In November 2020, the Learned Society of Wales held a symposium on bilingualism and multilingualism. It brought together academics, practitioners and writers to discuss aspects of languages in Wales.

The symposium emerged from discussions around the need for a broader understanding of language and a holistic view of the experiences, benefits and impacts of living bi- and multilingual lives.

In order to distil a set of clear recommendations for society and government in Wales from these multidisciplinary discussions, the following observations have taken the new Curriculum for Wales (scheduled to be introduced in 2022) as a starting point.  They focus on one of the symposium’s overriding themes, namely the need for Wales to better embrace its linguistic potential to develop a more open, inclusive and empathetic nation. Together, they are intended as pointers to how this potential might be realised.