good And Common Interests


I do, however, want to discuss ‘liberalism’ and the relationship between the liberal\-left promotion of identities within education and what that might mean for our common democratic culture and society.


Before I get into that debate, let me clear that I view the victories of progressive politics for our different communities – feminism, LGBT equality, black consciousness, even democratic devolution – as fundamental achievements which we must celebrate and never be complacent about.


As Welsh Liberal Democrat leader, I was proud to hold the Senedd’s first ever debate on transgender issues, long before these discussions were more in the mainstream. And now, as a Welsh Liberal Democrat Minister, I’m proud to be dragging our curriculum and school rules into the 21st Century so that our schools are inclusive spaces that respect the rights of every pupil.


And of course, adult education itself has long been part of that process of social change, of shaping social attitudes.


But the Brexit vote, UKIP’s vote in the last Welsh General Election and of course Trump’s success in the United States, shows the fragility of those advancements.


It is clear that when people and communities think advances are for the benefit of others – rather than for them, their families or society at large – they will think they have nothing to lose by standing against them – or at least to turn a blind eye when these advances are under attack.


As the Princeton Professor, Mark Lilla has said in reference to Trump’s victory:


“All of us liberals in higher education should take a long look in the mirror and ask ourselves how we contributed to putting the country in this situation. We must accept our share of responsibility.


But it extends beyond feeding the right\-wing media by tolerating attempts to control speech, limit debate and stigmatise and bully conservatives, as well as encouraging a culture of complaint that strikes people outside our privileged circles as comically trivial.”


We have distorted the liberal message to such a degree that it has become unrecognisable.”


He goes onto say that since Reagan’s victory, the left and liberals have:


“Thrown themselves into the movement politics of identity, losing a sense of what we share as citizens and what binds us as a nation.”


It is not a simple, ‘for America, read Wales or the UK’, but I would argue that there are clear parallels.


And in this, we cannot view education, democracy and society apart from each other.


I had the great fortune recently of meeting Kerry Kennedy, President of the RFK Human Rights Organisation and daughter of Robert Kennedy, to discuss curriculum reform. And I will come back to that work later in my remarks.


Kerry’s uncle, Ted Kennedy, addressed the political balance between identity and commonality in the 1980s. He identified the challenge for the Democratic coalition in this way:


“There is a difference between being a party that cares about labour and being a labour party.


“There is a difference between being a party that cares about women and being a women’s party.


“And we can and we must be a party that cares about minorities without being a minority party.


“We are citizens first.”


I believe that the Welsh education system must also be ‘citizens first’.


It is why, on taking office, I re\-affirmed the Government’s commitment to a new curriculum, and I accepted the Diamond Review’s proposals that student support should be equitable across modes and levels of study.


I was struck by a recent article by David Hughes, Chief Executive of the Association of Colleges in England. In an articulate advocacy for adult and further education, he wrote that:


“People coming together to learn is often the only time and place they meet people from other walks of life, breaking down the barriers between people. It helps make people feel part of the community, introduces them to new friends and gives them support.”


That is, the concept of education – adult education – as its own from of public space.


In the classroom, in the community, and online.


Exploring and testing ideas and evidence.


This is a deceptively simple notion. But at a time when the concept of evidence\-informed debate and indeed the very idea of truth are under assault from some quarters, it is a necessary part of our democracy and culture.


Just as this is true for adult education, it is true for genuine comprehensive education that is not based on selection or ability.


Just as there is a political challenge, there is a challenge for education.


Lilla makes this direct comparison.


He says that too often, self\-defined progressive, liberal education that focused on our differences:


“Turns young people back onto themselves, rather than outward to the wider world. Unprepared to think about the common good and what must be done to secure it, especially the hard task of persuading people very different from themselves to join a common effort.”


I view – and our reforms are grounded in this – the process of education is itself a common effort and for the realisation of a common good.


Yes these are shaped by different experiences, identities and perspectives. Absolutely.


But different characteristics cannot, and must not, define and limit the opportunities available.


We must guard against the advancement of liberal identity consciousness as being a partner to the retreat of liberal, broad, national education that involves everyone in a common endeavour.


A common endeavour that encourages questioning and challenge.


To challenge the established ways of thinking and of organising.


But also to challenge those definitions and differences where appropriate.


To be curious about others and the wider world beyond your own identity – however you choose to define.


A common set of purposes, but based on combining the knowledge and skills that enable individual citizens to become part of that process of social change.


### Social Mobility And Social Change


Which brings me to my third, and final, theme – social mobility and social change.


As I mentioned earlier, we are building an education system that seeks to partner equity with excellence.


As I’ve made clear, I believe we should be proud that we have set out the values and purposes for our national education mission.


However, I am equally clear that we must guard against the view that having a set of values is an objective in itself.


I’m afraid that too often some see education equity and equality as ends in themselves.


We cannot allow any kind of cosy progressive consensus in this regard.


I’ve talked a fair bit about our four curriculum purposes. 


The development of ethical, informed young people ready to contribute and be citizens.


My argument is that those purposes are the foundations for social justice and social change.


For empowering our youngest citizens with the knowledge and skills to change society, not just to understand society and accept where they might fit in.


The RFK Human Rights Organisation, as I mentioned earlier, does tremendous international work on curriculum development, introducing human rights issues through the stories of people from across the world.


