An evening to celebrate and congratulate Betsi's Welsh Learners

07/03/2022

On Tuesday evening (March the 1st), Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board celebrated St David’s Day with a ceremony to celebrate and congratulate their hard-working staff who have learnt Welsh. The ceremony was held at the Oriel Hotel, St Asaph.

The journey started in September 2021 with the Welsh Language Team asking the staff to nominate their colleagues who had made an impression on them by learning Welsh to a high standard and using their newfound skills to provide a better service to the Welsh speaking patients and service users of north Wales.

In January, the judges whittled the significant number of nominations down to a short list of five, which was a mammoth task for Linda Tomos, Independent Board Member, Teresa Owen, Executive Director of Public Health, BCUHB and the guest judge and key speaker, Bethan Gwanas, Author, TV personality and experienced Welsh Tutor.

A HUGE congratulations to all of our learners, especially to our top 5. The judges were amazed by the standard of your Welsh. You are all winners and a great inspiration to others to start learning Welsh.

Bethan Gwanas, our guest judge was pleased to announce the winner and runners up as Anna Mackenzie (3rd) and Mark Butler (2nd). The winner of the BCUHB Learner of the Year 2022 is Manuela Niemetscheck from Bethesda, an Art Psycotherapist in Hergest, Ysbyty Gwynedd.

The top five were all awarded with many prizes. The event would not have been possible without the generosity of our sponsors. The winner was also escorted to Ysbyty Glan Clwyd after the ceremony to light up the hospital in red white and green, the Welsh flag colours to celebrate St David’s Day.

Thank you to our sponsors for their generous support to the event; Lingo, Cymen, Books Council of Wales, W.O.Jones, Nant Gwrtheyrn, Work Welsh.