This then empowers students to become personally involved in rights and advocacy, through links between maths and corporate taxation, food supply and child labour and so on.


This is titled ‘Speaking Truth to Power \- Changing our World’ – which relates back to my previous theme.


If we concentrate too much on which box a student might tick, or fit into, then they will never escape that box.  Hence why I took action in renaming the ‘Pupil Deprivation Grant’ the ‘Pupil Development Grant’ – still the same resources aimed directly at our poorest pupils, but with a focus on learner progression.


As Williams wrote on the purpose of education:


“The process of giving to the ordinary members of society its full common meanings, and the skills that will enable them to amend those meanings, in the light of their personal and common experience.”


Our schools, colleges, universities and adult education classes bring together Welsh citizens of all colours, beliefs and backgrounds.


Brought together in a common endeavour and very soon through a new curriculum constructed through common effort.


But does that common effort ensure we are changing society and amending those meanings as Williams said?


Frankly, we’re not there yet.


* I’m sure it will shock you to know that we have fewer than 400 teachers from a black or minority ethnic background in Wales, and only 4 headteachers;
* The percentage of our population with higher level qualifications still lags 3% behind the UK average.
* And that progression to post\-graduate study in some of our Valleys communities lags at half the rate as it does here in Cardiff, when it already runs
* significantly behind for the proportion of 18\-year olds that enter higher education in the first place.


These are just three areas that demonstrate the challenges that still lie ahead.


However, I am confident that reforms to student support, opening up apprenticeship routes and teacher training opportunities will go some way to addressing these.


But furthermore, I recognise the role adult education must play in addressing these and other areas of the national mission.


For example, we have embarked on reforms so that we do more to attract non\-traditional workers into the teaching profession.


This includes delivering a part\-time teaching qualification via a blended learning model. This will ensure that the provision is geographically neutral. It will also enable part\-time students to take advantage of the opportunities afforded by the new student finance arrangements.


And those student finance reforms are already having a significant impact on part\-time student recruitment in Wales. Its early days but I understand that the OU is seeing a percentage increase that runs into double figures.


For me – increases in part\-time and post\-graduate study – particularly from non\-traditional backgrounds and from mature learners is the real test of the radicalism of our student support reforms. And so far, thanks to a collective effort, we are passing that test.


### Conclusion


But I would be the first to admit that there is still some way to go – in a continuing age of reduced and limited resources – to ensuring that adult education and life\-long learning is part of the natural order of university, college, funding council and government decision\-making.


You will know me well enough to recognise, as I said at the outset, that I view adult education and community engagement as integral to the civic mission of post\-compulsory education.


Not just in the provision of courses, but in how community experiences and interests inform research and other university activities beyond the lecture hall.


I have asked HEFCW to report to me by the end of the year on this issue.


This will relate to, but not limited by, the civic mission investment that was taken forward following my most recent remit letter.


Once I receive that report, I will consider it in the context of our plans for a new Tertiary Education Commission.


But as I have set out this evening, this tradition and ethos is influential in many ways.


I hope that I have made the case – bold as it may be – that our current national mission of education reform has inherited from Raymond Williams and the essentials of the adult education tradition in Wales.


Changed circumstances, yes definitely – but our teachers and students are stepping forward in the spirit of the long revolution.


A curriculum and education system that, as Williams wanted, provides everyone with the opportunity to “grasp the real nature of our society”.


And within a confident and democratic Wales where, as he wrote in Long Revolution, there is a system of “public education designed to express and create the values of an educated democracy and a common culture”.


In his novel ‘The Fight for Manod’, Williams features a final scene in which two of the main characters drive to one of the passes high in the Brecon Beacons. In doing so, Williams captures the economic, social and cultural change within Wales over the preceding century.  I am going to quote from it now:


Where they were standing, looking out, was a border in the earth and in history: to north and west the great expanses of a pastoral country; to south and east, where the iron and coal had been worked, the crowded valleys, the new industries, now in their turn becoming old.  There had been a contrast, once, clearly seen on this border, between an old way of life and a new… But what was visible now was that both were old.  The pressure for renewal, inside them, had to make its way through a land and through lives that had been deeply shaped, deeply committed, by a present that was always moving, inexorably, into the past.


Now, that is a vista – of a landscape and of a shared history \- that I see and think about every week as I travel from Brecon to Cardiff Bay.  The challenge that we still face in Wales is that of renewal: of economy, culture and democracy – and I think we all know that the challenge is likely to become tougher in the coming years, don’t we? 


We can only secure that renewal, and the social justice that must be a part of it, by building an education system that seeks to build a common culture and ideas of shared citizenship, from our new curriculum through to adult education.


I started this evening by drawing a connection between Williams and Orson Welles.


In concluding his remarks to that Adult Education Conference in 1942, Welles said:


“The new elements of mass education will be to the dark places of the human mind as bright sunlight is to the crawling things under a lifted stone.


“The vermin and bacteria of intolerance cannot survive in the bright gleaming light of understanding”.


The collective effort across our education system to raise standards, partner equity with excellence and inspire generations of informed and enterprising citizens is no easy task.


We have our own national version of lifting that heavy stone.


Yes, we face some tough times but we can already see beginnings of that bright sunlight,


And our understanding of it and its potential for change owes a great deal:


To Raymond Williams,


To the history of adult education in Wales,


And to the efforts of educators past, present and future.


Diolch – Thank You.